Are you frustrated by the lack of interest from your employees? Is it affecting productivity and the happiness of your staff? Your company can reach new heights when you engage your employees to take ownership of their own work. Every individual should understand that they are an important piece of a larger puzzle, and that their personal work contributes to and impacts the bigger picture.

When employees feel accountable for their work, they start working as owners do, with a vested interest in the company’s goals at the performance level it takes to get there. However, only about one-third of employees feel like owners or have a strong sense of responsibility for company performance.
Listed below are three practices to help employees take ownership of their work.

Communicate the overall picture

First and foremost, it is most important to clearly communicate the company’s goals and mission. By exhibiting these objectives on your website, you are unintentionally reinforcing these ideas to your employees. It is equally as important to make sure that the main goal is carried through each communication.

Hold informal meetings about the objectives of the company, discuss whether or not they are being met, and share the reasons they are not if need be.

Employees often have valuable insights about how to respond to challenges, and can make significant suggestions. Keep in mind, they can’t share their ideas if you don’t communicate what is working and what’s not.

Provide autonomy

It is best practice to provide the overall objective of what needs to be done, and then let employees decide how they will accomplish the smaller tasks.
By following this method, you avoid the mistake of micromanaging your employees. To ensure tasks are being completed while preserving autonomy, you could set up checkpoints for your employees.

Provide feedback and coaching in real time

Don’t wait to provide feedback at times such as performance appraisal. It is much more beneficial to provide feedback often so improvements can be made more frequently.

These practices ensure that employees understand what they are doing well, what they can improve, and how to make the appropriate changes. It can also enhance your employee’s morale and promote retention.

If  corrections need to be made, rectify them as soon as possible. For example, if you waited to make a correction, you may say, “Two months ago, you shouldn’t have forwarded an email to the sales department.” Instead, address the issue right away and you could say, “Talk to Tom rather than forwarding an email.” The second example of feedback is much more effective for both employee growth and company efficiency.

Get in Touch With Us for Your Staffing Needs

Looking for employees who take ownership, are proactive and reliable? We can help. Gainor Staffing is experienced in looking for top candidates that can help your company perform at peak levels.