8 Effective Strategies for boosting employee confidence and autonomy

In order for any operation to be successful, one must hire, train, and retain quality employees.

Once employees have gone through the lengthy process of hiring and training their employees, it is critical to ensure a productive and healthy workplace environment. By creating an environment that employees can thrive in, an employer is ensuring their own personal success. One key way to create this environment and retain quality workers is to help boost their confidence and autonomy within the workforce.

Strategy Number 1: Determine the strengths and weaknesses of each employee

Determine the strengths and weaknesses of each employee and use this to their advantage. Generally speaking, people have different strengths and perform best in certain areas. Identifying these strengths and allowing employees to thrive in those specific areas will not only allow them to feel confident but will also lend to their autonomy. Feeling confident in your work will allow one to feel confident in working autonomously.

Strategy Number 2: Be flexible and open to change

The world, and workplace as a result, are quickly changing and adapting. Technology has created innumerable opportunities for employers and employees alike to accomplish tasks in a variety of ways and locations. Allowing employees to have flexibility in the way they complete a task and location is undoubtedly a way to build employee confidence and autonomy. Not only is an employer likely to retain employees by having such a flexible approach to their workforce, but by allowing employers to have this flexibility you are clearly demonstrating your confidence in their ability to work well and work autonomously.

Strategy Number 3: Be generous with your praise and constructive with your criticism

It's no secret that the power of praise has been demonstrated for many years in a variety of environments. Ranging from parenting, to teaching, to employing, research is clear that praising the good and celebrating the victories is a sure way to increase productivity and ensure future success. Taking the time and effort to give specific, calculated, and frequent positive praise and reinforcement will allow employees to feel valued, and confident in their abilities which will in turn allow them to feel they are able to complete tasks.

Strategy Number 4: Create clear boundaries and expectations

Expectations are the cornerstone to a productive workplace. One cannot work effectively, nor confidently if the expectations and end results have not clearly been defined. Therefore, in order to create an environment where employees feel confident and autonomous, the employer must be clear regarding expectations. As long as a vision is clear and in place, employees can more effectively work towards reaching their goals. Specifically, avoid vague and unclear desires. For example, if the employer desires for the employee to assist with an increase in social media activity, set a specific goal to be met by a specific time such as an increase of 15% within the next 3 months. This will not only give the employee defined expectations that they can confidently pursue, but will also allow the employer to have a clear objective by which to measure employee effectiveness.

Strategy Number 5: Provide employees with access to professional development opportunities

Professional development is an essential component to employee retention, confidence, and autonomy. With any given position, the professional field is changing and expanding daily. In order to “keep up" successfully, employees need persistent training and development. By providing these opportunities, employers are ensuring that their employees are well-trained, capable in their field, and prepared for growth. Once an employee has been trained thoroughly, they can feel confident in completing tasks well and without constant oversight which leads to autonomy.

Strategy Number 6: Provide employees with the necessary resources

If you desire for employees to feel confident in their work and work environment, and to in turn be able to complete necessary tasks with as much autonomy as possible, then it is critical to provide them with the resources required to complete their jobs. These resources can range from a well-furnished office that supports the needs of the employees to technology that can enable them to complete tasks in the most effective manner. Simply put, providing any feasible product or resource to “get the job done" will allow employees to feel valued, which will increase their confidence and autonomy within the workplace.

Strategy Number 7: Ensure work-life balance for employees

A final strategy that is highly favored among employees is to create boundaries and specific policies regarding work-life balance for employees. One quick way to create employee burnout is to fail to have specific plans in place to ensure work-life balance. Once this has occurred, employers are more apt to struggle with quality employee retention which will lead to a decrease in productivity. Clearly stated, no one wins in these types of environments. To the contrary, employers can ensure that their employees feel heard and valued by protecting their work-life balance. This will not only lead to higher retention, specifically with quality employees, but it will allow employees to work with greater confidence as they are less fatigued and burnt out. As confidence grows, employees will naturally feel more autonomous in their work. This will lead to greater productivity overall.

Strategy Number 8: Create a system that ensures the appropriate amount of autonomy

The desire for employee autonomy is widely coveted by many employers. However, there is such a thing as too much autonomy. Without clear boundaries, employee autonomy can lead to chaos, confusion, and ineffectiveness. This can be avoided by having clear boundaries set for employees about the appropriate level of their autonomy. One effective way to avoid giving up too much control within the workplace is to ensure employees have autonomy but in moderation. Some ways to ensure that autonomy has been granted, but only in moderation, is to provide clear goals, give clear feedback, and create a system of checks and balances. For instance, once one employee has completed a given task, make it a policy for another or a manager to check off on ịt with feedback built into the system. This will ensure quality work which will allow employees to feel confident in their final products.