Do You Include Your Employees In Planning?
The more people you have in the planning process it’s possible that it becomes messy…actually guaranteed. Yet is messy disagreeable or just part of the initial process? Can you benefit by having more people in the planning process?
Managers feel that including employees in the planning process only complicates it and they don’t see the value in adding them to the mix.
It’s been proven over and over again, the more a person is part of the process,
the more they own it.
Do you include your employees into the planning process? If you don’t at this time, then you will need to provide guidelines they need in order to productively contribute to it. It could be that you provide them with an overview of the goal, what are the obstacles, what are the strengths and then have them go into their own groups to come up with potential solutions. Teach them to brainstorm and come up with potential solutions.
In the brainstorming stage, there are no bad ideas so no judgments are allowed.
Rather it’s a time for everyone to show up and interact creatively for a solution.
One thought can spur another person to the perfect solution.
In managing employees, you need to be open to including, as much as possible, your team members into the planning process. If your business culture doesn’t support it, you can still create a mini culture within your group in order for your department to meet their deliverables and empower your employees to be part of the solution.
“Empowerment brings out the best in your workforce,” by Lionel Wijesiri on the Daily Mirror explains in more depth the impact of empowerment on your bottonline.
Empowerment makes people feel valued by involving them in decisions. When you allow your employees to think independently and assist the organisation, they will respond with increased work effort and greater efficiency.
I recommend to managers when they coach or counsel their employees, that it’s the employee’s responsibility to come with solutions in order to change their performance or behavior. This is great advice when you want employees to use their “creative muscles” to meet deliverables. The more responsible an employee feels, the more they will make the right decision for the company.
It’s important to allow employees to make decisions in their work. Provide standards, train them and then allow them to forge ahead and be successful.
If you want employees to be responsible for the success of the company,
then encourage them to be part of the planning process.
Be well,
Pat
