A wise man once said that business, in its initial stage, is like an infant and today the conviction is even stronger and that he was right. Since businesses cannot take care of themselves, there is a need for undivided attention and care for it to grow and flourish. It indeed demands the entrepreneurs to consider themselves as parent and make every decision. And in the beginning, everything is experimental, and one will experience that sometimes, the decisions can add to a strong foundation, while the other times, it can end up being a lesson for both.
Whatever the case is, it is significant to understand the essence of decision-making in any business. However, the evolving time has genuinely contributed to the realization of how the focus is gradually shifting from business decisions to the employee experience (EX)
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An Overview on Engaging The Employees In Company’s Decision Making
The encounters and observations of the workforce during their work tenure in the organization are what is understood as employee experience in a simple sense. It is observed that the two most common issues faced by numerous entrepreneurs are:
(1) Every motivating factor stops contributing to productivity over time.
(2) Many times there is a resistance in accepting the decisions of the administration.
However, a little pondering got me wondering, can these two issues be the sprouts of the same seed? With constant research and survey, it is found that the answer to the question is “yes” and the seed is “Employee Disengagement.” Well, one of the reasons for the employees feeling disengaged can be their dissatisfaction with the decisions made in the organization. Even if the businesses do everything right, they may still lack in understanding the situation from the employee’s point of view.
Hence, recently those companies that truly understand the importance of employee engagement are open to the suggestions and feedback of the employees, as one cannot completely feel the heat from the machines when they are sitting in an air-conditioned office. This realization has provoked many entrepreneurs to think if there is a possibility in engaging the employees or their representatives in the decision mankind process.
Whether the suggestions are accepted or not is not the question, but to engage them and not to miss out on the key aspects that could make huge differences is what matters a lot. Because the suggestions that are put forth by the employees are out of the experience and sure have an added value to it. And today, several companies have implemented this simple strategy by encouraging the employees and are experiencing dual benefits of engaging the workforce as well as better outcomes for the company.
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Benefits of Engaging Employees in the Decision Making
It is observed that many entrepreneurs are still a little hesitant in involving the employees in decision making. One reason is behind this is the lack of awareness of the benefits that this strategy coils offering the company. And understanding this, here is a list of how an organization can benefit from allowing its employees to participate in making decisions.
Enhances the Employee Experience
Everyone likes to be involved in making decisions. It gives a person the feeling of responsibility and offers them the opportunity to bring forth their perspective. This applies even to the youngest of the family, every single person in your squad, every member in the team, and every employee in an organization.
When importance is given to the opinions of the staff, they feel valued and consider the organization as their own. They feel happy and content with their workplace and accomplish every task with a satisfied heart.
Employee experience is all about what the employee encounters in the workplace during his tenure. It can be positive or negative depending upon the way the organization treats them. Although it is difficult to measure EX, it is pretty evident that the EX is going to be negative when the employees are dissatisfied or feel disengaged from the organization. The degree to which the employees have a positive EX depends on the organization’s efforts to make them feel valued and cared for. Allowing them to take part in decision-making can be a significant way to do so.
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When integrated with higher morale and job satisfaction, the employees who are allowed to participate in the process of making decisions consider their stake in the organization. They feel like their input in the organization determines the growth of the business. And to increase the rate of expansion of the establishment, they feel like contributing more.
With the organization’s benefits in mind, the engaged employees tend to put in their best, even if there is a need to work two times more. This attitude of the employees towards work increases their productivity as well as the companies on the whole.
A Fresh Point of View Cannot Hurt, Right?
The major loophole in taking decisions solely by the administration is the lack of fresh perspective. The same panel makes all business decisions with the same principles, concepts, and theories in mind. The world does not wait for them; it keeps on evolving. The same old knowledge and perspective of the management may not always be compatible with the ongoing trends.
When the management opens the door to the employees’ suggestions, they get a fresh perspective on things from them. It provides the companies with an opportunity to look at things and face the issues from a closer perspective. To further enhance the process of making decisions, the management can choose to appoint a team from among the employees to represent them and can also re-elect these teams to maintain fresh blood in the decision-making team.
Knock Out the Blame Game
When there are only a few people on the administration team to make decisions, the responsibility of the results lay on those few shoulders. In case of an incorrect decision, it is obvious that the people will blame each other, and the employees will blame the management. This wastes a lot of time and demotivates the people from speaking their minds. Although it might not affect the colleagues if the administration refrains from expressing their thoughts while making decisions, the organization may suffer drastically as even the smallest action in the organization has a magnified effect on the business’ success.
However, this will not be the case when the administration takes input from the employees. When the decisions are made with the input from everyone, the blame for the bad decision is shared by everyone. This not only maintains the peace and harmony of the organization but also avoids unnecessary blame games. When the employees are a part of the decisions made by the organization, instead of criticizing the management, they choose to work harder on their goals to focus on growth rather than gloat over the spilled milk.
Strengthens the Bond In The Team
The main motive of including the employees in decision-making (besides enhancing their experience in the organization) is to see the perspective of all the employees. When the administration and employees can see things from each other’s perspective, they can understand each other better. They understand the issues faced by every individual, the limitations of the management, and the problems in the organization with a new level of empathy.
Due to this reason, the bond between the teams and among the team members increases. They can empathize with each other. This practice reduces the conflicts and cold war between the employees, their colleagues, different departments, and their administration. The peace in the organization is kept undisturbed. Moreover, with the cooperation of the departments and employees, the management can uniquely comprehend the organization and can manage the business properly.
Boosted Morale Guarantees Correct Path
When you are traveling on a long path, the milestones help you determine that you are in the right direction. However, there are undefined milestones on the road to organizational success. Experts have set certain milestones out of which one is to enhance the morale of the employees.
When the business is not going on the right path, the employee morale stoops to the lowest, and the workflow might end up in a chaotic situation. However, after allowing the employees to take part in decision-making, if you see a positive change in the morale of the employees, understand that you are going on the right path. Increased employee enthusiasm is a sign that your employees are feeling encouraged, valued, and satisfied while working in your organization.
Devil’s Advocacy Dethrones Unanimity
Devil’s advocacy – a practice where the management appoints a team of employees to criticize the decisions made by them. Why is it necessary, and how is it practiced?
More often than not, the administration asks for the opinions of the employees just for the sake of doing so. The decision they arrive at is based on majority or consensus. Doing this for the sake of doing is a waste of time. If eventually, they are going to do what they want to, why ask the employees’ opinions in the first place.
To overcome such unfruitfulness of activities, the management appoints a team to criticize every point raised by them. This practice has two purposes: to avoid loopholes in the decisions and to catch everyone’s opinion. The beneficiaries in this practice are both – the employers and the employees. The employers receive suggestions and ideas which they couldn’t have thought of, and the employees feel empowered and engaged in the organization. It indeed contributes to a win-win situation.
The Takeaway
It is very understandable to doubt the need for an improved employee experience in an organization; why does it matter anyway? Well, employee experience determines the desirability of the organizations among prospective employees. Besides, the businesses can experience higher productivity, increased income, and reduced employee turnover. With the employees praising an organization outside the workplace, the company will attract the best talent the way a flower attracts bees.
All things aside, it is essential to know that the employees are the people who experience the work conditions and customer interaction every single day on the front line. If there is anyone who knows the most about the job and the organization, it is them. Ignoring this may lead to a wrong decision on the part of management, the price of which would have to be paid by the business. So, why take any risk when you can have a secure way to make decisions.
Author’s Bio
Meet Vara is an experienced Product Marketer at factoHR, having expertise in creating various ideas for creative writing. He is passionate about researching and exploring blogs and checking out the latest trends and replicating his expertise in crafting exclusive content. His approach and readiness towards writing quality content are exceptional.
