Nothing builds employee empowerment and boosts confidence and initiative like effective training!

Empowerment occurs when employees have access to effective training, the necessary tools to successfully do their work, and the freedom to do their job. Creating a culture of empowerment benefits the employees and the organization, as statistics show.

6 Benefits of Employee Empowerment through Training

“Anytime you learn, you gain.” — Bob Ross, American painter, art instructor, and television host

Ongoing training leads the way to fostering an elevated level of confidence and initiative throughout the workplace. As employee confidence continues to grow, it benefits not only the individuals but their teams, managers, and organizations.

Retaining confident employees is a logical step in fostering improved workforce development, yet the exact ways in which this occurs may not be readily apparent. Here are six benefits team members and organizations may see take shape when empowering employees through training.

#1. Cultivates skilled employees

As an employer, it’s critical to understand each individual and their professional goals. When organizations provide training that helps employees improve their skills, they benefit from higher productivity and efficiency. The employee benefits by gaining self-confidence, relieving stress, and receiving the opportunity to be promoted, contribute more, and increase their salary.

With the increasing influence of technology and AI on employment, some workers are seizing the opportunity to upgrade their skillsets. According to Forbes, 87% of employees desire a robust skills development program, while 88% want career advancement discussions to start on their first day.

#2. Fosters psychological safety

Psychological safety is vital in promoting employee engagement, satisfaction, and overall well-being. It empowers employees to express their ideas, take calculated risks, and share their unique perspectives without fear of judgment or retribution. A psychologically safe workplace promotes creativity and innovation and is a space where personal development manifests. Training is a perfect vehicle to reinforce the principles of psychological safety within the work environment.

A survey of 28,000 professionals across 16 countries found that employees who felt psychological safety were 2.1 times more motivated, 2.7 times happier, and 3.3 times more enabled to reach their full potential at work.

#3. Improves productivity

Ongoing, effective training allows employees to feel confident and take the lead on projects. Additionally, they’ll feel more capable of executing their responsibilities without going to their manager with questions. They’ll begin to take ownership of their work. Instilling trust shown by a manager or other leader can encourage employees to work harder and be more productive. The employee engagement level increases, and they produce better quality work. Don’t be surprised by their innovative solutions, as well!

When managers instill trust, mutual trust develops. Employees feel heard. According to McKinsey, this kind of inclusion leads to a 47% increased likelihood that employees will stay with a company and a 90% increased likelihood they’ll go out of their way to help each other. Thus, improving work output.

#4. Strengthens business partnerships

Effective “customer service” is critical in maintaining good business relationships with internal and external partners. The key to strengthening these partnerships is to empower employees. Confident and proactive employees are better communicators and can make sound decisions even without all the information. However, many employees often spend too much time hesitating, wavering, and avoiding decisions. A combination of training, mentoring, and empowerment can help employees at all levels.

Empowered employees successfully deliver and, as a result, build strong business relationships based on mutual trust. These partnerships continue to grow as ongoing open dialogue occurs. Teams draw upon multiple relationships to exchange new ideas, resources, and knowledge. They collaborate to achieve shared objectives and get the work accomplished on time. As relationships strengthen, they deliver solutions that meet their expectations. Thus, hopefully, a career-long partnership will form and continue to strengthen.

#5. Increases employee satisfaction

Helping employees find a sense of purpose can help them connect their daily tasks with the company’s vision. One way to achieve this goal is by offering training courses aligned with the company’s mission and employees’ personal goals. Sharing these goals with coworkers can help the team build stronger rapport and deeper connections.

Training programs contribute to a positive company culture by enhancing employee morale, promoting employee retention, and fostering a sense of value among employees. Training also prepares employees for a bigger role.

#6. Boosts recruitment

Higher job satisfaction typically leads to improved recruitment. Confident employees can boost morale across the organization. Ninety-four percent of those who responded to an Indeed survey say they’re happier when they feel confident at work. Happier employees who see their company investing in their own future are more likely to help spread the word about the organization’s people-first learning culture. Remember, fulfilled employees make the best recruiters. They’ll help recruit diverse and higher-caliber talent. The organization will find the right talent to meet the team’s needs.

4 Ways to Empower Employees

Not every employee needs to lead a team, but they should feel empowered. Boosting their self-confidence benefits them, their manager, their team, and the organization.

Creating an empowered workforce of confident employees can be challenging, but here are four ways to start.

#1. Communicate corporate vision

It’s critical for employees to sense that they are actively contributing to a shared mission, rather than merely fulfilling a worker bee role. Leaders should provide open communication regarding the department and company goals. Sharing this vision gives employees a clear understanding of how their role contributes to the big picture. Instilling employees with the understanding that their contributions matter generates a more enthusiastic and committed workforce. Employees and managers can provide the specific upskill training needed when they understand the big picture and their role in accomplishing it.

#2. Delegate for career growth

One of the best ways to demonstrate trust in direct reports and boost their confidence is to entrust them with projects that make a direct impact. It’s important that managers don’t delegate solely to pass off time-consuming or hard work but rather do so with the intention of fostering professional growth.

Develop employee skills through training programs. The upskill training will provide opportunities to delegate new responsibilities and promote employees. Show them how valuable they are by letting them work on meaningful projects requiring problem-solving skills. Let them make their own decisions. Have them take training courses in the decision-making process to help boost their confidence and initiative. Leadership such as this builds a culture of trust and helps employees reach their full potential.

#3. Provide the right tools

When delegating projects to direct reports, managers must be sure they have the right tools to complete the project. Be sure they have access to software programs, documents, training content, and other helpful resources. Employees won’t feel they’ve succeeded if they lack the necessary resources to accomplish their projects. Managers should always be open to employees needing or wanting constructive feedback or just someone to listen to. Mentorship programs are also great tools that instill a supportive environment.

#4. Provide continuous self-paced learning and development opportunities

“Learn continually – there’s always one more thing to learn!” — Steve Jobs, American businessman, inventor, and investor

Employee empowerment begins with effective professional development training. Be sure to follow with ongoing microlearning drip training to boost learner engagement and retention. Keep in mind training is not one size fits all. The more employees understand and grasp, the more confident they are, and the best way to learn is at their own pace. When employees learn at their own pace, they control how much time is needed to digest a specific concept instead of rushing through more “complex” details. Remember what is considered “complex” can vary from person to person. Self-paced learning offers the benefit of increasing learning efficiency and competency development in a shorter period.

Zippia has reported that 89% of employees prefer having training programs available at their convenience. This means they should be able to access it anytime and anywhere they need to perform their job. Additionally, 85% of employees want the flexibility to choose training schedules that suit their availability. This makes it essential for companies to have an on-demand training program.

Repetitive learning opportunities increase the likelihood of retaining the information. One of the best ways to empower employees through training is through repetitive, habit-forming methods.

HSI Can Help

Do you want to increase productivity rates, boost employee motivation, and improve team performance? Do you wish to foster innovative ideas and creative thinking and create a psychologically safe environment for your employees? If so, it’s time to start empowering your employees through effective professional development training. This is the first step towards reaping the benefits of a more empowered and motivated workforce.

Through our expert-developed, multi-modal learning pathways, we can upskill your employees with courses from HSI’s award-winning video library and then boost learner engagement and retention with ongoing microlearning from Blue Ocean Brain. Our unique training sequence can help you achieve the employee growth and development needed to empower your employees for the long-term.

HSI uses the 38 Korn Ferry competencies as the basis for our learning tracks. One of these competencies is instills trust, which HSI supports through video-based learning to meet the needs of today’s workplace. When employees instill trust among team members and management, it creates a psychologically safe environment, resulting in successful project completion and positive reputations. This opens doors for career advancement opportunities within the organization, furthering both employee professional goals and company initiatives.

Soft skills training in this competency helps employees develop skills like effective communication, being ethical and authentic, and more. Here’s a sampling of HSI’s video-based microlearning courses that support the instills trust competency:

• How to Apologize
• How to Spot Liars
• Building Accountability
• Fighting For Your Team
• Professional Boundaries
• Leading with Authenticity
• Making Employees Feel Heard
• The Craft of Winning Over Others
• Creating a Culture of Transparency
• Building Trust Through Communication

Many of HSI’s clients open the training library for self-directed learning. Learners can choose off-the-shelf video courses to sharpen these core competencies, and they can set their own learning pace. This is an excellent example of empowering employees to manage their own time and take control of their careers.

Contact HSI to learn more about ensuring employees have access to soft skills training and the necessary tools that will allow them to gain more confidence in themselves, in turn making them better employees for you, your team, and your entire organization. One of the most important ways to foster this is by building a culture of learning throughout your organization.

Additional Resources

• HSI Confidence Training Videos
• How to Improve Decision Making Skills
• Building a Culture of Psychological Safety
• Ways Soft Skills Training Supports Company Core Values [+ Examples]
• Confidence Training for Managers: How to Build Confidence in Teams