1. The ability to work autonomously – giving employees the skills to work independently
by Yacob Yonis, Linda O’Rourke, Colette Butterworth

2. The Manchester College

3. Elements required for employee autonomy
Accept mistakes
Build trust
Encourage employee ownership
Provide the correct tools
Create a culture of communication

4. Accept mistakes that occur in the workplace
Mistakes happen in the workplace all the time; it’s how we deal with the mistakes that is important
The company Zappos had a huge million dollar loss because of human error. They accepted the loss and moved on with their business.

5. At Zappos, Tony Hsieh writes:
“To those of you asking if anybody was fired, the answer is no, nobody was fired – this was a learning experience for all of us. Even though our terms and conditions state that we do not need to fulfil orders that are placed due to pricing mistakes, and even though this mistake cost us over $1.6 million, we felt that the right thing to do for our customers was to eat the loss and fulfil all the orders that had been placed before we discovered the problem”.

6. What next….? Now what do you do?
In many organisations a mistake like this would be the starting point of:
Who is to blame?
What mistake did they make?
What would the repercussions be?
By the company and leadership team accepting responsibility for the error and putting measures in place so it can’t happen again provides a feeling of security for the staff members which in turn allows employees to become more autonomous. So it is okay to make mistakes as long as lessons are learnt in order not to repeat them.

7. TIME TO DISCUSS… Work in groups and discuss the following:
When you accept and acknowledge mistakes, you learn more from the mistakes you make.
Do you agree with this statement? Why?
b. When we can openly admit to our mistakes without fear of reprisals; what benefit will it generate?
c. Mistakes can provide opportunities for creativity and innovation. Discuss.
You have 10 minutes then we will feedback

8. BUILDING TRUST How can we build trust in the workforce?
Self-sufficiency
Empowerment of staff
Autonomy

9. Self belief responsibility expectations ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
What is employee ownership?
expectations
Self belief
responsibility

10. ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
Create decision making opportunities:
By providing employees with seemingly insignificant decision-making opportunities this can have a powerful positive psychological impact.
Offering employees choices can be very effective even if their impact is very small.

11. Give a reason for your answer
WHAT IF…
A warehouse worker’s job is very repetitive. Could they have any influence in any decision making in the company?
Could a hospital consultant have any impact on decision making within their company?
Give a reason for your answer
In your groups, choose 2 very different companies you have previously worked with and discuss the opportunities the employees have of impacting on any decision making process.

12. PROVIDING THE CORRECT TOOLS
It is important to have the correct tools to enable staff to fulfil their role….
Innovative and successful organisations are very proactive when looking into this opportunity. They empower their staff/workforce to find the tools that work for them.
Employees with the correct tools are more likely to meet their targets and are more productive. It gives them a feeling of empowerment, even when a choice was not offered.
Companies’ leaders who provide staff with the correct tools are gaining a competitive advantage by putting power into the hands of those getting the real work done, thus enhancing creativity and innovation through process, people and strategic planning.

13. Think about: PROVIDING THE CORRECT TOOLS
Discuss the tools you have to enable you to have a workforce that would empower your business
Think about:
Any situations where you have had to deliver a course/presentation where there has been little or no resources available, how did this impact on your ability to deliver?

14. Create a culture of communication
transparency
honesty
Communication
opportunities
respect
Open door policy
trust

15. Can you think of any more?
In conclusion, our 5 keys skills for autonomy are:
Accept mistakes
Build trust
Encourage employee ownership
Provide the correct tools
Create a culture of communication
Can you think of any more?
What have we missed?

16. Thank you
+44 (0)
tmc.ac.uk