The success of your business depends largely on your team and its overall performance. Yet, many companies fail to empower their employees and recognize their efforts. Approximately 70 percent of workers say that being empowered when an opportunity arises has a direct impact on their engagement. One way to motivate and engage your staff is to plan empowerment training activities. Team building, mentoring, training and competitions are just a few examples.

Why Does Employee Empowerment Matter?

Employee empowerment activities can benefit your business in more than one way. First of all, they help your team members bond and work together more efficiently. They also give them a certain degree of autonomy and control. This proves that you trust them and care about what they have to say.

Empowered employees are more productive and motivated, leading to a better working environment and business growth. They know that their hard work contributes to the company's mission and drives results. They also have a greater sense of responsibility, which results in stronger performance, loyalty and job satisfaction. By empowering your team members, you’re giving them access to the tools and resources necessary to make smarter decisions and have better control over their work.

Successful brands like Disney and Google are going above and beyond to empower their staff. Disney, for example, promotes empowerment at all levels. The company provides training for its cast members so that they can acquire the skills required to deliver customer service excellence. Google encourages employees to participate in brainstorming sessions, send emails directly to the company's leaders and spend 20 percent of their time on the projects in which they are interested.

Empowerment Team-Building Activities

One way to motivate and empower your employees is to organize team-building events. These activities can help develop their skills, improve collaboration and foster meaningful communication. They also encourage healthy competition among your staff members and stimulate their creativity.

A Penny for Your Thoughts, Three Truths and a Lie, Two Sides of a Coin and The Guessing Game are some of the most popular empowerment exercises for employees. Two Sides of a Coin, for example, encourages creative thinking and helps your team members see things from a different perspective. The Scavenger Hunt, which can take place inside or outside the office, involves asking your team members to find hidden clues and solve a challenge.

Brain Teasers for Mental Exercise

Start the day with brain teasers to spark creativity and innovation in the workplace. It's a great way to energize your team and improve communication. These mental exercises require finding creative solutions and answering tricky questions, such as:

  • What is always coming but never arrives? (Answer: tomorrow)
  • What English word is always spelled incorrectly? (Answer: "incorrectly")
  • What can you hold without using your arms or hands? (Answer: your breath)

Brain teasers may also include empowerment exercises for employees such as puzzles, riddles or thought-provoking games. For example, you can take a beach ball and divide it into several sections, each including a different question such as How would you react if...? or What would you do if a customer asks you to...? Have your team members stand in a circle and pass the ball around. Those who catch it will answer the question closest to their index finger.

Leadership Training Activities for Employees

Another simple way to empower your employees is to sign them up for leadership training courses, workshops, seminars and public speaking activities. Toastmasters, for example, is an international organization with more than 16,600 clubs in 143 countries. Its members attend weekly meetings for which they prepare speeches on a variety of topics. Each speaker receives anonymous feedback and votes from his peers.

This fun yet challenging activity helps people gain confidence and build leadership skills. They also have access to educational resources, peer support and continuous training. You may also consider rewarding your employees with leadership and sales courses provided by Dale Carnegie Training. A good example is Leadership Training for Managers, a three-day course that teaches attendees how to lead others, make better decisions and achieve their business goals.

Coaching and mentoring activities will make your employees feel empowered through knowledge. They will also help sharpen their skills so they can perform better in the workplace. Think of it as an opportunity to show your gratitude for their hard work. Nearly 90 percent of millennials prioritize career growth and professional development in a job, meaning that they'll stick with your company longer if you give them the chance to learn new things.