Strengthening culture to maintain brand momentum – Part III: Autonomy
Earlier in this series about employee experience and brand momentum, I covered how employees have more choices than ever, spurred by advancing technology flattening the playing field of employers. In this competitive landscape for attracting talent, employers must consistently iterate their employee value propositions— including the role of autonomy.
Employees with autonomy are empowered to make decisions, innovate, and take initiative, which not only enhances their job satisfaction but also drives motivation and productivity. It means they can make choices to shape the experience they want— different from total independence, which means not relying on others at all.
Incumbent brands often lack opportunities for autonomy because they reached their scale by operationalizing and injecting processes. Over time, the processes become more and more complex and bureaucracy has taken shape—complete with hierarchy, gated approval, and less choices for those executing the work. It can feel cumbersome after a while, but there are several ways incumbent brands can resurrect autonomy and challenger brands can maintain it.
1. Enabling and rewarding risk takers
Some incumbent brands are notoriously bad at recognizing and rewarding people for doing risky things. However, a healthy organization – either incumbent or challenger – will accept its responsibility to empower risk takers with autonomy. This makes room for innovation while ensuring the fear of stagnation doesn’t push the trailblazing types to go out on their own or leave for an organization where they can actually test all their ideas. A company looking to improve its momentum should seek those who are restless and want to move forward, give them a stage on which to take risks, and reward them regardless of if their idea succeeds or fails.
One incumbent brand who does this extremely well is Google. Google’s company culture exemplifies the value of organization-wide risk-taking, rewarding employees who develop innovative solutions to problems and poke holes in existing systems. The company embraces failure as a learning opportunity and rewards it. Google Wave, an online platform launched in 2010 and shut down within a year exemplifies this because its creators were rewarded for their effort.This approach of rewarding calculated risks fosters an environment where employees feel empowered to pursue bold ideas and optimize efficiency.
2. Flexible work models
Flexible work arrangements like remote and hybrid options can meet employees’ preferences and enhance work-life blending. Companies in the restaurant and hospitality industries have had flexible models for years, but now we are seeing more options for talent to define when, where and how they work in white collar and knowledge jobs. Employees can now optimize their work to what will support them the best by considering variables like when they like to take their meetings, where they’d like to work on what days, and if they’d like to take opportunities for cross-training.
3. Customized work schedules
Organizations can give employees opportunities to choose when they work. For example, let’s say a nurse wants to work six shifts per week, but the hospital where she works can only provide her with four. There are now work models that allow her to set a radius she’s willing to travel, and she can pick up those two remaining shifts at another hospital within 30 miles. Some of these tools are new within the past decade, and some organizations haven’t yet adopted them. Candidates often choose the organization providing the most scheduling autonomy. This can also look like easy tools and processes for swapping shifts with colleagues and scheduling more shifts when demand is high.
Communication is key to empowerment
Organizations should communicate constantly about how granting employees autonomy in their roles can lead to increased job satisfaction, creativity, and innovation. Employee Value Propositions (EVPs) should clearly lay out how someone can succeed at an organization, what they’ll get from working in the organization, and what is expected from them. If the organization expects autonomy or expects a certain level of independence, they should be outright about it. Painting this picture as soon as possible for candidates will weed out those who may not thrive in such an environment and those who may doubt the possibilities available through autonomy.
Common autonomy doubters are managers, executives, and company veterans. To overcome the misconception autonomy will be the end of productivity and quality, I recommend backing your suggestions with data. How do you know the organization would benefit from revisiting the degree of autonomy offered? What will you measure to ensure autonomy is working for the organization? Employees are usually quite happy to give their employers the data for how effective they have been with more autonomy.
Cohesion through autonomy
Autonomy creates a sense of control and ownership over one’s work. Positioned at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, autonomy transcends basic needs and is a part of fulfilling the highest need for self-actualization. Ultimately, autonomy supports a culture of trust and respect, leading to a more engaged and committed workforce.
