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Encouraging self initiative in the workplace can be a complex process as employees respond differently depending upon their past experiences. The key is undoubtedly to create a culture that rewards and supports staff who use their initiative to find solutions to everyday tasks or problems. This article seeks to examine a number of practical means to foster self initiative in the workplace that will directly benefit the organisation as a whole.
Rewards
Rewards can be a powerful way of fostering self initiative. If employees know that they will be compensated for using their initiative to resolve problems or find creative solutions then they will be more willing to work independently. Consider offering rewards and incentives each week to staff who demonstrate the positive use of self initiative. This could be accomplished through a weekly team meeting where employees can be recognised publicly.
Foster the right culture
Employees will only be encouraged to engage in using self initiative if they know that management are prepared to accept failure. Actions speak louder than words, so ensure that managers encourage staff to take acceptable risks to develop, but are willing to accept mistakes providing employees learn from these. Remember whilst mistakes may be costly in the short term the long term benefits of having a workforce who can work independently under their own initiative, is much more preferable as this will lead to high job satisfaction and increased productivity as a result.
Encourage the use of delegation
Delegation is a superb tool for encouraging the use of self initiative. There is always more than one means of finding a solution or carrying out a task and delegating to another employee may uncover a better way of accomplishing the task. This in turn can lead to the discovery of improved business processes and methods of working which directly benefit the organisation.
Open Plan environments
Open plan environment are great for encouraging self initiative as they provide a vibrant atmosphere and are a hot bed of activity. Staff can exchange ideas with colleagues working close by and multiple solutions can be considered and refined. Employees who know that they can instantly access the support of peers are more likely to take the initiative and try new ideas and concepts, in the knowledge that colleagues are ready to lend a hand.
Recruit the right staff
Self initiative requires risk takers. For this reason recruitment programmes need to effectively screen and select candidates with this key characteristic. Risk takers can come in different guises and are not always outgoing charismatic individuals. Indeed they can often be quiet people who have a complete confidence in their abilities. Try to avoid recruiting staff who like security above risk taking. |
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