John Tschohl Employees Quotations

Making empowered decisions means taking risks. Many employees fear being reprimanded, or even fired, for making what management might view as a bad decision.

Recognition is another important element of empowerment. Employees who make empowered decisions should be recognized and rewarded. Celebrate them. Feature them in the company publication. Give them a prime parking spot near the front door for a week. Throw a pizza party. By doing so, you are sending a message to the rest of the workforce that empowerment is important.

You can't tie employees' hands with cumbersome policies and procedures and expect them to provide exceptional service. It's also important to let employees know that it is OK to make a mistake in the process of working to win customer satisfaction.

They fear that, if employees are empowered to make decisions, their roles in the organization will be diminished or eliminated.

Too many employees want to blame someone else for mistakes. The customer doesn't care who made the mistake; he wants the employee standing in front of him to take care of it. You must own the problem. Apologize on behalf of your organization, and then take whatever steps are necessary to solve the problem.