Giving autonomy requires that managers let go and trust their talented employees to manage and continuously improve their work -- without micromanagement.
The retail giant Nordstrom knows a lot about giving its employees space and empowering them to make decisions and manage their own work. In fact, managers credit their corporate culture for one of the highest retention rates in the retail industry. The primary rule, stated in Nordstrom’s employee handbook, is this: Use your good judgment at all times.
Because workers are empowered to make sure the customer is satisfied, Nordstrom customers typically experience remarkable service. The employee who ironed the new shirt a customer needed for a meeting and the one who gift-wrapped items a customer had bought at Macy’s are both examples of how Nordstrom employees provide great customer service. They have the space to manage their work in their own unique and creative ways.
All the research points to the fact that emerging workers (of any age) want flexibility in work schedules. So what are organizations doing in response to these wants? According to Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm, in 1990 about half of all employers studied offered some type of flexible scheduling. A decade later it was 74%.
Tasked with building a top-notch, diverse workforce, the Office of Personnel Management offers alternative work schedules as a way for federal agencies to increase productivity, lure talent away from the private sector and keep workers happy. With the program, agencies can scrap traditional eight-hour days and 40-hour weeks in favor of arrangements tailored to individual needs. (That's according to Federal Computer Week, March 2004, "Flextime: Not a Bad Stretch" by Megan Lisagor.) By striking a better balance on the personal/professional seesaw, workers are expected to achieve greater success on the job.
Job sharing, flextime, telecommuting, and designing one’s own work space are not accommodation or pampering. They are ways to meet your business goals. That means listening to what people want, going to bat for their needs, and ultimately giving them options and opportunities to do things differently. Truly listen to the unique requests your employees bring you. Make an honest attempt to win flexibility and improved work conditions for your people.
Space to play, have a good time, take breaks, celebrate successes, creatively attack problems -- all of this makes for a culture of engagement and retention. Your reward will be loyalty and commitment from your best people.
Some concepts and strategies are taken from Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay, Berrett-Koehler, 2005.
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