Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking, “Today at work, I’m going to make some uninformed decisions that blindside my team and create chaotic unintended consequences for my unit!” Some days things just turn out that way. But having good employee engagement practices can help limit the time your team loses grappling with or grumbling over the consequences of poor decisions.
“Employee engagement means involving people in decision-making processes when the results of those decisions will affect them,” said Dawn Hecker, who leads MSU Human Resources’ organizational development team and consults with units on participatory management practices. “It also means understanding that the best ideas don’t always come from the top. When you take the time to seek input from others at all levels of the organization, you often are rewarded with creative and innovative ideas you might have otherwise missed.”
The top three reasons managers tend to shy away from frequently engaging employees in decision-making are:
1. It will take too much time!
It’s true that involving others in decision-making takes time. However, taking the extra time up front to get input is often much less painful than the results of implementing an uninformed decision or surprising people with a big change and expecting them to accept it with no opportunity for input.
2. I can’t lose control of important decisions!
Good employee engagement does not mean putting important decisions to a vote! Seeking employee input and taking advantage of the insights, skills and talents of everyone on the team leads to better decisions. But it’s okay for a manager to make it clear up front that they will be making the final decision on a particular issue after thoughtfully considering the ideas and feedback of others on the team.
3. I don’t want to offend people if I don’t use their ideas!
When people feel like their ideas and feedback go into a black hole and have no impact on the final decision, it can be discouraging – especially if it happens frequently. But most people can understand that you have to consider many factors and their ideas cannot always be used. Looping back with people who gave input to let them know what decision you made and the reasoning behind it is usually all it takes to help people understand that their feedback was valued and considered, even when the decision made is not to their liking.
“Seeking input and engaging employees from all levels in decision-making takes a little advance planning and extra time,” Hecker said. “But investing that time and effort can pay off big in the form of better decisions and an engaged and dedicated workforce.”