Cultivate confident employees

by Priscilla Hiu. Posted on July 26, 2012, Thursday

WHEN it comes to nurturing employees, confidence-building is an essential element that should be given great emphasis. How can the management of an organisation cultivate confident employees?

For a start, recognise employee contributions in the organisation. Let them know and make them feel that they are an important part of the organisation.

Acknowledge the efforts of employees and let them know that management is aware of their existence and appreciates their contributions.

Always praise employees when they have achieved any accomplishment, whether great or small.

Send a note of praise to them or praise them personally. Let their direct boss know of their achievements and good points. The self-esteem of employees will definitely be boosted when more people acknowledge their capabilities.

Use the employees as examples for others – either as great performing employees or for their effectiveness in carrying out certain tasks.

It would be good to do this in their presence as this will greatly build up their self- confidence. Give the employees relevant rewards. There is no point continuing to sing their praises when no appropriate reward is given. After a while, the employees will question the sincerity of management and they may even begin to doubt their abilities.

Reward employees according to their performance and give them the due promotion, increment or bonus they deserve.

This will give them the motivation to perform better and build up their self-confidence. Ask for employee opinions and advice on matters even when it is not related to their job.

Any employee will feel honoured when their viewpoints are valued, especially in areas that are outside their job scope.

It means that management feels that they have the potential to grow and are able to play a role in other areas besides carrying out their normal duties.

Assign greater tasks to the employees gradually so that they can acquire more experience and grow further.

When employees are able to grow and expand their skills, their self-confidence will increase and they will be more confident to take on more challenging tasks and roles. Whenever employees are ready to take on more responsibility, delegate relevant tasks to them.

Delegating tasks to employees allows them to learn new things and assume extra and greater responsibilities.

Employees will build up their skills as well as their confidence in the process. When delegating tasks to employees, it is important to assign larger projects progressively over time.

Whenever they are ready for a bigger task, allocate the relevant project to them. It is better not to assign them a task that is more than they can handle as this may crush their confidence if they fail to complete the task.

Delegation of duties should be done gradually and based on employee abilities.

Be careful not to allocate tasks that are below their capabilities as this would not provide them the opportunity to utilise their skills and might end up discouraging them from putting in their best efforts.Building up self-confidence of employees is not a simple task that can be accomplished within a day.

It is a gradual process that requires great commitment from the organisation. However, at the end, the organisation will benefit greatly from the process.

Priscilla Hiu is a career guidance consultant of Gracia Management and a certified behavioural consultant of DISC Personality Profiling System, Institution of Motivation Living, USA and Extended DISC Personality Profiling System, Extended DISC Northgate.

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