Frequently Asked Questions About Performance Management, Performance Appraisals, Employee Reviews, Appraisal Forms and More

Is Performance Management Related To Employee Empowerment?

Employee empowerment (or empowering employees) involves increasing both the authority levels and accountabilities for regular employees so they can make more day-to-day decisions without consulting management. Apart from the fact that employee empowerment can be effective in motivating employees, and creating more satisfying and meaningful jobs, its other benefit is that it means decisions can be made more quickly. This is particularly important in customer service type jobs. So, what about the question?

Performance management is linked to employee empowerment in two ways. First, through goal setting. The more an employee understands his or her job, and how the job contributes to the overall organization, the better they will be able to make decisions on their own -- informed and expert decisions. Employee empowerment requires this clarity, or the decision that get made will often be the wrong ones.

Second, empowerment implies accountability, along with the freedom to make decisions. The performance management process helps to create that accountability for results and the outcomes of decisions the employee makes through ongoing communication, and of course, the performance review process.