Cultivating Confidence: How Leaders Can Empower Employees

Confidence is such an important part of a business's success. It’s critical for employee engagement, productivity, and good company culture. In this post, we’ll cover everything you've ever wanted to know about confidence - from tips on how you could boost confidence among your employees and the benefits it has on businesses to how employee confidence looks like within the region based on our latest employee engagement surveys.

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Employee confidence based on Engagesoft’s data

Based on the survey’s Engagesoft has conducted across both KSA and Egypt, it’s been proven that employee engagement is largely affected by confidence. There are 4 main drivers that directly affect employee confidence and we looked at their scores across both KSA and Egypt:

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1)     Sense of accomplishment

-        Egypt = 8.83

-        Saudi Arabia = 9.1

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2) Employee's sense of self competence

-        Egypt = 8.38

-        Saudi Arabia = 9.0

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3) Employees sense of contribution

-        Egypt = 8.38

-        Saudi Arabia = 8.3

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4) Sharing of opinions

-        Egypt = 8.01

-        Saudi Arabia = 8.2

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As seen above, the scores across all 4 drivers are very high for both countries which indicates that employee confidence levels are generally high throughout the Kingdom and Egypt. It’s worth noting that Saudi Arabia’s scores are slightly higher than those recorded in Egypt which provides room for Egypt’s organizations and HR Professionals to focus on improving confidence among their employees wherever needed.

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Benefits of a confident workforce

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Having a confident workforce simply means that as an HR professional, your work is made easier and you’re reaping the benefits. A confident employee is happy in their role and the progression path they’re on, they can speak confidently to team members and stakeholders, they’re happy with the work they’re putting out into the world, and they tend to be high performers and capable problem solvers. Simply put, a confident employee is more likely to be engaged than intimidated by the challenges their work presents and they're willing to step outside their comfort zones.

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Strategies for boosting employee confidence and morale

Businesses focused on building and sustaining employee confidence enjoy higher rates of retention. Employees are more confident when they feel valued by the company and its leadership. Help your employees feel more confident, empowered, and valued by implementing these morale-boosting strategies:

• Build on employee accomplishments. When reviewing the success of a project or acknowledging an accomplished goal, take time to discuss employee roles and their professional goals. Recognize their ability to achieve by supporting them as they pursue the next step.

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• Give positive feedback and reinforcement. People aren’t always aware of their strengths; notice and mention positive qualities, such as good communication skills, timeliness, attention to detail, and planning ahead. Positive feedback motivates employees and inspires more engagement. Employees feel more confident, productive, and self-aware when feedback is focused on their strengths.

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• Offer support and clear expectations. Provide the tools and training necessary for your employees to succeed in any task or project, and follow up to make sure any additional needs are met.

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• Respond to mistakes with encouragement. Mistakes are an inevitable part of learning. Recognize problems when they occur, give employees the means and information they need to move forward, and offer assistance if they request it.

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Takeaways

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Building employee confidence isn’t something you do once and then forget about. Instead, it’s something that needs to be done on a continual basis in order for it to be effective. You have to think of building and maintaining a culture of employee empowerment and confidence as a long-term project — one worth the time and effort it takes to engage every employee.

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 You can start by taking the time to learn how each individual employee feels about their job and their skills, as well as what they would like to see change or improve within their working environment. A platform like Engagesoft can help organizations like yours better understand your workforce and their needs in order to put a plan of action together and improve overall engagement rates.

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Interested in learning more? Click here for a demo!