Empower staff to deliver better services
Empower staff to deliver better services
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What does it mean to empower staff to deliver better services?
Empowering staff to deliver better services means providing teams with the tools, training, technology, and resources necessary for effective service delivery. It also means providing teams with the flexibility to experiment with new approaches.
Why is this important?
Empowering teams to solve problems and develop user-centric products is key to promoting innovation and agility in organizations. Teams who have leaders that trust them to solve problems, make decisions, and engage directly with clients are better equipped to deliver user-centric products and services.
How to do it
These are suggested steps on how to empower staff to deliver better services. Depending on where you’re at in your process, you might not need to follow every step.
Discover
- Assess your teams' current skills and knowledge. Leverage your team’s expertise by identifying their current skills, knowledge and abilities, and aligning them with the different tasks that need to be done to develop your product.
- Organize collaborative workshops. Organize sessions where team members collaborate and brainstorm ideas.
- Promote knowledge-sharing. Conduct information sharing sessions with stakeholders, partners, and vendors to break down silos and encourage collaboration and more effective relationships.
- Foster open communication. Encourage regular check-ins and create a safe space for team members to voice ideas, concerns and feedback. Team leads should listen and encourage dialogue.
- Establish decision-making boundaries. Define which decisions team members can make independently and document them to ensure that everyone is aligned.
Build
- Communicate your mission. When assigning tasks, give your team the full picture of where and how their work fits into the broader initiatives and outcomes of the organization.
- Delegate tasks. Once you have assessed the requirements, delegate important tasks and responsibilities, trusting your team members to deliver them without interference.
- Create an inclusive team environment. Foster an environment where your team is encouraged to share their knowledge and expertise. An inclusive environment will create a sense of ownership and engagement throughout the process.
- Provide access to resources. Provide your team with the resources they need to succeed, such as training, up-to-date tools and technologies or accommodations.
- Involve your team in decision-making. When making decisions on your product, involve your team in the discussions and have them weigh in. Their hands-on experience and insights are pertinent for making informed and practical decisions.
Test
- Create a feedback loop. Set up a communication channel where product testers, developers and designers can easily communicate their findings, test and iterate on solutions.
- Test your product collaboratively. Create testing teams that include members from various disciplines and expertise, including those who developed your product.
Monitor and iterate
- Gather feedback from your team. Collectively identify the challenges, needs, and opportunities for individual improvement using retrospectives to reflect and discuss what worked and what didn’t. Gathering feedback will help team members learn from each phase and improve their processes in the future.
- Give honest and constructive feedback. When giving feedback, be direct and honest, focusing on specific outcomes rather than personal attributes. Offer actionable suggestions for improvements and highlight strengths. Offer feedback in a supportive environment to promote growth and development.
- Foster continuous learning. Offer relevant training to promote continuous learning and improvement. For example, pursuing formal education, coaching, training, mentorship programs, job shadowing and other learning opportunities.
- Acknowledge successes. Consistently recognize and celebrate your teams’ successes, both big and small, to build morale and reinforce positive behaviour. This not only motivates the team but also encourages a culture of continuous improvement.
Resources
Tools and resources
Case studies
Talent
Skills to have on your team.
- UX (user experience) design researchers
- Product managers
- Experts in Agile methodologies
- Stakeholder engagement and collaboration
- Business intelligence and business analytics
GC policy instruments
Laws
Policies
Directives
GC Communities and Training
Help us improve
This work is iterative, and we will continue to improve on it based on your feedback.
Share your thoughts and suggestions by email: servicedigital-servicesnumerique@tbs-sct.gc.ca
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