According to HR experts, it is best to involve people as much as possible in all aspects of work decisions and planning. This involvement increases ownership and commitment, contributes to foster an environment where people feel motivated and perform their best.

To involve employees effectively towards a decision, you are expected to tell and sell it, consult to get employees’ input, make them join and finally delegate them to complete the assigned tasks.
 

• Tell: in this initial phase of the empowerment process, the manager simply announces the decision to his/her staff and provides sufficient information for implementing this decision.
• Sell: the manager seeks to gain the highest commitment from his/her staff. By "selling" the positive aspects of the decision, you can make the employees fully committed.
• Consult: the manager invites employees to provide their input into a decision. The key to a successful consultation is to make employees see that their involvement and input are so valuable to the final decision.
• Join: the manager needs to build consensus around a decision. Empowerment will likely fail when the managers impose their own biased personal view or preconception.
• Delegate: to delegate successfullly, the manager always builds feedback process. The manager should also share with employees the anticipated outcome of the process.

One example of empowerment success is the case of Delta Airlines. This company has developed one of the most advanced and comprehensive empowerment programs in the country, ensuring that employees share in information, decision making, risks and rewards. One element is the Delta Board Council (DBC), made up of seven peer-selected employees representing the seven major employees divisions. These seven employees serve full-time for two years and provided employee input at the top executive and board of directors level on the entire range of business issues. The Board was actively involved in selecting Delta’s current CEO, Leo Mullin, for instance, and worked with top managers to make sure employees’ concerns and suggestions were addressed in a recent compensation review.