Employers are having a hard time finding talented employees right now. Despite millions of open jobs following the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees are reluctant to return to work.

As an employer, that means now might be the time to rethink how you’re doing things.

You need your employees to be as productive and loyal as possible as you navigate an unusual labor market.

You want them to be strategic thinkers and problem-solvers.

When your employees think strategically, they’re going to be more innovative, and they’re always learning and working to improve themselves, which translates to better job performance. They can make empowered, data-driven decisions, and they take calculated risks that are more likely to benefit your entire company. Strategic thinkers are also more inclined to take constructive feedback and integrate it into the work they’re doing.

With that in mind, the following are ways you can help current and future employees be more strategic thinkers for the benefit of your business.

Automate Where You Can

If you were to automate, for example, your accounts payable department with a software solution, this is going to not only reduce things like human error but it’s going to give your employees the freedom to think more about problem-solving solutions.

When your employees are too bogged down with repetitive tasks that aren’t high value but are necessary, then they’re always doing the mundane. That’s preventing them from thinking on a higher level.

Many employers worry their employees will be resistant to automation, but that’s not the reality at all.

Your employees can do more with less and improve their productivity.

Do an audit of some of the most repetitive processes that could initially be most benefited by automation and start there.

Cultivate an Ownership Mentality

There are a lot of specific ways that you can get your employees to think like owners. First and foremost, give them authority and empower them to make decisions. Autonomy and decision-making power are so essential to create a mentality of ownership among all of your employees.

Put them in charge of something. Even something small that an employee gets to take ownership over will help them think like an owner in other areas.

You can also help employees take on thinking that’s more in line with being an owner by rewarding them financially. For example, when your employees, either individually or as a team, can succeed and help promote company growth, maybe you reward them with a cash bonus or some type of profit-sharing agreement.

Even if you can’t financially always reward your employees, recognition is another way to reward them that will help with that ownership mentality.

Let Employees Do Things Their Way

We touched on this a bit above, but there’s so much value in letting your employees decide on their own way to do certain things. It’s empowering for them, and they’re forced to be strategic as far as how they choose to approach tasks or projects.

If you have workflows that are too rigid or you micromanage too much, then your employees don’t feel like they have the opportunity to be strategic, and this is what guides your company culture.

You want your employees to be proactive in addressing things in the workplace, and again, letting them decide on the best path forward, as long as they meet whatever the outcome is can help with this.

Along the same lines you do need to be very specific in what outcomes you expect if you’re going to let employees decide on their own way to get there.

As you let employees make decisions, they don’t have other people to rely on to help them along the way, which allows them to develop a sense of confidence, and as was addressed above will also help create that ownership mentality that’s so important for strategic thinking.

Give Them Time to Think

Sometimes your employees can be so busy or feel like their time is so overly scheduled during the workday that they don’t have time to dedicate to strategic thinking.

Set aside blocks of time where your employees have the freedom to think things through and identify solutions, whether that’s in a group or individual setting.

You might have a specific problem you’d like them to solve in the short or long term.

Offer Mentorships

Mentoring is great for employees and employers. When you partner your high-performing employees with a senior-level employee, then they can improve those so-called soft skills, including leadership and strategic thinking.

If your employees are currently working remotely some or all of the time, mentorships are especially important to keep everyone connected to your culture and make sure you don’t forget about development opportunities for remote workers.

When your employees are paired with a mentor they can see first-hand what broad thinking can look like.

Be Transparent and Share Information

If you want your employees to be able to see the big picture and think more broadly, they need all of the available information.

This is where you, as a company leader, are especially relevant. You want to be transparent and share as much information with your employees as you can.

This will help them look at things in a larger way. Maybe you’re sharing your company’s plan for the future, or you’re sharing new insights you’ve just gotten based on data.

Whatever it is, your employees can’t think strategically and make problem-solving decisions without all the relevant information.

While a lot of helping your employees be more strategic in their thinking relies on giving them freedom, there should also be boundaries.

Let your employees know when it is time to come for you to ask a question or have a conversation. Let your employees know how you prefer to be informed if there is a problem that they can’t solve.

Give your employees a framework for what to do when they need help, and create an environment where they aren’t afraid to approach you when necessary.

Ulani Uriah

Umar Nisar was born and raised in the busy city of Abbottabad. As a journalist, Umar Nisar has contributed to many online publications including PAK Today and the Huffing Post. In regards to academics, Umar Nisar earned a degree in business from the Abbottabad UST, Havelian. Umar Nisar follows the money and covers all aspects of emerging tech here at The Hear Up.

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