Empowering bank employees for improved job performance: An evaluation of emerging strategies

Orientation: Employee empowerment has received widespread attention in both academic and business literature. The idea is that an empowered employee is a productive worker; a productive worker is, in turn, a competitive asset to the organisation. However, the banking industry in many developing nations still falls short in employee empowerment. Research purpose: This study aims to analyse the robust strategies for empowering bank workers and their effects on job performance. Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the fact that extant studies seem inconsistent in identifying the precise empowerment strategies capable of igniting better work performance in the banking industry. Research approach/design and method: The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design targeting 316 middle-level bank managers in the five biggest banks in Nigeria. Data were collected using the structured questionnaire and processed using the structural equation modelling in SmartPLS software. Main findings: Results showed that employee empowerment variables (employee input acknowledgment, mutual decision-making, joint resolution implementation, and sense of belonging climate) were positively related to improved job performance. Practical/managerial implications: The study has shown that improved employee performance can be achieved when the adopted empowerment strategy is a mix of employee input acknowledgment, mutual decision-making, joint resolution implementation, and a sense of belonging climate. Contribution/value-add: The study has addressed the existing gaps in the banking sector employee empowerment by highlighting four new strategies.