CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background to the Study
This study is part of the ongoing contributions to the subject of alignment of HR practices with
organization missions and goals. Recent studies have confirmed that the survival of any organization
is hinged on its ability to fully realize the potential of its human capital. According to the study by
Shah and Bandi (2000) HR practices has to be focused on the core asset of human capital so as to
enhance the capabilities of organizations in the knowledge intensive IT enabled services in India.
Bontis (2006) empirically studied 38 software development organization of Egypt and found a
positive correlation between human capital and organization performance. Organizations are slowly
dawning to the realization that most people will only give their very best when they feel they are
being adequately rewarded and valued for their work.
Over the last ten years, the noise about scarcity of talent has reverberated until it has reached an all
time high; escalating into the now famous ‘talent war’ where people with valuable skills are being
traded in the talent open market(Simpson, 2009:8). Organizations are currentlyfaced with ‘extremely
pricey talent, less focus on people development and fewer people willing to give that extra to
win’(2009:9). According to Okeakialam(2011:4), the differentiating factor between a high
performance culture and ‘no’ performance culture is when people are enthusiastic about contributing
to the organization rather than giving minimal service out of merely doing a job.
Organizations , no matter how small, have some functions to perform. They exist because certain
objectives have to be achieved by them, and these organizations differ from place to place. However,
they have some factors that are common to them. The factors according to Robbins and DeCenzo
(1998) include people, objectives and structure. Therefore organizations are made up of people who
are individual members of the society. Individuals, with different perceptions, learning, experience
and attitude to their working world are a central factor of any organization. The success of any
organization largely depends on the effective management of people, their commitment and their
involvement with the organization. The management of any organization involves many activities
and the most essential ingredient of any organization is the ability to handle people
effectively(Okubanjo, 2001). It is obvious from this point of view that without people there cannot be
any organization and no meaningful activity could take place, for behind every action or document in
an organization, there are people.
People being referred to here are the individual members of the organization, who are very important
to an organization and necessary in any setting whether acting in isolation or as part of a group. In
response to expectations of the organization, or because of the external environment, people
significantly differ from one another. Each has unique perception, personality and experience from
life events. They have different ethnic backgrounds, different capabilities for learning and for
handling responsibilities; different attitudes, beliefs and aspiration levels(Okubanjo, 2001). Human
resources managers, therefore, need to be aware of various factors affecting individual behavior and
making them different from one another within the organization. The focus on the individual largely
differentiates employee engagement from other related constructs in organization behavior.
Employee engagement has been defined and operationalized in many ways and researchers agreed
that engagement can take different forms and that it is a complex construct(Meyer, Allen and Smith
1993; Mottaz 1998). According Saks (2006) practitioners and academics tend to agree that
consequences of employee engagement are positive. Moreover there is a general belief that there is a
connection between employee engagement and business results (Harter et al, 2002:272). It must be
noted, as earlier pointed out, that enagagement is “an individual level construct and if it does lead to
business results, it must first impact individual level outcomes”(Kular et al, 2008:11). This
consequently leads to the expectation that employee engagement is related to individuals’ attitudes,
intentions, and behaviours (2008:11) but then there is need to draw the line between employee
engagement and similar organizational behavior constructs.
Saks(2006) argues that organizational commitment differs from engagement in the sense that it refers
to a person’s attitude and attachment towards their organization, whilst an it could be argued that
engagement is not merely an attitude but it is the degree to which an individual is attentive to their
work and absorbed in the performance of their role in addition, while Organizationally Committed
Behaviour involves voluntary and informal behaviours that can help co-workers and organization, the
focus of engagement is one’s formal role performance rather than purely extra-role and voluntary
behavior. This view is also shared by Robbins et al (2004) by arguing that “… engagement contains
many of the elements of both commitment and OCB but is by no means a perfect match with either.
In addition, neither commitment nor OCB reflect sufficiently two aspects of engagement – its two
way nature and the extent to which engaged employees are expected to have an element of business
outcomes.
No doubts business leaders face certain workforce challenges which have great impact on business
bottom-line. The Key workforce challenges in achieving organizational goals are as follows
according to Kenny Ong(2011:3), former Vice President, CNI Holdings, Malaysia:
Right person, wrong job[5%]
Wrong person, right job[20%]
Wrong person, wrong job[1%]
Right person, right job but managed wrongly[74%]
The above is a pointer to the strategic importance of how people are managed on the job and it is no
longer news that employee engagement is one of themost powerful deciding factors either in
delivering excellent business results or in determining a company’s demise. According to the Gallup
organization (2010:4), ‘the world’s top-performing organizations understand that employee
engagement is a force that drives performance outcomes. In the best organizations, engagement is
more than a human resources initiative- it is a strategic foundation for the way they do business’.
This probably led Okeakialam(2011, p.5) to see a high performing organization as ‘one where
people can develop and contribute to their fullest potential, which indicates that performance is
directly tied to employee’.
The significant issues that have confronted businesses in the last two or three decades is the
increasing role of human capital as a key component of competitive advantage. Invariably other
issues like changing regulatory environment, corporate re-engineering, creative destructions in
especially the IT industry[to borrow Schumpeter’s popularized concept] and the ripple effects in the
new media and financial industries have more than any other secured the place of people as a
determinant of organizational performance. As a result of these, this study is concerned generally
with the role human capital play in business performance and particularly with the relationship
between employee engagement and business outcomes.
Research suggests that many companies are not succeeding and a huge percentage of ‘engine-room’
employees are disengaged(Haygroup,2001:8). Issues like Job burnout in contrast to vigour and
passion for a job within a typical organization has been increasing over the years(Bayram et al,2010).
Job burn out according to Maslach, Shaufelli and Leiter(2001) has three dimensions: exhaustion,
cynicism and inefficiency. These situations have increasingly led to companies seeing people as a
source of competitive advantage.
Accordingly if people are a key source of competitive advantage, their engagement and performance
levels can make any organizations’ strategy(Haygroup,2001:10). The study by Hay Group defined
engaged performance as ‘a result that is achieved by stimulating employees enthusiasm for their
work and directing it toward organizational success [and] this result can only be achieved when
employers offer an implicit contract to their employees that elicits specific positive behaviours
aligned with the organizational goals’(Haygroup,2001:5)
1.1 Statement of Problem
The Nigerian banking industry has witnessed a lot of turbulence in recent times. This, to much an
extent, was due to banking sector reforms which led to consolidation of banks during the 2004-2007
period and the recent banking reforms which started after the global financial crises of 2008-2009
and which led to the summary acquisition of troubled banks by the government through the Central
Bank of Nigeria in 2009. The reforms in the banking sector also led to the creation of special purpose
vehicle that will enable the government to intervene in the sector and thereby ensure the stability of
the financial system. The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) acquired ‘toxic
assets’ of banks and also managed the nursing back to financial health of the troubled institutions.
These reforms had largely resulted in the employment of downsizing, pay-cuts, staff rationalizing to
keep the financial institutions lean and mean. These measures had however resulted in the unintended
consequences of creating uncertain employment future, low morale and general unsatisfaction within
the sector. These consequences had started impacting on customer relations and business
performance. It must be noted that researches have been conducted to find the causes of the problems
in the Nigerian banking sector, no research work had tried to link employee engagement with
business outcomes as other factors are mostly advanced for the favourable and unfavourable business
outcomes. The high cost of doing business in Nigeria, the comatose level of social infrastructure
and the general uncertain politico-economic environment have been related to business outcomes in
Nigeria. For example the series of robbery events which targeted banks in many States in Nigeria
this year had led to summary and temporary closing down of affected branches and this now doubt
will have significant impact on business performance of the affected banks. To much focus on the
above challenges had obscured the role played by employee engagement in achieving business
outcomes.
Research done by Parasuraman and colleagues (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1988) serves as
the foundation for the framework linking service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intention of
customers. Frontline employees represent the organization and play a pivotal role in the employee-
customer interface. In other words service employees tend to the direct link between an
organizational’s goals and operational missions and the customers. However, while it is important to
gain the perspectives of customer on satisfaction levels of service delivered, it is equally essential to
essential to examine employees perceptions of organizational strategic practices to see how this
related to their levels of engagement which helps to promote service quality (Johnson, 2011:37).
Therefore since the tendency for most studies is to use the customers’ perspectives to gain insights
into level of service quality, the problem which this study set out to solve is firstly linking employee
engagement with service quality excellence. Secondly the study used employees’ perspectives to
know if engagement can be used as antecedents to service quality excellence in financial services
organizations.
1.2 Research Objectives
This study has the general objective of investigating the effect of employee engagement on business
outcomes in the Nigerian banking industry by using Access Bank Plc as case study. Importantly the
study aims at:
1. examining the state of employee engagement in the Nigerian Financial industry.
2. Identifying the role of human resource management practices and employee engagement
play as driver of service quality.
3. Contributing to the present scholarship on employee engagement and business performance
management.
4. Documenting and sharing knowledge of best practices as far as HR functions and policies are
concerned in Nigeria.
5. Understanding the effectiveness of employee engagement measures at bringing about desired
customer-service oriented attitudes.
1.3 Research Questions
The study provided answers to the following questions:
What is the relationship between employee engagement and service excellence?
To what extent does employee engagement constitute the antecedent of service quality
excellence?
1.4 Scope of the Study
The Study is strictly focused on identifying and measuring the variables of employee engagement
and examining their effects on service quality. The study is however limited to the activities of
Access Bank Nigeria Plc. in the financial years 2009 to 2010.
1.5 Significance of the Study
There are both theoretical and practical aspects regarding the significance of conducting a research
study of this nature. The outcomes of this research will improve the understanding of the relationship
between employee engagement and business outcomes in the Nigerian banking industry.
The theoretical significance of the study is demonstrated by the fact that it would contribute to the
existing knowledge and literature on people management and organizational development. Stemming
from this, evidence-based recommendations will be made so as to facilitate better strategies and
policies aimed at creating and sustaining high performing businesses. From the practical point of
view, this study will aid practitioners of strategic human resource management by contributing to
their knowledge on best practices in the linking human resource with the organization strategy.
1.6 Background /Business Context of Access Bank Plc
Access Bank Plc is a Nigeria-based bank, engaged in the provision of money market activities, retail
banking, granting of loans and advances, equipment leasing, corporate finance and foreign exchange
operations. The Bank operates four business segments: Institutional Banking, which provides
banking products and services to corporate organizations; Commercial Banking segment provides
commercial banking products and services to the middle and retail segments of the Nigerian market;
Investment Banking division offers financing and risk management solutions and advisory services
for the Bank’s corporate and institutional customers, and Retail Banking segment provides private
banking services, private customer current accounts, savings accounts deposits, investment savings
products, custody, credit and debit cards, and customer loans. The Bank has nine foreign and three
local subsidiaries include, among others, Access Bank (Gambia) Limited and Access Bank (Sierra
Leone) Limited.
The bank operates within the Nigerian financial system comprises several financial institutions,
instruments and operators. These institutions include the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal
Ministry of Finance (FMF) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which are the major
regulatory bodies. Others are the commercial banks, development banks such as the Federal
Mortgage Bank of Nigerian [FMBN], the Bank of Industry [BOI] among others. The banking
Ordinance of 1952 was the first legal instrument that shaped the operation of banking business in
Nigeria (Ekezie,1997). Prior to the ordiance, the era of 1892-1952 has been referred to the free-
banking era. According to Ekezie:
Since anybody could go into a banking business only by having a company registered as a limited liability company under the companies act. It was an era without any banking legislation. Many banks opened their doors to the public, collecting deposits during this period, only to close their doors, after a few years [some ,one year] of operations against their depositors. Thus, this era was defined as an era during which money was thrown down the drains, especially through the establishment of indigenous banks. (Ekezie, 1997:128)
The early 1990s witnessed reforms within the sector which led to gradual increase in the capital base
of commercial banks from One billion naira in 1991 to the present 25 billion capital base. In their
study, Inanga and Soyibo (1989) identified that the era of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) is
characterized by shift from regulation to deregulation and this resulted in the second banking boom
in the economy. As such the government assigned an increasing role to the market in the allocation
of resources. Consequently this period has been identified with an increasing number of new
commercial and merchant banks. According to Inang and Soyibo (1989), between 1986 and 1989, a
total of 40 new commercial and merchant banks opened doors for business. One of such banks is the
Access Bank Plc.
At Present, the Access Bank Plc operates in an increasingly regulatory environment as the global
financial crisis of 2008-2010 had demonstrated the need for increased regulation of the financial
markets and indeed putting place mechanisms that will enhance government intervention so as to
forestall a systemic collapse.
1.7 Need for the Study
There is a general for a study of this proportion so as to empirically link employee engagement with
service quality excellence in the financial services industry. Much of the studies on employee
engagement had been from HRM consulting practitioners, hence the need to contribute to scholarly
discourse on engagement.
There is particular need to examine the extent to organizational culture plays significant role in
creating wellbeing in the workplace and an engaged workforce.
1.8 Structure of the Dissertation
The first chapter introduced the study by providing the background to the study, statement of
problem, research objectives and questions, scope and significance of the study, need for the study.
The second chapter focused on the literature related to employee engagement in relation to the
intellectual development of the concept, its related constructs and the differences. The chapter also
examined the literature on service excellence and also hinged the study on the theoretical frameworks
of organizational culture and social exchange. The third chapter is concerned with materials and
methods. It included the introduction, research design, and population of the study, sampling and
sampling technique, research instruments, procedure for data collection and method of data analysis.
The fourth chapter analysed and interpreted the presented results of the study. It includes the general
description of the data, presentation of results and discussion of findings. The fifth chapter
summarized the findings of the study, inferred conclusion and provide recommendations based on
the findings
1.9 Researcher’s Role
The researcher is by no means connected to the Access Bank Plc as a staff or customer. The
researcher’s role in this study is limited to requesting from the Human Resource director the
permission to access the company’s files and records in terms of labour relations. However the
request was denied on the grounds of confidentiality. The researcher’s role in the study was largely
limited to data collection with research instrument and analysis of such.
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
Relevant literature materials of theoretical as well as empirical importance are reviewed in this
chapter. It must be noted that employee engagement has received significant attention of human
resource management scholars and practitioners but there is still need for a sustained query of its
fundamental assumptions in the light of new evidences.
2.1 Review of Related Literature
2.1.1 Background Conceptual Issues
According to Masson et al (2008), organizational researchers have long recognized that organizations
cannot function through purely contractual relationships with employees. In their opinion,
organizations require cooperation from employees rather than mere compliance. Strennel (1991)
tested propositions concerning the relationship between organizational commitment, job satisfaction
and perceived availability of alternative employment to intentions to leave or remain in child care
work. Results indicated that commitment, satisfaction with pay and promotion opportunities and
perceived job alternatives contributed significantly to variance in intention to leave. Surveys of 350
teacher trainees in Singapore’s training institution were used by Lam et al (1995) to examine
relationships among quality of life, career commitment and job satisfaction amd withdrawal
cognition. Career commitment and job satisfaction were important predictors of withdrawal
cognition and perceptions of the social status of teaching strongly related to commitment to and
satisfaction with teaching.
Fresko and Barbara (1997) investigated a model for predicting commitment to teaching as measured
by the extent to which Israeli teachers expressed an unwillingness to change careers. Surveys of
elementary and secondary teachers indicated that only job satisfaction directly predicted
commitment; other factors such as professional self-image, abilities, gender, job advancement and
pupil grade level indirectly predicted commitment.
Billingsley and Cross (1992) indicate that work-related variables, such as leadership support, role
conflict, role ambiguity and stress are better predictors of commitment and job satisfaction than are
demographic variables. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was used by Sutter (1996) to
survey 335 male and 81 female Ohio secondary assistant principals regarding predictors for job and
career satisfaction. Respondents who believed they were accomplishing much on their jobs, their
talents were being utilized and there were advancement opportunities, reported greater job
satisfaction and therefore feel engaged. Women reported higher satisfaction than men. Friedman and
Farber (1992) investigated the relationship between dimensions of teachers’ self concept and burnout
and between teachers’ perception of of how significant others viewed them and burnout. Results
indicated that teachers needed job satisfaction to avoid burnout. Teachers believed that others
complicated their job failing to understand the complexity and stresses in teaching.
Another determinant of employee engagement according to Schalkwyk, Du Toit, Bothma and
Rothman (2010) is leadership empowerment behaviours. By focusing on the effect of the two
aforementioned variables on employee engagement and intention to leave of employees working in a
petrochemical laboratory, the study found out that engaging individuals at work plays important role
in retaining them and also found out that there is no significant relationship between job insecurity
and employee engagement while there is significant relationship leadership empowerment and
engagement and low turnover intention.
Swaminathan and Rajasekaran (2010) posited that engagement is the combination of job satisfaction,
motivation and effectiveness in that order. Their views as related to job security seems to contrast
with , Du Toit, Bothma and Rothman (2010) above when they opined that the higher the job security,
the more the willingness to continue work. In other words, job security is direct function of continued
commitment. The study also has it that working hours schedule affect job satisfaction and the better
the welfare facilities, the better contribution per employee. It must however be noted linking working
hours schedule to job satisfaction is debatable and that the idea of better welfare facilities are part of
Hertzberg’s Hygeine (Hertzberg, 1959) factors which are dissatisfiers if not available but in way
leads to higher satisfaction. The same also applies to job security which according to Hertzberg is an
hygiene factor whose absence is a dissatisfier but presence not a satisfier. This is largely reinforced
by , Du Toit, Bothma and Rothman (2010) which demonstrated no significant relationship between
employee engagement and job insecurity.
Other than commitment level, there are variables that can affect job performances and thus
determines the level of employee engagement. These include availability of resources; time
management skills and controls over the evaluated outcomes are some of these variables (Mayer
and Allen 1997). It must however be noted that employee engagement as people management
strategy involves direct and appropriate mix of different variables with the objective of producing
favourable business outcomes. Along this line several scholars have paid attention to parts rather the
whole of the system that make up the engagement strategy. For instance Bennett and Durkin (2000)
focused on the impact environment on employee commitment and thus giving them more sense of
involvement and consequently better satisfaction levels at work. According to them these
characteristics are often able to depict variations in commitment among employee segments in
organizations. They found out that organizational change significantly influences employee
commitment to the organization, especially when the perceived values of the organization have
changed. Maintaining and fostering commitment among employees during a period of radical
change, according to some researchers, greatly contributes to speed and ease at which an
organizational transformation can occur.(Begley and Czajka 1993; Mowday 1982; Nijhof, de Jong
and Beukhof 1998). The question, however, is that what strategy or practices is to be deployed to
effect such commitment especially at a period of organizational transformations and turbulence as it
is happening nowadays. This question formed the basis of Sardar, Rehman, Yousuf and Ajaz (2011)
when investigation was carried out on the impact of HR practices on employee engagement in
banking sector of Pakistan. The authors found out that HR practices of decision making/coordination,
employee performance appraisals, performance reward systems, employee involvement, training and
career development all influence employee engagement.
Job satisfaction is part of employee engagement strategy which has the objective of alignining
satisfaction with optimum performance and thus favourable business outcomes. Angle and
Perry(1983) investiagated the effects of two forms of satisfaction: extrinsic and intrinsic on
organizational commitment. The study, which was carried out among 1099 bus operators discovered
that extrinsic satisfaction had a stronger effect on organizational commitment than intrinsic
satisfaction. Angle and Perry explained that extrinsic rewards are more likely to be under the control
of the organization. According to the norm of reciprocity, employees are prone to reciprocate in
situations where the organization has the choice whether to grant or withhold rewards
(Gouldner,1960). Following this rationale, it would seem likely that extrinsic rewards, the award of
which is at the discretion of the employer, constitute a dominant factor in influencing organizational
commitment. In their analysis of Kosovo central public organizations that are in the process of
privatization, Bytyqi and Reshani(2010) opined that job satisfaction and employee commitment is
not a onetime process but changes constantly, especially when the organization deals with high level
of employee work stress. According to them, work stress should not be taken for granted but
pragmatic measures should be employed to deal with it and avoid eventual negative effect on both
job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Organizations should help provide assistance
programs to help employees deal with work stress, by specifically helping them to live and deal with
uncertain situations which are out of their control. In addition, it is very important to enhance
employee empowerment and employee involvement by enabling them to have control over their
work and letting them have input about the decisions made affecting their work. This view is also
shared and supported by Lawler and Worley (2006) when according to them, for a high involvement
work practice to be effective, and for it to have a positive impact on employee engagement,
employee must be given power. They argued this will lead to having the ability to make decisions
that are important to their performance and to the quality of their working lives. They further contend
that that power can mean a relatively low level of influence as in providing input into decisions made
by others or it can mean having final authority and accountability for their decisions and their
outcomes. Involvement is maximized when the highest possible level of power is pushed down to the
employees that have to carry out the decision, resulting in gaining the maximum level of
encouragement possible for employees.
2.1.2 Employee Engagement: Conceptual Clarification
For one thing, the discussion above has shown that there is no consensus as to what constitute the
concepts of employee engagement and for another it had demonstrated its overlapping tendencies
into related concepts, for example organizational commitment behavior. According to Kular et
al(2008) , even though there is a great degree of interest in the subject, there is also a great deal of
confusion. This perhaps, led Masson et al (2008) to admit that there is need for common frameworks
for understanding what enagagement enatails(and what it does not) so as to ensure that studies of its
consequences and antecedents are comparable and complementary. In their words ‘to monitor and
manage levels of engagement in the workplace, however, practitioners would benefit from a better
developed measures of engagement and more complete understanding ’ (2008:7).
The earliest work on employee engagement was Kahn(1990). By addressing a theoretical framework
of personal engagement and disengagement, he defined engagement as a separate concept by using
research and thereby conceptualized that the domains of meaningfulness, safety, and availability
were important to understanding the development of engagement. According to him, “personal
engagement is the simultaneous employment and expression of a person’s preferred self in task
behaviors that promotes connection to work and to others, personal presence and active full role
performances (1990:700).
Maslach, Shanfeli and Leiter (2001) was the first major work on employee engagement after Kahn
and is the other of the two early contributory theories on employee engagement. The Study pioneered
reaching across academic boundaries for definitions of employee engagement and thereby
conceptualizing the concept as the “positive antithesis to burnout”(Shuck and Wollard,2010).
Employee engagement is defined as “ a persistent, positive, affective, motivational state of
fulfillment in employees that is characterized by high levels of activation and pleasure (2001: 417).
A further development in the employee engagement literature is the study by Harter, Schmidt and
Hayes (2002) which examined the concept from the business unit level between the employee
engagement satisfaction and business unit outcomes(profit). The study was one of the first to mention
a profit linkage to employee engagement (Yousef, 2008). According to the study, “employee
engagement refers to individual’s involvement and satisfaction with, as well as enthusiasm, for
work”(Harter et al, 2002:269).
In 2002, May, Gilson and Harter published an empirical research testing Kahn’s(1990)
conceptualization of employee engagement. The work did not explicitly define engagement but
reference was made to Kahn(1990) as saying that “in enagagement, people express themselves
physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performances (May et al, 2004: 12).
Saks(2006) had been described as the first explicit research to test the antecedents and consequences
to employee engagement in the academic literature (Yousef,2008). Prior to Saks (2006), practitioner
research was the only body of work connecting employee engagement drivers to employee
engagement consequences (Yousef, 2008:56). Saks defined employee engagement as “ a distinct and
unique construct that consists of cognitive, emotional and behavioural components that are associated
with individuals role performance” (Saks, 2006:37).
A further development in the body of work defining employee engagement is Macey and Schneider
(2008). Shuck and Wollard, (2010) referred to it as the first to conceptualize trait and behavioural
enagagement as separate but related constructs, presented in various organizational concepts that
mignt feed the development of employee engagement within organizations. The study defined trait
engagement as the inclination or orientation to experience the world from a particular vantage point
(2008:5). Psychological engagement is defined as state antecedents to behavioural engagement ,
encompassing the constructs of satisfaction, involvement, commitment and empowerment (2008: 5-
6). Behavioral engagement is defined in terms of discretionary effort (2008:7).
In the light of the different positions by studies examined above, it is however difficult to pin down
the concept of employee engagement to simple definition that will integrate every aspect of the
metrics that any study of such concept can successfully measure. For instance, Thiagarajan and
Remugadevi (2011) in their study identified what they called the nine factors that defines employee
engagement as follows:
Senior management has sincere interest in employee wellbeing.
Company provides challenging work.
Employees have appropriate decision-making authority
Company cares a great deal about customer satisfaction
Employees have excellent career opportunities
Company has a reputation as a good employer
Employees work well in teams
Employees have decision-making input
Senior management communicates clear vision for long-term success.
The difficulty presented by the different, overlapping and related definitions and explanations of
employee engagement makes this present study to adopt the definition advanced by Shuck and
Wollard,(2010). According to them, employee engagement is “an individual employee’s cognitive,
emotional, and behavioral state directed toward desired organizational outcomes.” (2010: 105). This
definition is appropriate because it encompasses three important areas that will form the basis of
metrics that can be used to measure impacts on business outcomes.
2.1.3 Employee Engagement and Environmental/ Situational Factors
Several Studies had examined the relationship between employee engagement and environment
factors. As mentioned earlier, hygiene factors are not the source of satisfaction but these issues must
be dealt with first to create an environment in which employee satisfaction and motivation and
consequently engagement is possible. The optimal work environment is one where the individual has
a chance to make a difference on the job, experience new skills, exercise discretion, receive feedback
on performance and thrive in an environment that is characterized by support, participation and
equitable treatment. (Ebby et al. 1999; Hackman and Oldman, 1975 and 1976; Thomas and Velthous,
1990). Research has also shown that attitudes held by an individual about the environment are
predictive of turnover behavior in that those who ultimately leave have less favourable attitudes than
those who stay (Porter, Steer, Mowday and Boulain, 1974). Organizations have a vested interest in
seeing that employees who stay do so because they are loyal to their institutions. One of the ways to
protect this interest is to provide a workplace that fosters employees’ affective commitment, which is
a veritable indicator of an engaged workforce. According to Okubanjo (2000), building such an
engaged workforce is no easy task as efforts can get gnarled in politics or sidetracked by changing
aspirations of top management.
For instance, patterns of employment, occupation and service in public organizations substantially
differ from those of private or semi-public systems. In most countries wages of public servants are
lower than those of private sector employees, promotion is slower and rewards are generally not
related to work outcomes (Rainey, 1991). On the other hand, public organizations usually offer a
stable work environment, higher job security and some even a challenge of serving a large and
heterogenous population. Hence, the possible unique effect of internal politics on public agencies and
public servants is still unclear and deserves more attention. Employees’ reactions to organizational
politics in the public sector were examined in two ways. Previous studies, for example Bozeman et
al. 1996, Cropanzano et al. 1997 predicted that organizational politics would be negatively related to
job satisfaction, organization commitment and employee engagement. Researchers have also
suggested that employee attitudes, including job satisfaction and intent to stay, are developed
through interactions with other people ( for example, supervisors) within the context of the work
environment (Salancik and Pfeifer, 1978; Naumann, 1993). This argument offer another explanation
for how loyalty to supervisor will influence employees’ job satisfaction and intent to stay. According
to the definition of loyalty to supervisor, if an employee is loyal to the supervisor, he or she will
share similar values with the supervisor and will psychologically be attached to the supervisor (Chen
et al. 1998). When interacting with this particular supervisor, the employee may feel the work
experience is more satisfying. Thus the employee may develop a positive attitude toward the job or
feel more satisfied with the job. On the other hand, should an employee should be loyal to the
supervisor, by definition; he/she will be willing to stay with the supervisor (Chen et al. 1998), who is
the agent of the organization. As a result, the loyal employee may have a tendency to remain with the
organization. Thus it can be said that leadership issues, a key environmental factor, constitute an
important feature of an effective engagement strategy.
In a study by Gustafson and Mumford (1995), personal style patterns and environmental constraints
and opportunities of the workgroup were identifies by 367 Navy personel and 114 supervisors.
Personal style predicted different job outcomes performance, satisfaction and withdrawal across the
organization and within groups. Recognition of personal style and environmental patterns could
enhance –environment fit.
Meir (1997) found that environmental congruence (fit between personality and environment) was
modestly related to job satisfaction. The magnitude of the effect of importance of belonging to a
group was considerably higher after several months. Jagger (1992) examined relationship between
congruence (fit between personality and occupational choice) and job satisfaction of successfully
rehabilitated vocational rehabilitation clients. He found significant positive correlation between job
satisfaction and congruence. Findings suggest that rehabilitation counselor education programmes
should provide counseling students with specific training in Holland’s person-environment
congruence model.
Lauver and Kristof-Brown (2001) found a low correlation between person-job fit and person-
occupation fit. Person-occupation fit better-predicted intention to quit, both types influenced job
satisfaction and results supported distinction between the two constructs.
Engagement is an emerging job attitude that has been theoretically linked to both leadership and
personality variables as well as important work outcomes. However, given the variations in construct
definitions of engagement as well as limited existing empirical research, Wefald, Reichard and
Serrano (2011) empirically examined the nomological network of multiple measures of engagement
based on Schaufeli’s three-factor engagement, Shirom’s vigor, and Britt’s one-factor engagement.
Using data from an online survey of 382 working professionals, the authors conducted a series of
hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. Results
indicate strong relationships between engagement measures and personality (especially positive
affect) and weaker relationships between engagement and leadership. Furthermore, multiple
measures of engagement demonstrated significant relationships with the important work outcomes of
turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and affective commitment. This research contributes to the
literature on engagement by simultaneously examining multiple conceptualizations and
measurements of work engagement and demonstrating leverage points for leaders to influence the
state-like construct of engagement. Results suggested that engagement is related to important
organizational outcomes and that engagement mediates the relationship between personality and
organizational outcomes.
2.1.3 Service Excellence
Businesses are waking up to the reality that after more than a decade of initiatives of managing
quality and very few success stories, the main conclusion that has surfaced is that people are the key
to both creating and sustaining quality. According to Peters and Austin (1994:98) irrespective of the
state of technology, quality comes from people. Therefore customers’ perception of service value are
increasingly recognized as central to an organizations continued success. According Kandampully
and Coupolon (…) customers focus has shifted from the product and service obtained to that of the
“result” achieved. Surprenant and Solomon, (1987) posits that service providers not only deliver and
create the service but are often seen as synonymous in the eyes of the customer.
Therefore in defining what constitutes ‘service’ Parasuraman et al has it that ‘the service product is
described as an abstract and illusions construct due to the three inherent features unique to services:
Intangibility, heterogeneity, and inseparability of production and consumption. (1985:72). Moreover
services are acknowledged as people intensive, rendering hitherto “heterogeneity” not only a unique
characteristic (Sasser, 1976) but one that affects quality variation in almost all service output.
In a study by Barsky and Labagh (1992), customers ranked employee attitude to be the most
important and influential attribute of services. This view is also supported by Crotts and Ford, (2008)
when it opined that the ultimate key to excellent service is the individual employee who delivers
service to customers.
Services are characterized by high degrees of person-to-person interaction. The strong relational
bond between the service personnel and the customers renders the firm able to anticipate customers’
unexpressed needs. This emotional bonds leads the customer to buy repeatedly or exclusively from
that service provider. Many services are designed to assist, serve, or fulfill customers’ personal needs
and it is in such situations that the customer commonly seeks to establish and maintain a relationship
with the service provider. The most important dimension in meeting customer’s expectations, the
human elements of assurance, responsiveness, and empathy are the most important in exceeding
customer expectations. (Parasuraman etal, 1991). Therefore exceptional services that leads to
customer delight require organizations to undertake a continous transformation of service, not in
terms of what is being offered but rather how it is being offered.
In relation to the above, Archie Hoschschild coined and popularized the phrase “emotional labour” in
1983 to describe the work service employees perform that goes beyond physical or mental duties.
Kruml and Geddes (2000) has the opinion that emotional labour rests heavily on demonstrative
behavior, for example making eye conact, delivering smiles and showing genuine concern for
customers’ needs. Johanson and Hoods (2008) proposed that successful strategies to be used in
identifying and developing the emotional element in service excellence are: recruitment and selection
strategies; training and support strategies; empowerment. In relation to this view, Crotts and Ford
(2008) cited above has it that underlying the concept of fit, congruence, consistency and alignment is
a belief that a firm whose internal policies, procedures and systems are in alignment with its external
contingencies will perform better than one in which these features are not aligned. They therefore
propose that management cannot make satisfied and committed employees unless policies and
systems are aligned with one’s mission and if what management says, writes or does is not aligned
with the mission, then the employees attitudes and behaviours are not likely to be aligned either.
Prabhu and Robson(2000) shared similar views when they commented that effective leadership via a
senior management commitment is one of the most crucial factors in the implementation of change
within an organization and without such a positive commitment, it is arguable that any strategy for
change is likely to fail.
On the whole, Khan and Matlay () opined that service excellence starts with caring for the employees
of an organization and it should not be referred to as ‘an approach’ or ‘programme’ but as a
continous journey to deliver high quality service. The question which the present study is confronting
is that if service excellence is noted as an important source of competitive advantage in the service
oriented industries, why has it being difficult to implement and achieve?
2.2 Theoretical Frameworks
Social Exchange Theory [SET]
This theory has its roots in the social psychology and sociological studies and it seeks to explain
social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. The theory posits
that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefits analysis and the
comparison of alternatives. The following are the basic concepts behind the theory:
1. Costs- They are the components of relationships that have negative value to a person such as
the effort put into a relationship and the negatives of a partner (Costs can be time, money,
effort )
2. Rewards- They are the elements of a relationship that have positive value and it can be sense
of acceptance, support and companionships, to mention but a few.
The theory argues that “people calculate the overall worth of a particular relationship by subtracting
its costs from the rewards it provides (Wikipedia, 2011). Therefore if worth is a positive number, it is
positive relationship while a negative number points towards a negative relationship. Accord to the
Wikipedia (2011), Social Exchange theory posits that the major force in interpersonal relationships is
the satisfaction of people’s self interest and “self interest is not considered necessarily bad and can be
used to enhance relationships.” (2011: para.4).
Laura(2008) observes that social exchanges and economic exchanges have some level of differences.
For instance social exchanges involve a connection with person and it has more to do with trust and
less to do with legal obligations; social exchanges are more flexible, and rarely involve explicit
bargaining (2008:18). Interpersonal exchanges are thought to be similar to economic exchanges
where people are satisfied when they receive a fair reward for their expenditures.
A major indicator of such fair rewards are benefits. Benefits are but not limited to things such as
material or financial gains, social status and emotional comforts. In general, costs consist of
expenditures of time, money or lost opportunities[opportunity costs]. As a rule, outcome is defined as
the difference between the benefits and the costs (Wikipedia, 201). The following are the basic
assumptions of the theory:
Individuals have different expectations concerning relationships and an individual’s
satisfaction with a relationship depends on more than just the outcome. For any two people
with the same outcomes, their level of satisfaction may differ based on their expectations:
one person may not expect very large outcomes, and therefore would be more easily satisfied
in relationships than someone who expects more. That is to say, there are people who stay in
unhappy relationships as well as those leave happy relationships, what determines whether an
individual stays in a relationship or leaves is the set of alternate relationships available. If
there are many alternatives available to an individual, then that individual is less dependent
on the relationship. The situations are formalized thus:
Satisfaction= Outcome –Comparison Level [EquationOne]
Dependence on a relationship= Outcomes – Comparison Level of Alternatives[Equation
Two]
Outcomes= Benefits – Costs [Equation Three]
Source: Wikipedia(2011) “Social Exchange Theory” www.wikipedia.org/Soical-exchange-
theory accessed and retrieved on 13th December 2011
Humans seek reward and avoid punishment (West, Turner and lynn, 2007)
Humans are rational beings
The standards that human use to evaluate costs and rewards vary over time and from person
to person.
Relationships are interdependent and relational life is a process.
Applications of SET in Human Resource Management Research
Wayne et al. (1997) used the perspectives of social exchange theory to examine the role of Perceived
Organizational Support [POS] between leaders and members. The evidence from the study suggests
that the relationship between leaders and members are positively related to organizational
citizenships behavior and organizational performance. In other words, employees who regard
advantages put forward by leaders as exchangeable, conditions to working well, thus contributing to
organizational outcomes.
Asselage and Eisenberger (2003) identified that in the development of exchange relationships
between employees and organizations, exchanging valued social and emotional resources is
important. The study further opined that the contributions from one party to another are valuable in
the exchange relations. Thirdly that procedural justice is regarded as an important antecedent of the
relationship between high-quality employees and an organization (Asselage and Eisenberger,
2003:75).
Schein’s Theory of Organization Culture
Organizational culture broadly refers to a relatively stable set of beliefs, values and behaviours
commonly held by a group (Lim, 1995). According to Schein (1992) culture is the most difficult
organizational attribute to change, outlasting organizational products, services, founders and
leadership and all other physical attribute of the organization. It is ‘ a pattern of shared basic
assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaption and internal
integration; that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore to be taught to new
members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems (Schein,
1992:12) The main reasons why cultures develop in organizations, according to Schein (1992:67) is
due to external adaptation and internal integration. Schein’s three cognitive levels of organizational
culture shall the model of the study. According to Schein (1992) the first level of organizational
culture model refers attributes that can be seen, felt and heard by the uninitiated observer collectively
known as “artifacts”. This include facilities, offices, furnishings, dress code of members, visible
awards, mode of interaction, slogans, mission, statements and creed. Artifacts comprise the physical
components of the organization relay meaning. The second level relates to the values or professed
culture of members. Information on both the first and the second and first level can be ferreted out
with the use of questionnaire and this leads to an understanding of employee attitudes.
The third level of organizational culture relates to the tacit assumptions. These are elements of
culture that are not seen and not cognitively identified in daily interactions of members. Those with
sufficient experience in the organization and who could understand this level of culture usually
become acclimatized to its attributes over time, thus reinforcing the invisibility. At this level, surveys
and casual interviews with members cannot draw out these attributes. A much more indepth means is
required to first identify and then understand organizational culture at this level.
2.3 Justification of the Study
The literature materials reviewed above and the theoretical framework had demonstrated the gap in
the scholarship. This gap is shown by the lack of firstly, adequate linkage between employee
engagement and service quality. In other words, employee engagement has been largely treated as an
end in itself even though most scholars and practitioners agree that business organizations will
benefit immensely from an engaged workforce. In addition the reviewed materials had demonstrated
the need for the present study in the sense that much work has been done on the linkage between
employees engagement and business outcomes in the Nigerian context. On the whole this study will
prove valuable by contributing firstly to the growing literature on employee engagement;
demonstrate whether it is a mere fad or an important workforce and business development strategy;
and finally provide insights from a Nigerian perspective.
CHAPTER THREE: MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.0 Introduction
This section presents the research design, population and sample used and the sampling procedure ,
instrument development and data collection method. Also to be contained in this section is the
method for data analysis.
3.1 Research Design
The study employed the descriptive research design of ex-post facto type. This is because the
variables being studied have already occurred . The task here is to see the extent to which the
independent variables of independent variables of employee engagement indicators affect and
influence the dependent variables of service quality excellence.
3.2 Population of the Study
The target population of this study consists of all employees of Access Bank Nigeria Plc.
3.3 Sampling techniques and Sample
1. Sampling frame
The sampling frame contains the basic details of all members of the population from which
samples are to be drawn[Omotoso,2009]. The sampling frame for this study is the employee
register of Access bank Plc.
2. Sampling Technique
The Sampling technique adopted for this study is the stratified and random sampling
technique. This is because of the study area, Access Bank Plc in Nigeria is structured along
100 branch network and hence the need for stratified sampling on branch basis and then
simple random sampling per branch. The participating Branches of the Access bank were
selected based on the criterion of the proximity of each branch to at least three other Banks’
branches within a 300 metres radius. Consequently, 12 respondents per branch, were
randomly selected from each branch’s employee register in a sequence of the third nominal
position after the previous. In all the sample consists of 120 respondents as the researcher
thought that this is appropriate for the study location of Lagos, being the commercial capital
of Nigeria.
3.4 Research Instrument
The survey research instrument used for this study was an adaptation of Nigeria’s Chartered Institute
of Personnel Management (CIPM) employee engagement measurement into a service oriented
structure. The CIPM measure fits into the HRM practices of Asset Bank and indeed the Nigerian
Financial services industry.
The design of the questionnaire included a first part that addressed the demographic issues, job
descriptions and branch location. The questionnaire consisted 32 items and was structured in Likert
Scale format so as to elicit the level to which respondents feel about a questionnaire item.
3.5 Validation and reliability of the instruments
The research instrument was validated by the assigned project supervisor from Middlesex University
Business School. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained through a pilot study made of 15
respondents. The pilot study revealed some internal validity problems and therefore necessitated the
need for a new design of the questionnaire.
3.6 Process and Participants
The participants in the research are made up of the permanent staff in the three departments of
banking Operations, Marketing and Office support of Access Bank Plc. The permanent staff are
those employees that works directly with the Bank, that is on payroll and have entitlement to other
benefits like housing, transport, health insurance, annual leave among others. The approval to
administer the question on the staff was gotten from the Group Head, Human Resource Management,
through the regional manager, Lagos 2.
3.7 Method of Data Analysis
The Statistical Package for the Social Science [SPSSVersion 15] was used to analyze the collected
data. The data was nominally code so as to facilitate input on the variable view. The analysis was
achieved with the use of descriptive statistics, particularly measures of central tendencies,
frequencies and simple percentages.
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS, DATA ANALYSIS
AND INTERPRETATION
4.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the results, data analysis and interpretation of results. The study set out to
examine how well employee engagement can be linked with and drive service quality excellence in
the Nigerian banking industry. The Data was collected on a branch by branch basis with the help of
two research assistants employed by the researcher. The researcher also got permission from the
Bank’s Director of Human resources to administer the questionnaire on the member of staff in the
selected branches. It must be noted, however, that the Bank did not permit the employees to use
work-time to answer the questionnaires but were encouraged to take the questions home so as to
provide the answers. Access Bank Branches were selected based on the criterion of their proximity to
at least three other Banks’ branches within a 300 meters radius. The reason for this criterion was to
situate the study within a competitive context. On the whole, twelve branches in Lagos satisfied this
criterion and ten employees per branch were sampled.
The Collected data was analyzed through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences’
[SPSS] Descriptive Statistics. The data was coded by the input of ordinal data.
4.1 Characteristics of the Respondents
The overall number male respondents is 49 and the female respondents, 71. In other words, about
41% of the respondents are male. The age range of the respondents is between 22 years and 46 years.
Of the total respondents, 23 responded YES to the question “do you supervise any-one?”. This
shows that 80% of the respondents have ‘non-supervisory role’ and therefore closer to the customers
because of their frontline role.
4.2 Presentation of Results and Interpretation of Findings
This section presents the results of the analyzed data. The researcher administered 120 questionnaires
and the study recorded a hundred percent rate of completion and return. This was made possible by
simplicity and understandability of the questions asked the relevance of the questions to the
respondent’s experience. Importantly the researcher gave adequate to the respondents to fill the
questionnaires and also followed up on them.
Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics Analysis of Result
Variables N-Valid N Missing Median ModeRelationship between work and corporate goal
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Intention and ability to build career in the Bank
120 0 3.0000 3.00
The bank values hard work and Commitment among employees
120 0 1.0000 1.00
It is in the interest of employees that the Bank remain a going concern
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Organizational Advocacy 120 0 1.0000 1.00level of balance btw organizational interest and Customer delight
120 0 3.0000 3.00
Empowerment to use discretion 120 0 3.0000 3.00Empowerment to use discretion 120 0 3.0000 3.00Grassroots ownership and contribution to business process
120 0 3.0000 3.00
Bank's employee welfare score 120 0 3.0000 3.00Level of Trust that the organization has on its employees
120 0 5.0000 5.00
Business Process Technology Adequacy 120 0 1.0000 1.00Customer Service Technology deployment level
120 0 2.0000 2.00
Technology Reliability as facilitator of efficiency
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Commitment towards Superior Customer Service
120 0 2.5000 3.00
Level of Employee Identification with Corporate Social Responsibilities
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Level of Employee involvment in CSR fomulation
120 0 2.0000 2.00
The Level of Value that Bank places on Grass-roots opinion
120 0 3.0000 3.00
Relationship btw Supervisors and junior colleagues
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Espirit De Corp 120 0 1.0000 1.00Physical Environment suitability 120 0 1.0000 1.00Opinion on fellow colleagues 120 0 2.0000 2.00Job-Ability Congruence 120 0 2.0000 2.00Professionl/Personal Development Encouragement level
120 0 2.0000 2.00
Personal Development Opportunities 120 0 3.0000 3.00Intention to leave 120 0 5.0000 5.00Labour Market Opportunities 120 0 5.0000 5.00Human Resource Stategy 120 0 1.0000 1.00Competitiveness of Reward and Pay 120 0 2.0000 2.00Recruitment 120 0 2.0000 2.00Adequacy of Training and Induction at Entry 120 0 2.0000 2.00Employee Voice and Grievance Resolution Mechanism
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Source: SPSS Analysis of Author’s field Survey, 2012
Question One: My work in this Bank is central to our customers’ financial well-being.
Table 4.2Relationship between work and corporate goal
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
85 70.8 70.8 70.8
Agree 24 20.0 20.0 90.8Neutral 1 .8 .8 91.7Disagree 10 8.3 8.3 100.0Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field Survey 2012
Figure 4.1
DisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree
Relationship between work and corporate goal
Interpretation of Findings: From the figure and tables above, it has been shown that most
respondents understand what is expected of them at the workplace and could connect their work with
the corporate bottom-line, which is the customers’ financial well-being. . According to Wrzesniewski
et al (1997) employees that can connect their work to a larger meaningful mission or purpose of the
overall organization are likely to have higher levels of interest. This is much better when such
interest is directed towards the customer.
Question 2: I see myself working in this Bank in the next 3 to fives years with expanded roles and
responsibilies.
Table 4.3 Intention and ability to build career in the Bank
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
35 29.2 29.2 29.2
Agree 20 16.7 16.7 45.8Neutral 55 45.8 45.8 91.7Disagree 10 8.3 8.3 100.0Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field Survey 2012
Figure 4.2
DisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree
Intention and ability to build career in the Bank
Interpretations of findings: Men and women do not come to work-places just to work as they also
come there to make and build a career. However and as shown by by Kutty (2008:633), in most
organizations, especially services, management’s biggest challenge is how to kindle enthusiasm and
get the silent – at the branch office, call-centre or field level- to bring life into what they do . Tables
4.3 and 4.4 above shows that when asked about intention to build a career in the Bank, most
respondents were neutral with only few disagreeing. This shows that the employees believe that there
are opportunities to build a career in the Bank and perceive that there are such opportunities in the
bank . A focus on achieving career outcomes is certainly far superior to just drifting as it lifts
employees out of the inertia and dullness that would envelope them other otherwise.
Question 3: The Bank values hardwork, goodwork and commitment and recognizes such when
found in any member of staff.
Table 4.4The bank values hard work and Commitment among employees
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
65 54.2 54.2 54.2
Agree 55 45.8 45.8 100.0Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field Survey 2012
Figure 4.3
AgreeStrongly Agree
The bank values hard work and Commitment among employees
Interpretation of Findings: Tables 4.6 and 4.7 above shows that at all the respondent agrees that the
bank values hardwork, good-work and commitment and also recoginizes such. This shows that the
Bank engage its employees by upholding procedural justice. According to Gaertner and Nollen
(1998) the successful organization is likely to be one that can manage employment practices and
perceptions of those practices by all groups of employees in a way that results in positive job related
outcomes.
Question 4: I understand that the failure of this Bank will affect me directly as our customers are
protected by the government laws and provisions.
Table 4.5 It is in the interest of employees that the Bank remain a going concern
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 72 60.0 60.0 60.0Agree 30 25.0 25.0 85.0Neutral 3 2.5 2.5 87.5Disagree 10 8.3 8.3 95.8Strongly Disagree
5 4.2 4.2 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Interpretation of Findings: The tables and above shows the level of understanding of the
responsibility of the employees to the Bank as an on-going concern. This is necessary as it influences
the employees decision and action while on the job. The figure above shows that employees strongly
agree to the view that they will be directly hit if the Bank should fail. Therefore this fact creates an
high motivation for the employee identify with the corporate mission and goal. This is the task
significance element of Hackman and Oldham (1975) three dimensions of meaningfulness of job.
Question 5: It is not unusual for Staff members [including me] to brag about the bank being the best
place to work and to do business.
Table 4. 6 Organizational Advocacy
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
90 75.0 75.0 75.0
Agree 7 5.8 5.8 80.8Neutral 23 19.2 19.2 100.0Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field Survey 2012
Interpretation of findings: The tables above show that employees of Access bank strongly agree
that the bank is the best place to work and do business and they are ready to let others know this fact.
Organizational advocacy is significant element of organizational citizenship behavior and it goes a
long way in driving up service quality. The tendency of organizational citizenship behavior has been
directly linked with higher levels of engagement among employees according to Dyne and Graham
(1994).
Question 6 and 8: “It is true that Customers are always right but I will be severely sanctioned if I
violate rules and established procedures if I help a customer fix a legitimate problem” and “Even if it
is to the ultimate benefit of the Bank, I will have no supervisor to back me up if I take a unilateral
position in relation to a customer’s needs or problems” :
Table 4.7level of balance btw organizational interest and Customer delight
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 8 6.7 6.7 6.7 Agree 2 1.7 1.7 8.3 Neutral 98 81.7 81.7 90.0 Disagree 3 2.5 2.5 92.5 Strongly
Disagree9 7.5 7.5 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Table 4.8 Empowerment to use discretion
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 4 3.3 3.3 3.3 Agree 16 13.3 13.3 16.7 Neutral 65 54.2 54.2 70.8 Disagree 20 16.7 16.7 87.5 Strongly
Disagree15 12.5 12.5 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey,2012
Interpretation of findings: The two questions above were posed to test the level of power that
employees enjoy to make decisions under uncertainty and also to balance organizational interest with
customer delight. It must be noted that this situation carries an element of risk and it depends on the
level of trust that the organization has in its workforce. The tables above shows that while employees
while employees largely disagreed that they will be severely sanctioned if they violate rules and
established procedures to help a customer fix a legitimate problem and also disagree that in case of
taking unilateral position in relationship to a customer’s need, they are however largely neutral in
both cases. These show that the Bank largely empowers its employees to use their discretion on good
judgment, while the employees are aware of this fact and would largely be guided by the situation on
ground. According to Conger and Kanungo (1988), employee empowerment would be able to give
employee a control over job related situation and decisions. Hartline et al(2000) submitted that with
this control, employees are able to be flexible and adaptive in the face of changing customer needs
and resulting in customer oriented behavior.
Question 7: No matter the uniqueness of the situation, the standard rules apply at all times when
dealing with customers.
Table 4.8 Decision-making under risk and uncertainty
Frequency PercentValid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 8 6.7 6.7 6.7 Agree 2 1.7 1.7 8.3 Neutral 72 60.0 60.0 68.3 Disagree 25 20.8 20.8 89.2 Strongly
Disagree13 10.8 10.8 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012Interpretation of Findings: This questionnaire item was included with the sole purpose of
reinforcing the response in question 6 and 7 as regards the degree of empowerment. The findings
from the table above still affirmed the tendency in the last two questions, which suggests that
employees either disagree or are largely neutral that the will not have organizational support if they
take unilateral position in a situation of a customer need. This perhaps suggests that the type of
customer’s needs will play a crucial role in this situation but they will have organizational support for
their position. Organizational support goes a long way in engaging employees and thereby increasing
service quality as employees are assured of support. Saks (2005) showed that perceived supervisor
support is antecedent of employee engagement and this can have significant impact customer service
quality.
Question 9 and 11: “No matter our individual and collective resolve, suggestions and opinion in this
branch office, the head-office always have its way at all times and going against the head-office is
highly risky” and “It does not matter if the customer is delayed infinitely but when I’m not certain
about a situation, even if no harm will be done, I must refer the issue to my superiors as I can’t use
my discretion at all”.
Table 4.8Grassroots ownership and contribution to business process
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 4 3.3 3.3 3.3 Agree 16 13.3 13.3 16.7 Neutral 65 54.2 54.2 70.8 Disagree 20 16.7 16.7 87.5 Strongly
Disagree15 12.5 12.5 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey 2012
Table 4.9Level of Trust that the organization has on its employees
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 2 1.7 1.7 1.7 Agree 8 6.7 6.7 8.3 Neutral 16 13.3 13.3 21.7 Disagree 9 7.5 7.5 29.2 Strongly
Disagree85 70.8 70.8 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012Interpretation of findings: Grass-roots ownership of business process initiatives is function of the
level of trust that employers have on employees. The tables above shows that most of the employee
were neutral when asked that “No matter our individual and collective resolve, suggestions and
opinion in this branch office, the head-office always have its way at all times and going against the
head-office is highly risky” but vociferously disagreed that “It does not matter if the customer is
delayed infinitely but when I’m not certain about a situation, even if no harm will be done, I must
refer the issue to my superiors as I can’t use my discretion at all”. The fact that respondents were
largely neutral to the first question shows that frontlline employees at the input into the overall
direction of the organization in some situations which is supported and encouraged by the head
office. This situation is called political will defined by Kutty (2008) as when people decide together
to do things by coming together on a platfoam. The fact this was encouraged is in line with the
principle of political authority which according to Kutty (2008) is the will of the authority to back
and implement the collective decision. The second question shows the level of individual
empowerment felt by employees and the fact that a majority strongly disagreed with the stated notion
shows the degree of empowerment enjoyed by the frontline staff. According to Lawler and
Worley(2006) for a high involvement work practices to be effective, and for it to have a positive
impact on employee engagement, employees must be given power as they argued that this will lead
to employees having the ability to make decisions that are important to their performance and to the
quality of the of their working lives, thus engaging them in their works. They further contend that
power can mean having final authority and accountability for decisions and their outcomes because
involvement is maximized when the highest level of power is pushed down to the employees that
have to carry out the decision, resulting in gaining maximum level of engagement possible from
employees.
Question 10: All that the Bank cares about is its profits and business position: Employees are just
mere tools to achieve this objective.
Table 4.9Bank's employee welfare score
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 4 3.3 3.3 3.3Agree 3 2.5 2.5 5.8
Neutral 69 57.5 57.5 63.3Disagree 26 21.7 21.7 85.0Strongly Disagree
18 15.0 15.0 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Strongly DisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree
Bank's employee welfare score
Fig.4.11
Interpretation of Findings: Employee welfare is a significant component of the exchange that
occurs within the employer-employee relationship. The Tables above shows that most employees see
the Bank in a favouable light by either disagreeing with the question posed or being neutral.It must
be noted that this is an issue that most employees will not endeavor to hide their feelings on.More on
this will be discussed under reward and pay.
Question 12, 13 and 14: “The Bank has enough technology to complement my efforts of serving the
customers” and “The customers are well motivated to use self-help technologies like ATM, Internet
banking , Call-centres” and “The internet connection, software and hardware have always been
reliable for my customer service operations”.
Table 4.11 Business Process Technology Adequacy
Frequency PercentValid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
78 65.0 65.0 65.0
Agree 42 35.0 35.0 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field SurveyTable 4.12 Customer Service Technology deployment level
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 38 31.7 31.7 31.7 Agree 45 37.5 37.5 69.2 Neutral 16 13.3 13.3 82.5 Disagree 9 7.5 7.5 90.0 Strongly
Disagree12 10.0 10.0 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source:Author’s Field Survey 2012 and SPSS OutputTable 4.13 Commitment towards Superior Customer Service
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 41 34.2 34.2 34.2Agree 19 15.8 15.8 50.0Neutral 42 35.0 35.0 85.0Disagree 8 6.7 6.7 91.7Strongly Disagree
10 8.3 8.3 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s field survey, 2012
Figure 4.12
Business Process Technology Adequacy2.502.001.501.000.50
Fre
qu
en
cy
80
60
40
20
0
Business Process Technology Adequacy
Mean =1.35Std. Dev. =0.479
N =120
Figure 4.13
Customer Service Technology deployment level6.005.004.003.002.001.000.00
Fre
qu
en
cy
50
40
30
20
10
0
Customer Service Technology deployment level
Mean =2.27Std. Dev. =1.262
N =120
Figure 4.14
Commitment towards Superior Customer Service6.005.004.003.002.001.000.00
Freq
uen
cy
50
40
30
20
10
0
Commitment towards Superior Customer Service
Mean =2.39Std. Dev. =1.252
N =120
Interpretation of Findings: The findings from the tables and figures above shows that most
employee agree that technology deployed to make their jobs easier is adequate, technology is well
deployed to make customers help themselves. Job performance is enhanced when delays are
eliminated from business process. Basic needs in the workplace start with clarity of expectation and
basic materials and equipment being provided. To some extent, when these needs are met, it reflects
the credibility of the organization to the employee. Bart (1998); Bart, Bontis and Taggar (2001)
submit that the degree to which an organization aligns its internal policies, structure and procedures
with its mission was positively associated with employee behavior which in turn had the most direct
relationship with financial performance.
Question 15: I can call or call on a customer at my cost without option of reimbursement if a
customer filled a request form wrongly or possibly might need a service.
Table 4.12 Commitment towards Superior Customer Service
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 41 34.2 34.2 34.2 Agree 19 15.8 15.8 50.0 Neutral 42 35.0 35.0 85.0 Disagree 8 6.7 6.7 91.7 Strongly
Disagree10 8.3 8.3 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Commitment towards Superior Customer Service6.005.004.003.002.001.000.00
Fre
qu
en
cy
50
40
30
20
10
0
Histogram
Mean =2.39Std. Dev. =1.252
N =120
Figure.4.15
Interpretation of Findings: This questionaire item set out measure the degree of extra effort that
employees are willing to take on behalf of the organization so as to influence the quality of service
delivered. The tables above shows that employees are highly willing to go extra mile to deliver a
superior customer service even if it will be at their cost. These finding tends to support the views o
entrepreneurial orientation as a consequence of employee engagement. According to Dess and
Lumpkin (2005) the five dimensions entrepreneurial orientation are innovativeness, proactivity, risk
taking, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy while at individual level includes personal
initiative ( Krauss, Fresse, Freidrich and Unger, 2005). The impact of entrepreneurial orientation is
that it affects positively the organization’s perception in the eyes of the customer. The entrepreneurial
orientation is however a function of intrinsic motivation which according to Deci and Ryan (2005)
as the desire to exert effort on a task in the absence of external constraints or contingencies.
According to Gayne and Deci (2005) , it is promoted by both work contexts and individual
differences that foster feelings of competence, autonomy and relatedness.
Question 16 and 17: “The bank had always carried out genuine CSR that I really love and which
keeps up with my beliefs and the aspirations of the external community” and “I have had opportunity
to suggest CSR initiatives and even if my suggestions have not been adopted, I believe that mine will
be adopted in future”.
Table 4.13Level of Employee Identification with Corporate Social Responsibilities
FrequencyPercent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 72 60.0 60.0 60.0 Agree 38 31.7 31.7 91.7 Neutral 6 5.0 5.0 96.7 Disagree 2 1.7 1.7 98.3 Strongly
Disagree2 1.7 1.7 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012Table 4.14 Level of Employee involvment in CSR fomulation
Frequency Percent Valid PercentCumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
23 19.2 19.2 19.2
Agree 74 61.7 61.7 80.8 Neutral 23 19.2 19.2 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source; Author’s Field Survey, 2012Figure 4.
Level of Employee Identification with Corporate Social Responsibilities
6.005.004.003.002.001.000.00
Fre
qu
en
cy
80
60
40
20
0
Level of Employee Identification with Corporate Social Responsibilities
Mean =1.53Std. Dev. =0.809
N =120
Figure 4.
Level of Employee involvment in CSR fomulation3.503.002.502.001.501.000.50
Freq
uen
cy
80
60
40
20
0
Level of Employee involvment in CSR fomulation
Mean =2.00Std. Dev. =0.622
N =120
Interpretation of findings: Corporate Social Responsibilities are an organization altruistic
initiatives in its relation with external community. Part of CSR success largely depends on the level
of identification with it by its internal customers, the employees. The tables above shows that not
only are employees knowledgeable about the Bank’s CSR initiatives but also take part in their
formulation. This fosters the two-way communication between the Bank and its employees thus
increasing their perception of being valued.
Question18: The Bank values our reports about customer needs and act on them at all times
The Level of Value that Bank places on Grass-roots opinion
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
35 29.2 29.2 29.2
Agree 20 16.7 16.7 45.8 Neutral 65 54.2 54.2 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012Interpretation of Findings: From the tables above, the results suggest that most employees believe
that the Bank values their reports and views on the customers and the situations affecting them. This
also creates a high level of involvement which had been found to be a key driver of employee
engagement. When this is achieved, it can have significant impact on service quality excellence.
Robinson (2006) suggests that there is considerable evidence that many employees are greatly under-
utilized in the work place through the lack of involvement in work-based decisions. Employee
involvement is seen as a central principle of ‘soft HRM’ where the emphasis is on capturing the
ideas of employees and securing their commitment (Beardwell and Claydon, 2006).
Questions 19 and 20: “Many times during the peak hours when customers are numerous, our
supervisors join us in the front to attend to customers” and “Even though we have superiors, the truth
is that everyone is treated with mutual respect as fellow team-members”.
Relationship between Supervisors and junior colleagues
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 75 62.5 62.5 62.5 Agree 24 20.0 20.0 82.5 Neutral 1 .8 .8 83.3
Disagree 20 16.7 16.7 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Espirit De Corp
Frequency PercentValid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 72 60.0 60.0 60.0 Agree 30 25.0 25.0 85.0 Neutral 3 2.5 2.5 87.5 Disagree 10 8.3 8.3 95.8 Strongly
Disagree5 4.2 4.2 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012Interpretation of findings: Supervisor’s support is as important as organizational support to
employees. The tables above shows that supervisors in Access bank are largely seen as supportive
and also treat other employees with mutual respect which is sine qua non of any team-work. Cufaude
(2004) argues that when managers employ a philosophy of ‘servant-leadership’ whereby a manager’s
primary role is supportive and serving those around them, the environment becomes highly engaged.
Question 21: The physical environment in my workplace is highly suitable for the job I’m doing.
Physical Environment suitability
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 72 60.0 60.0 60.0Agree 36 30.0 30.0 90.0Neutral 3 2.5 2.5 92.5Disagree 5 4.2 4.2 96.7Strongly Disagree
4 3.3 3.3 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Interpretations of Findings: Physical environment of the workplace can be seen as a hygiene factor
which does not motivate high performance but absence of which may lead to de-motivation.
Question 22: My Colleagues are highly efficient.
Opinion on fellow colleagues
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 35 29.2 29.2 29.2Agree 72 60.0 60.0 89.2Neutral 4 3.3 3.3 92.5Disagree 4 3.3 3.3 95.8Strongly Disagree
5 4.2 4.2 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Interpretation of Findings: The tables above shows that Access bank employees thinks highly of
their fellow colleagues as being highly efficient. The relationship between employees and their
opinion of co-workers goes a long way in determining the level of job –turnover in an organization
which is key driver of employee engagement. In their study, Walter and Buch (2008) has it that
positive group affective similarity and within group relationship quality are reciprocally related in the
form of a self reinforcing spiral which is driven by mechanism of affective sharing and affective
similarity –attraction between group members. This positive group effect spiral is proposed to
strengthen both the similarity of group members’ positive effect and the quality of their interpersonal
relationship (2008:12).
Question 23: I get the opportunity to do what I do best everyday at work.
Job-Ability Congruence
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 36 30.0 30.0 30.0Agree 71 59.2 59.2 89.2Neutral 3 2.5 2.5 91.7Disagree 5 4.2 4.2 95.8Strongly Disagree
5 4.2 4.2 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Figure 4.
Strongly DisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree
Job-Ability Congruence
Interpretation of findings: The person-environment fit addresses the question of whether the
individual employee have an opportunity to do what they do best in their current roles(Harter,
Schmidt and Keyes, 2002:7). This is key driver of employee engagement which will in turn have
significant impact on service quality as employees have the chance to do what fits their talents,
qualifications and interest. The tables above shows that employees in Access bank largely agrees that
they have the opportunity to do what they do best at work.
Question 24: There is someone at work who encourages my development.
Professionl/Personal Development Encouragement level
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 38 31.7 31.7 31.7Agree 69 57.5 57.5 89.2Neutral 5 4.2 4.2 93.3Disagree 3 2.5 2.5 95.8Strongly Disagree
5 4.2 4.2 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Interpretation of findings: The tables above shows that majority of the employees agree that there
is somenone at work that encourages there growth and and development at workplace. More insight
to this shall be gotten from the next question.
Question 25: I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow in the last one year.
Personal Development Opportunities
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 17 14.2 14.2 14.2Agree 21 17.5 17.5 31.7Neutral 54 45.0 45.0 76.7Disagree 13 10.8 10.8 87.5Strongly Disagree
15 12.5 12.5 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Interpretation of Findings: To the question of having had opportunities at work to learn and grow
in the last one year, more than half of the respondents agree while sizable few remain neutral. This
question is a follow-up to the previous one and it is know if the Bank encourages employees’
personal growth and development. Acccording to Harter Schmidt and Keyes (2002), creation of an
environment in which employees have opportunities to discuss progress and growth leads to positive
emotions that can build intellectual resources at work. According to Deci and Ryan (1987), when
management is supportive of an employee’s self-determination, the trust between the two parties is
enhanced.
Question 26 and 27: “I intend to quit this company in the next six months if the opportunity
appears” and “If I quit this job today, it will be difficult to get another related job with same level of
pay”.
Intention to leave
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 2 1.7 1.7 1.7Agree 8 6.7 6.7 8.3Neutral 26 21.7 21.7 30.0Disagree 1 .8 .8 30.8Strongly Disagree
83 69.2 69.2 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012Figure 4.
Intention to leave6.005.004.003.002.001.000.00
Freq
uen
cy
100
80
60
40
20
0
Intention to leave
Mean =4.29Std. Dev. =1.118
N =120
Figure 4.
Labour Market Opportunities6.005.004.003.002.001.000.00
Freq
uen
cy
80
60
40
20
0
Labour Market Opportunities
Mean =4.28Std. Dev. =1.124
N =120
Interpretation of Findings: The two questions are posed to determine if employees intends to stay
and make a career within the bank and at the same time now if such decision is based on choice or by
realities in the labour market as perceived by each respondent. The results of the fist question shows
that employees demonstrated a high degree of willingness to stay with the bank while the second
question shows that employees intends to stay out of choice and not because they will not find a job
that is at least on the same level with their present job at the bank. Perhaps the most veritable
indicator an engaged workforce is rate of intention to stay in relation to Labour market opportunities.
Therefore the fact that most respondents agreed largely to the fist question and largely disagreed to
the second shows there is high level of engagement among the employees. According to Hallberg
and Schaufeli, (2006) more engaged employees will display higher levels of affective commitment
and lower levels of intention to leave intention to leave the organization than their less engaged
colleagues. Christian and Slaughter (2006), also show a negative relationship between engagement
and turnover intentions.
Question 28: I get rotated between departments and roles regularly.
Human Resource Stategy
Frequency PercentValid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
90 75.0 75.0 75.0
Agree 7 5.8 5.8 80.8 Neutral 23 19.2 19.2 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Interpretation of findings: The tables above shows that most responds strongly agree that they are
rotated regularly between jobs and roles regularly. According to Sak (2006) job enrichment and role
fit are possible predictors of engagement.
Question 29: When compared to the industry standard I am well remunerated for my job.
Competitiveness of Reward and Pay
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 7 5.8 5.8 5.8Agree 90 75.0 75.0 80.8Neutral 17 14.2 14.2 95.0Disagree 2 1.7 1.7 96.7Strongly Disagree
4 3.3 3.3 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Interpretation of findings: Remuneration and pay item are posed as follow up on intention to leave.
The tables above show that most respondents agree that remuneration is well above industry standard
thus making the bank a great place to work.
Question 30: The recruitment process is independent, fair and based on genuine need and merit.
Recruitment
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 8 6.7 6.7 6.7Agree 89 74.2 74.2 80.8Neutral 18 15.0 15.0 95.8Disagree 2 1.7 1.7 97.5Strongly Disagree
3 2.5 2.5 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012
Interpretation of findings: The tables above show that a significant majority of the respondents
agree that the recruitment process is fair and based on merit. This is key indicator of organizational
distributive and procedural justice which according Saks (2006) is an antecedent of engagement and
for this study could also be an indirect predictor of service quality excellence. According to Niehoff
and Moorman (1993) distributive justice is the degree to which rewards are allocated in an equitable
manner and procedural justice refers to the degree to which those affected by allocation decisions
perceive them to have been made according to fair methods and guidelines
Question 31: I was well trained and inducted into the operation process when I joined the bank.
Adequacy of Training and Induction at Entry
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree 16 13.3 13.3 13.3Agree 81 67.5 67.5 80.8Neutral 18 15.0 15.0 95.8Disagree 2 1.7 1.7 97.5Strongly Disagree
3 2.5 2.5 100.0
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012Figure 4.
Strongly DisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree
Adequacy of Training and Induction at Entry
Interpretation of Findings: The tables above show that a significant majority of the respondents
agree that they were well trained and inducted into the operational process of the bank when they
joined it. Training and induction enhances the meaningfulness of the job and the role of the employee
in achieving the job’s specifics. This is also in line with Hackman and Oldham (1975) already cited,
which states that perceived meaningfulness of a job depends on the presence of three core job
dimensions- Skill variety, task identity and task significance.
Question 32: The grievance resolution structure is visible, accessible and fair to all employees and customers.
Employee Voice and Grievance Resolution Mechanism
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid Strongly Agree
90 75.0 75.0 75.0
Agree 23 19.2 19.2 94.2 Neutral 7 5.8 5.8 100.0 Total
120 100.0 100.0
Source: Author’s field survey, 2012
Employee Voice and Grievance Resolution Mechanism3.503.002.502.001.501.000.50
Freq
uen
cy
100
80
60
40
20
0
Histogram
Mean =1.31Std. Dev. =0.577
N =120
Figure 4.
Interpretation of Findings: The tables above shows that most respondents agree that there is
efficient and visible grievance reolution mechanism that is accessible to all employees and customer.
It must be noted that employees would not have agreed to this question if it is non existence or
ineffectual. This also underscores the concept of organizational justice discussed in the previous
question.
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
5.0 Introduction
In this chapter, the summary of the discussions in the previous chapter is provided as well as the
conclusion of the study , recommendations and suggestions for future studies.
5.1 Summary of the study
The aim of the study is to understand how and to what extent does employee engagement constitute
antecedents to service quality excellence in the Nigerian Banking Industry, with Access Bank Plc as
case study.
Chapter one introduced the topic of the research. The chapter stated the aims and the objectives of
the research, the need for study, significance of study, brief information about the study organisation
and its industry were all discussed.
Chapter two reviewed previous literature of some authors on employee engagement and service
excellence. The chapter discussed largely what constitutes employee engagement, its predictors and
set the study within the theoretical frameworks of the various job satisfaction theories and the Social
Exchange Theory. Job satisfaction can affect labour market behavior and influence work
productivity, work effort, employee absenteeism and staff turnover. Job satisfaction has been
discovered to be a strong predictor of overall individual well-being. The social exchange theory
posits that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefits analysis and the
comparison of alternatives.
Chapter three presented the research methods used in carrying out this research. The participants in
the research organisation were chosen randomly, and most of them were highly skilled employees.
Questionnaires were administered to 120 employees in order to have their views and also to get first
hand information. The statistical tool chosen to analyse the data collected was with the use of SPSS
(Statistical Package for Social Sciences).
Chapter four also presented in detail the data analysis and its interpretation. With the use of SPSS,
frequencies and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data collated in order to achieve the
aims and objectives of the research.
5.2 Summary of Findings
This section presents the key findings of the research which shows the level and the extent that
employee engagement act as antecedent to service quality excellence.
5.2.1 Discussion of Empirical Findings
The fact that more than 70% strongly agreed that they believe that their job is central to the
customer’s financial wellbeing shows a high degree of organizational service orientation. According
to Wrzesniewski et al (1997) employees that can connect their work to a larger meaningful mission
or purpose of the overall organization are likely to have higher levels of interest. This is much better
when such interest is directed towards the customer. In addition, the study had further extended the
concept of organizational service orientation, which had been linked to employees attitudes such as
organizational commitment (Lytle and Timmerman, 2006), job satisfaction and organizational
citizenship behavior (Gonzalez and Gerazo, 2006), as a sine qua non of a service organization. It
must however be noted that employees’ perception of the relationship of their roles with the customer
cannot be seen as a ‘stand-alone construct’. Hence it has to be examined in relationship with their
perception of the criticality of their roles within various aspects of the service delivery ladder. 85% of
the respondents agreed that the failure of the bank will affect them directly. Therefore this fact
creates an high motivation for the employee identify with the corporate mission and goal. This is the
task significance element of Hackman and Oldham (1975) three dimensions of meaningfulness of
job.
Only 8.3% disagreed to seeing themselves working in the bank in the next three to five years with
expanded roles and responsibilities while around 40% were neutral. It must be noted that Men and
women do not come to work-places just to work as they also come there to make and build a career.
This shows that the employees believe that there are opportunities to build a career in the Bank and
perceive that there are such opportunities in the bank . A focus on achieving career outcomes is
certainly far superior to just drifting as it lifts employees out of the inertia and dullness that would
envelope them other otherwise. The employees’ perception on career opportunities in the bank is best
placed alongside other variables. Question three states that “ the Bank values hardwork, goodwork
and commitment and recognizes such when found in any member of staff”. This shows that the Bank
engage its employees by upholding procedural justice. According to Gaertner and Nollen (1998) the
successful organization is likely to be one that can manage employment practices and perceptions of
those practices by all groups of employees in a way that results in positive job related outcomes. The
person-environment fit addresses the question of whether the individual employee have an
opportunity to do what they do best in their current roles(Harter, Schmidt and Keyes, 2002:7). This is
key driver of employee engagement which will in turn have significant impact on service quality as
employees have the chance to do what fits their talents, qualifications and interest. This variable is
measured by the questionnaire 23, “ I get the opportunity to do what I do best everyday at work”.
That 69.2 % of the respondents strongly disagreed and 21.7% remained neutral when asked if they
intend to quit the company in the next six months if the opportunity appears only tends to reinforce
the perception that employees have high intention to build a career and stay with the bank, and this is
not because they were constrained by the structure of the labour market. 69% also strongly disagreed
to the view that if they quit their jobs today, it will be difficult to get another related job with same
level of pay”.
75% of the respondents agreed that it is not unusual for the staff members to brag about the bank
being the best place to work and do business. Organizational advocacy is significant element of
organizational citizenship behavior and it goes a long way in driving up service quality. The
tendency of organizational citizenship behavior has been directly linked with higher levels of
engagement among employees according to Dyne and Graham (1994).
81.7% of the respondents are neutral when asked that is it true that customers are always right and
whether they will be sanctioned severely if they violate rules and established procedures so as to
cater for a customer’s legitimate request The question was posed to test the level of power that
employees enjoy to make decisions under uncertainty and also to balance organizational interest with
customer delight. It must be noted that this situation carries an element of risk and it depends on the
level of trust that the organization has in its workforce. This shows that the Bank largely empowers
its employees to use their discretion on good judgment, while the employees are aware of this fact
and would largely be guided by the situation on ground. According to Conger and Kanungo (1988),
employee empowerment would be able to give employee a control over job related situation and
decisions. Hartline et al(2000) submitted that with this control, employees are able to be flexible and
adaptive in the face of changing customer needs and resulting in customer oriented behavior.
60% of the respondents are neutral when asked whether if the standard rules apply, no matter the
uniqueness the situation. This perhaps suggests that the type of customer’s needs will play a crucial
role in this situation but they will have organizational support for their position. Organizational
support goes a long way in engaging employees and thereby increasing service quality as employees
are assured of support. Saks (2005) showed that perceived supervisor support is antecedent of
employee engagement and this can have significant impact customer service quality. Herkett etal
(1996:164) has it that service managers are cognizant of the fact that frontline workers and customers
need to be the center of the management’s concern.
54.2% of the respondents are neutral when asked “No matter our individual and collective resolve,
suggestions and opinion in this branch office, the head-office always have its way at all times and
going against the head-office is highly risky” . The fact that respondents were largely neutral to the
above question shows that frontlline employees at the input into the overall direction of the
organization in some situations which is supported and encouraged by the head office. This situation
is called political will defined by Kutty (2008) as when people decide together to do things by
coming together on a platfoam. The fact this was encouraged is in line with the principle of political
authority which according to Kutty (2008) is the will of the authority to back and implement the
collective decision. 70.8% of the respondents disagreed when asked It does not matter if the
customer is delayed infinitely but when I’m not certain about a situation, even if no harm will be
done, I must refer the issue to my superiors as I can’t use my discretion at all”. This shows the level
of individual empowerment felt by employees and the fact that a majority strongly disagreed with the
stated notion shows the degree of empowerment enjoyed by the frontline staff. According to Lawler
and Worley(2006) for a high involvement work practices to be effective, and for it to have a positive
impact on employee engagement, employees must be given power as they argued that this will lead
to employees having the ability to make decisions that are important to their performance and to the
quality of the of their working lives, thus engaging them in their works. They further contend that
power can mean having final authority and accountability for decisions and their outcomes because
involvement is maximized when the highest level of power is pushed down to the employees that
have to carry out the decision, resulting in gaining maximum level of engagement possible from
employees.
57.5% of the respondents are neutral when asked whether all the Bank cares about is its profits and
business position and employees are just mere tools to achieve this objective. Employee welfare is a
significant component of the exchange that occurs within the employer-employee relationship. 80%
of the respondents agreed that when compared to the industry standard they are well remunerated for
their jobs. 80% of the respondents also agreed that the bank’s recruitment process is independent,
fair and based on genuine need and merit. According to Johnson (2011:25), HRM practices have
been found to have a strong relationship with Employee Engagement and these practices pertain to
performance appraisal, benefits, reward, compensation, development and labour relations. Therefore
employees who perceive their organizations as having sound and satisfactory HRM practices may be
exchanging or paying back to their respective organizations by being positive, courteous and
hospitable toward customers (Tsaur and Lin, 2004). Salary level has also been revealed as being
significantly associated with organizational performance for both manager and non-managers (Fey,
Bjorkman and Pavlovskaya, 1988). Schneider etal (1985) had also found out that employee
perception of HRM practices were significantly related to customer perceptions of service quality.
This is demonstrated by the around 50% rate of the respondents that agreed and 35% neutral when
asked if they can call or call on a customer at their cost without option of reimbursement if a
customer filled a request form wrongly or possibly might need a service.
65% of the respondents agreed while 35% strongly agreed that the Bank has enough technology to
complement their efforts of serving the customers. 31.7% of the respondents strongly agreed, 37.5%
agreed and 13.3 % are neutral when asked if the customers are well motivated to use self-help
technologies like ATM, Internet banking , Call-centres . Around 50% of the respondents
agreed and 35% neutral when asked if the internet connection, software and hardware have always
been reliable for my customer service operations. Job performance is enhanced when delays are
eliminated from business process. Basic needs in the workplace start with clarity of expectation and
basic materials and equipment being provided. To some extent, when these needs are met, it reflects
the credibility of the organization to the employee. Bart (1998); Bart, Bontis and Taggar (2001)
submit that the degree to which an organization aligns its internal policies, structure and procedures
with its mission was positively associated with employee behavior which in turn had the most direct
relationship with financial performance.
More than 90% of the respondents agreed that if the bank had always carried out genuine CSR that
they really love and which keeps up with their beliefs and the aspirations of the external community.
Around 80% of the respondents agreed when asked if they have had opportunity to suggest CSR
initiatives and even if their suggestions have not been adopted ,will be adopted in future.
54.2 of the respondents are neutral while over 40% agreed when asked if the Bank values their
reports about customer needs and act on them at all times.
62.% of the respondents strongly agreed and 20% agreed that many times during the peak hours
when customers are numerous,their supervisors join them in the front to attend to customers. More
than 80 % of the respondents agreed that even though they have superiors, the truth is that everyone
is treated with mutual respect. This findings tends to support the view advocated in Church (1995)
that it is important that leaders create a service culture that will promote servce giving attitudes of
employees. Other studies have found that leadership behaviours of mangers are directly related to
service quality and performance at the unit level in organizations with attitudes of managers and
leaders shaping the service orientation of the organization( Berry, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, 1994). In a
study of study of airline service employees, it was found that employees’ satisfaction with leadership
and work demands were strongest predictor of service behavior.
More than 80% of the respondents thought that each of the fellow colleagues are highly efficient and
more than 80% of the respondents believed that they get the opportunity to do what they do best
everyday at work. The relationship between employees and their opinion of co-workers and the
suitability of the work physical environment goes a long way in determining the level of job –
turnover in an organization which is key driver of employee engagement. In their study, Walter and
Buch (2008) has it that positive group affective similarity and within group relationship quality are
reciprocally related in the form of a self reinforcing spiral which is driven by mechanism of affective
sharing and affective similarity –attraction between group members. This positive group effect spiral
is proposed to strengthen both the similarity of group members’ positive effect and the quality of
their interpersonal relationship (2008:12).
More than 80% of the respondents has the opinion that there is someone at work who encourages
their development. 45% are neutral while around 30% agreed that they have had opportunities at
work to learn and grow in the last one year. More than 70% of the respondents agreed that they
were well trained and inducted into the operation process when they joined the bank.Several studies,
for example Al-Emadi and Marquardt (2007), Bartlett (2001), Meyer and Smith (2000) and Hartline
and Jones (1996), have shown that there is significant relationship between various measures of
training and employee attitudes, especially higher level of employee service attitudes that been
strongly correlated with training. The importance of opportunities for such training is underscored by
Moorman and Felter (1990) by pointing out that influential situational characteristics to a great extent
reside at leadership levels.
Around 75% strongly agreed that the bank’s grievance resolution structure is visible, accessible and
fair to all employees and customers. Schneider and Bowen (1993) have shown that internal
organizational elements that are visible to employees spill over on the customers because of the
psychological and physical closeness that is encountered between both parties.
5.3 Conclusion
The above findings suggest that there is high level of employee engagement as shown by the low
intention to leave despite the fact that there is no constraint posed by the structure of the labour
market. In other words, the Access Banks employees demonstrated high intention to stay with the
bank because they have chosen to do so; because there are opportunities to make a career in the bank;
because the Human Resource Management Practices, a significant component of organizational
justice, is perceived to be fair and just by the employees; because the bank values the opinions of the
employees in relation to the business process and empowers them to make discretionary decisions
that will help the organization; because there are opportunities for personal development and learning
and the management also encourages such; and finally because through adequate training and
induction, the employees understand the mission of the Bank and the importance of their roles
towards achieving this mission.
Based on the above, the employees demonstrated engagement importantly by an high level of
commitment to superior customer service as most are ready to incur personal costs to help the
customers. This has shown that Access bank had managed to transform its employees into customers’
champions. Customer Champions are employees that are ready and motivated to serve the customer
and make his day [Kutty,2008:676). The customer champion organizations are peopled with
employees who have the eye for quality and that are ready and willing to go the extra-mile to satisfy
the customer. Therefore when employees are highly engaged in the financial services industry, the
customers are the top gainers as they are kept satisfied by the internal customers of the organization
who had in turn discovered that the only way to reward an organization to satisfies them both bodily
and spiritually is to repay by giving their best at their jobs.
From the foregoing it could be generally submitted that employee engagement tends to act as
antecedent to the achievement of service quality excellence in the Nigerian banking industry.
This study is a contribution to the extant studies on the drivers of service quality in the service
industry, especially the financial sector. According to Cronin and Taylor (1992), service quality, an
antecedent of customer satisfaction measures how well the level of service delivered is compatible
with the expectation of customers.
5.4 Theoretical Implications
The study had shown that, for employee engagement to be a successful driver of service quality
excellence, it had to be seeped within the organization culture and not as a one-off HR intervention
or program. This is demonstrated by the suggestion of grass-root ownership and contributions to
trivial issues like getting employee suggestions for CSR initiatives. Importantly the value placed by
the Bank on employee reports, the carte-blanche given to the branch office by the head office in
some issues all suggest an organizational culture of engagement. This had reinforced the theoretical
underpinnings of the study: Theories of Organization Culture and Social Exchange.
According to Bowen and Schneider (1988) and Gronroos (1990), the task of managing the
relationship between employees and customers requires a service oriented culture. In service
organizations, like banks, a strong and firmly rooted culture which develops an appreciation for good
services is very important. This is more so when it is realized that situations vary in that customers
behavior cannot be fully predetermined and standardized(Johnson, 2011:22). Therefore a service
oriented culture is needed to convey to employees how they should respond to new and unforeseen
circumstances. The study has shown that Access bank demonstrated a mastery of the service oriented
culture by equipping employees with discretionary powers as 60% of the respondents are neutral,
with a few disagreeing when asked whether if the standard rules apply, no matter the uniqueness the
situation. This perhaps suggests that the type of customer’s needs will play a crucial role in this
situation but they will have organizational support for their position.
The low intention to leave and the willingness to go extra-mile to satisfy the customer, perhaps
provides an insight into the employee side of the social exchange occurring between the employer
and employees. The research suggests that the employees are willing to make a career in the bank as
there are opportunities for such, understood there role in ensuring that the bank remains a going
concern and are ready to provide superior customer service. This is because the employees
understand that their jobs are crucial to customer’s financial wellbeing.
The major theoretical implication of this study is that it had extended the bilateral model of Social
Exchange Theory, that is employer-employee relations to a trilateral model of Employer-Employee-
Customer relations, with employees being at the centre and thus the critical path for the exchange of
values going on within the relationship portrayed.
5.5 Recommendations
Stephen R. Covey in his book, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness has it that people do
have and make choices, whether consciously or subconsciously. According to Covey(2004:22), their
choices can ascend incrementally from rebel or quit; engage in malicious obedient; willing
compliance; cheerful cooperation; heartfelt commitment; to the highest rung of creative excitement.
This study therefore recommends that:
In the time of global economic crises, it is the onus of the leadership of the financial services
organization to implement sound corporate governance because employees apart from
earning money desire the job security that will provide the opportunities to build career. If
unsound decisions by the corporate leadership lead to crises, experience has shown that it is
the hardworking frontline employees that become victim of downsizing or rightsizing. Hence
service organizations had to get it right from the beginning.
Stemming from above, the financial services organizations should understand that employees
are really the tangible product as they are the ones that translate the intended meanings of the
intangible services provided to the purchasing public. It is suggested that one-off HRM
programmes will not work as they will betray the temporariness of such interventions.
Therefore, what is needed is an organization culture of service orientation that is bent on
creating the much needed win-win scenarios at all times. The major problem that is being
witnessed in the Nigerian Insurance industry is that Insurance agents are not remunerated in
terms of basic salary at all, hence they lack the financial security to start-off in the business.
This had resulted into huge rate of agents turnover in that industry and the consequence is the
low market penetration by the insurance industries. In fact according to Okeke(2012) most
insurance companies in Nigeria depend and rely solely on government and institutional
patronage.
The greatest source of empowerment comes from adequate and consistent training and
mentorship programs. Financial service organizations should take training as the canon of the
business.
Finally it is necessary for financial services organizations should periodically carry out
organizational service climate surveys because as it has been noted several times, a hundred
years of business success does not determine the future success.
5.6 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for future research
All research studies have limitations and this study is by no means an exception. The study largely
suffers from limitation imposed by methodology. The use of survey research design is accompanied
by several limitations that may have influenced the direction of the study. The study relied solely on
self-report questionnaire data and single source informants (employees at branch offices). As a result,
common method variance could have created possible threat to internal validity. According to Gall,
Gall and Borg,(2007), common method variance applies when variable are assessed using the same
research method. In addition participants could have misinterpreted questions or deliberately
answered questions falsely. When this happens, there is a threat to internal validity. Moreover
differences in individual motivation an knowledge of respondents are also limitations that are
inherent in surveys (Schneider, etal, 1996).
Based on the above limitations, the study suggests that the research should be extended to other areas
of financial service industry with emphasis on the adoption of other methods of data collection like
interviews, direct observations and focus group discussions to address the issue of limitations
suffered by relying solely on surveys. This will, however, involve deployment of higher level of
financial resources which is another limitation suffered by the present study.
CHAPTER SIX: LEARNING REVIEW
6.0 Introduction
This section presents the researcher’s learning review which is a part of the dissertation process.
Limitations, findings, expectations, strengths, and skills developed are discussed with some other
identified issues.
6.1 Review
The research had been intellectually renewing and interesting. This is because there were initial false
starts but with the help of the project supervisor, the researcher was able to be guided in the right
direction. At the end what had largely been tentative came to be empirically tested. Employee
engagement, in the view of the researcher is not a new HRM fad but is a concept that is defining
winning organizations in the new knowledge economy. Organizations that have discovered this key
to success will always achieve business success.
The researcher was exposed to insights in the area HR practices, especially employee enagement
from a practical point of view and the study had largely shown that as far as the financial services
industry is concerned, where the product remains inseparable from the mode of delivery or
distribution, employee engagement is the sole determiner of service quality. Employees personalize
good or bad service and it lies in the management to kindle the flame of creative excitement in their
employees or go on with business as usual.
The dissertation initially started with the topic “the impact of employee engagement of business
outcomes in the Nigerian financial services industry-A case study of Access Bank”. However with
the help of the supervisor, the researcher was able to firstly clarify the “business outcome” part of the
topic as profits, credit ratings, customer perception/loyalty. This approach however created a
problem as the supervisor logically showed that it will be virtually impossible to interview or sample
the opinions of customers. Besides, the supervisor also pointed out that there are several intervening
variables between employee engagement and the business outcomes issues identified above.
Consequently the topic witnessed metamorphosis until the researcher found out from literature
reviews that there is gap in scholarship between employee engagement and service quality. In fact
employee engagement in most literature materials tend to be treated as an end on it self and in cases
where it is identified as a means to an end, the extant studies in a large part glossed over the issue.
Therefore the research had been enlightening as it had contributed, howbeit in little way, to existing
knowledge on employee engagement, where it is the antecedent to service quality excellence in the
services industry.
The researcher encountered some limitations while on the course of the study. For example the
Access Bank Plc Officials did not provide the opportunity for employees to answer the qustioaire
during work hours. This invariably increased the research cost as the researcher had to return at
different times to retrieve the completed questionnaire. In fact, the researcher had to return to the
same branch more than twice because an employee forgot to bring the completed questionnaire from
home.
The feedback on the research outcome has been sent by email to the Group Head, Human Resources
Management, who initially gave the permission for the questionnaires to be administered on the
employees.
Om the whole, the researcher had learnt critical reasoning, problem analysis and a high level report
writing skills. The researcher had also been exposed to dexterity in the use of search engines to get
needed journal materials for the study. In fact the study relied 100% on online journal materials.
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APPENDIX I
DEPARTMENT OF -----------------------------------------------------
FACULTY OF ----------------------------------------------------------
MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY------------------------------------------
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Fasiku Abidemi and I am a student of the above named institution. I am conducting a
research in partial fulfillment of the requirements of M.A Human Resource Management and I need
you to answer the following questions honestly and within your ability. The research is strictly for
academic purpose and all responses will be treated with utmost confidentiality and care.
Thank you.
PART A: RESPONDENTS’ BIO-DATA
Please fill the below. Information you supply here shall strictly be treated confidentially.
Age: ……………………………………………………………………..
Sex: ………………………………………………………………………
Job Title…………………………………………………………………
Department…………………………………………………………………...
Branch Location: ………………………………………………………….
Do you supervise anyone[answer YES or NO]…………………………….
Part B: I would like to get your opinion concerning your work in Access Bank Plc. This part deals extensively with your experience on the job as well as your general career objectives. You do not need to answer any question that you feel you do not want to answer. However what is needed
is simply your views and feelings concerning your job experience your job experience. Strict confidentiality of responses is assured. There are no right or wrong answers so please tick the answer you feel is appropriate. Thank you
S/No Questions SD D N A SA1 My work in this Bank is central to our customers’
financial wellbeing2 I see myself working in this bank in the next 3-5 years
with expanded roles and responsibilities3 The Bank values hardwork, good-work and
commitment and recognizes such when found in any staff member.
4 I understand that the failure of this Bank will affect me directly as our customers are protected by the government laws and provisions.
5 It is not unusual for Staff members [including me] to brag about the bank being the best place to work and to do business
6 It is true that ‘Customers are always right’ but I will be severely sanctioned if I violate rules and established procedures if I help a customer fix a legitimate problem
7 No matter the uniqueness of the situation, the standard rules applies at all times when dealing with customers.
8 Even if it is in ultimate benefit of the Bank, I will have no supervisor to back me up, if I take a unilateral position relating to a customer need
9 No matter our collective resolve, suggestions and opinion in this Branch office, the head-office always have its way at all time and going against the head-office directive is highly risky
10 All that the Bank cares about is its profits and business position. Employees are just mere tools to achieve this objective
11 It does not matter if the customer is delayed infinitely but when I’m not certain about a situation, even if no harm will done, I must refer the issue to my superiors as I can’t use my discretion at all
12 The Bank has enough technology to complement my effort of serving the customers
13 The customers are well motivated to use self-help technologies like ATM, Internet banking and Call-centres and only some of the issues are resolved in the Banking hall
14 The internet connection and the Software have always been reliable for my customer service operations
15 I can call or call on a customer at my cost without
option of reimbursement if a customer filled a request form wrongly or possibly might need a service,.
16 The Bank had always carried out genuine CSR that I really love and keeps up with my beliefs and the aspirations of the external community
17 I have had opportunity to suggest CSR initiatives and even if mine suggestions have not been adopted, I believe that mine can be adopted in future
18 The Bank values our reports about customer needs and act on them at all times
19 Many times during the peak hours when customers are numerous, our supervisors join us in the front to attend to customers
20 Even though we have superiors, the truth is that everyone is treated with mutual respect as fellow team members.
21 The physical environment in my workplace is highly suitable for the job I’m doing
22 My Colleagues are highly efficient 23 I get the opportunity to do what I do best everyday at
work24 There is someone at work who encourages my
development 25 I have had opportunities at work, learn and grow in
the last one year26 I intend to quit this company in the next six months if
the opportunity appears27 If I quit this job today, it will take me years to get
another related job with same level of pay28 I get rotated between departments and roles regularly 29 When compared to the industry standard I am well
remunerated for my job.30 The recruitment process is independent, fair and
based genuine need and merit31 I was well trained and inducted into the operation
process when I joined the bank32 The grievance voicing and resolution mechanism is
visible and accessible to all staff members and customers.