Influence of motivation practices on employee performance of commercial banks in Kenya: a case of National Bank of Kenya, Nairobi head office

Abstract

In today’s business environment, human resources provide the best resource that impact the performance of both employees and the organization. To achieve the set goals, organizations employ human resources best practices that are known to motivate not only employees but other stakeholders in the organization. The general objective of this research was to determine the influence of motivation practices on employee performance of commercial banks in Kenya with a focus of National Bank of Kenya, Head Office, Nairobi. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the influence of training practice on employee performance of National Bank of Kenya, to assess the influence of employee engagement practice on employee performance of National Bank of Kenya and to determine the influence of skills development practice on employee performance of National Bank of Kenya. The study is informed by Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory and Human capital theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population was all the 215 staff of National Bank in Head Office, Nairobi. Stratified random sampling was used to select respondents and the sample size was 143 respondents. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from respondents while secondary data was obtained from CMA, NSE, CBK, and annual financial reports of the National Bank of Kenya. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics which involved the use of percentage, mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation, and presented in form of tables and figures. Validity of the research instrument was tested using the researchers’ supervisor and industry experts while the reliability of the research instruments was tested using Cronbach Alpha formula where all variables had a coefficient above 0.7, thus were acceptable. The findings of this study were beneficial to policy makers, bank managers, researchers, scholars and academicians. Specifically the findings of the study found a practical and statistically significant positive relationship between motivation practices and employee performance. The findings of the study established that training resulted in employee satisfaction. In addition the findings of the study revealed that skills development and employee engagement has a great effect on employee performance. The study recommended that organizations should identify training needs before engaging in training programs to customize on training. Moreover, organizations should focus on adequate skill development by organizing clear recruitment measures, on job training, career days, workshops and conferences. The study recommended job rotations, innovations, job descriptions to enhance employee engagement and increase knowledge and experience of employees.