Managerial Skills and Employees’ engagement: Evidence from Deposit Money Banks in South-South, Nigeria

Abstract

Although research has shown that leveraging technological advancement has created a new identity which is critical to staying competitive in a highly digitalized work environment. This premise has focused mainly on operational performance and excludes the impact of managerial skills in enhancing employee engagement in a digitalized workplace. The challenge of utilizing technology in consonance with managerial skill has led to the transformation and efficient operations of modern banking operations in an emerging economy. Hence, this study examines the effect of managerial skills on employees’ engagement in a digitalized work environment. The study uses cross sectional survey questionnaires and a quantitative research approach to investigate how managerial skills influence employee’s engagement in deposit money banks in south-south Nigeria. A structured questionnaire on 5-point Likert scale was utilized in collecting data. The total population was 721 staff, and a sample of 257 was obtained through the application of Taro Yamane formula. Stata 13.0 statistical package was used to analyse the data, , multiple regression analysis, and correlational analysis were used for data analysis. The study findings revealed that supervisory communication, employee empowerment, job crafting and psychological meaningfulness have significant positive impact on employee’s engagement. This study therefore concludes that managerial skills impact employees engagement positively and the study recommends that digital transformation initiative in the banking sector be complemented by human centered managerial practices for sustainable performance.