European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online) Vol.6, No.39, 2014 31 Impact of Employee Empowerment on Job Satisfaction in First Bank Nigeria PLC, Nigeria Hadiza Saidu Abubakar (Mrs.) Department Of Business Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, Kaduna State University, Kaduna hadizasaiduabubakar@rocketmail.com Abstract This paper examined the impact employee empowerment has on job satisfaction with specific reference to First Bank of Nigeria PLC. Employee empowerment is instrumental in achieving organizational performance because employees render the service. Investing in them is investing in the improvement of the services provided. The objective of this study is to determine the impact employee empowerment has on job satisfaction in First Bank of Nigeria PLC. The study also investigated the level of job satisfaction between male and female employees. The study covered nine branches out of the fifteen branches of First Bank in Kaduna State. This is because the nine branches are within Kaduna State metropolis and so, there was easy access. The sample size consisted of all the staff in the various branches with the exception of contract (in sourcing) staff. The study used primary and secondary data. Questionnaires were distributed to two hundred employees across the branches of First Bank and fifteen were not returned. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The study found out that employee empowerment has positive and significant impact on job satisfaction. It recommends that First Bank should continue to promote teamwork amongst employees so that every staff irrespective of gender would work towards a common vision of achieving the objectives of the Bank. A more enabling environment for the female employees should also be encouraged so that there will be a balance in enhancing productivity. Keywords: Employee, Empowerment, Job satisfaction, First Bank. INTRODUCTION The level of communication between employers and employees affect several areas of business including employee empowerment. Employee empowerment connotes participative management and employee involvement where managers share decision-making power with employees to enhance performance and work satisfaction. This implies that where employees are empowered, they impact positively on the organization. Empowered employees are more likely to remain with the organization even in adverse conditions so that the goal of the organization can be accomplished. There is a widely held view that if employees are not happy with their jobs customers will never be uppermost in their minds (Bates, Bates & Johnston, 2003). Employees, who are empowered, therefore, enhance customer service and relations which impact positively on the organization. Employees are the face and voice of the organization; it is, therefore, very important that employees are given necessary authority to make decisions regarding customer satisfaction. Employees need to be empowered to perform but they also need the support of good management, support systems, technology and information. With the autonomy and necessary support needed to perform, employees can go a long way to making a difference (Groonroos, 2001). Spice and Gilbert (1991) advise managers to give authority to workers in making decisions for maximum utilization of human capital. Dobbs (1993) stated that empowerment enhances the performance of workers and improves the work environment of workers. Encouraging employees improve the quality and interest of the workers on the job. This may also result to caring and respectful behavior from the employees to the customers. Employee empowerment leads to job satisfaction which results in better performance of employees and, consequently, enhances the quality of service provided. Service organizations have some common characteristics in the nature of their delivery. Their intangible, inseparable, inconsistent, and perishable nature makes it peculiar to deliver and challenging to organizations. The employees are in control of the service encounter and the organization is always considering ways on how best to serve customers either by traditional method or through the empowerment approach (Synder, 2003). Even though service organizations can use different approaches on how best to serve customers, banks that have similar offerings try to differentiate from the others and to be able to gain more market share. Considering that satisfied employees are of important value to organizations, it therefore becomes the duty of management to put in place a system that would ultimately generate their satisfaction since the employees have a major role to play in determining whether a customer would enjoy the experience or turn to their competitors for better solutions. Studies by Spice and Gilbert (1991), Dobbs (1993), Potochny (1998) have been conducted in the area of employee empowerment with different focus and approaches. However, how employee empowerment impacts on job satisfaction in First Bank Nigeria Plc requires investigation. The main objective of the paper is to assess the impact employee empowerment has on job satisfaction