Abstract
Employee empowerment catalyses employee motivation, and it is that context that this research evaluates the concept of employee empowerment as a catalyst for employee motivation at Company X. The study uses the qualitative research method with the effect that 40 sample participants constituting of 20 managers and 20 employees were interviewed. Findings indicated that the strategies which are used for improving the implementation of employee empowerment at Company X encompass training and development, delegation of duties to lower level employees, development of workgroups, integration of empowerment issues in human resource manual, coaching and mentoring, and employee involvement. All these have impacted positively on the improvement of the motivation of the employees of Company X. It was evident that apart from catalysing improved employee motivation, employee empowerment also influences improvement of job satisfaction, better quality of customer services and productivity. However, despite such a finding, the implementation of employee empowerment as a catalyst for employee motivation at Company X was still found to be constrained by fear of the disastrous effects of empowerment, lack of management commitment, poor skillfulness of the employees, lack of resources and high level of labour turnover. To ensure the successful implementation of employee empowerment as a catalyst for employee motivation, it is recommended that the management of Company X must consider adopting the strategies that encompass training and development, appropriate job design, delegation of functions, employee involvement, allocation of sufficient resources and top management support and commitment. Future research can explore the impact of employee empowerment on a firm’s productivity.