Study of banking sector in Ghana shows importance of HRD training practices in developing employee effectiveness through the mediating role of employee competencies

Purpose: The purpose was to examine the mediating role of employee competencies in the relationship between human resource development (HRD) practices and organizational effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through questionnaire from 550 employees of the selected banks. The author tested four hypotheses Findings: The results confirmed Hypothesis One, indicating training and development have a big influence on employee competencies. There was also support for Hypothesis Two, revealing employee involvement influences employee competencies. But the results did not support Hypothesis Three, which stated that career development has a significant influence on employee competencies. Finally, there was support for Hypothesis Four, which said HRD practices influence organizational effectiveness through the mediating role of employee competencies. Originality/value: The author chose to focus on the banking sector because of its significance to a country’s economy. A further justification was that similar studies have focused on Western banks and there is a paucity of research into HRD practices in the West African banking industry. More broadly, there have been very few studies of the mediating processes through which HR practices impact performance.