Effect of Employee Separation Management on the Performance of Deposit Money Banks in Enugu State, Nigeria

This study examined the effect of employee separation management on the performance of deposit money banks (DMBs) in Enugu State, Nigeria, focusing on four dimensions of separation resignation management, retirement management, retrenchment/downsizing, and dismissal/termination management and their respective effects on employee productivity, service quality, operational efficiency, and staff morale and engagement. Anchored on Human Capital Theory, the Resource-Based View, Organizational Equilibrium Theory, and Turnover Theory, the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire from management-level staff and human resource officers across five banks operating in Enugu metropolis First Bank of Nigeria, United Bank for Africa, Fidelity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, and Access Bank. Of 185 questionnaires administered, 168 were returned complete and usable, a response rate of 90.8%. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics (total scores and simple percentages) and simple linear regression. All four null hypotheses were rejected at p = .000: resignation management significantly affected employee productivity (β = .514, R² = .264); retirement management significantly affected service quality (β = .527, R² = .278); retrenchment/downsizing significantly affected operational efficiency (β = .538, R² = .289); and dismissal/termination management had the strongest effect, on staff morale and engagement (β = .562, R² = .316). The study concludes that employee separation management is a strategic human resource capability that shapes bank performance across the workforce transition cycle, and recommends that banks strengthen knowledge-transfer protocols, pre-retirement mentoring, survivor communication during retrenchment, and post-dismissal morale management.