THE ROLE OF TRAINING PROGRAMS, COMMUNICATION CHANNELS, AND TECHNOLOGY USE IN ENHANCING EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the role of training programs, communication channels and use of technology in enhancing employee productivity in tertiary institutions in Rivers State. A total of two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design. A sample of 345 respondents constituting of 243 academic staff and non academic staff from the three tertiary institutions namely, Ignatius Ajuru University, Rivers State University and University of Port Harcourt. The sample was obtained by using 5% of the total population and were selected from each of the universities. An instrument Titled; Role of Training Programs, Communication Channels and Use of Technology and Employee Productivity (RTPCCUTEP) was self developed and used for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts from the department and the reliability coefficient of 0.76 was obtained using test retest method. The data obtained from research questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using z-test at 0.05 level of significance. Major funding of the study revealed that training programs, communications channels and use of technology greatly enhanced the productivity of both academic and non academic staff of the tertiary institutions. It was however recommended that management of tertiary institutions should regularly train their staff to keep them abreast of new innovations.