EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION AND THE MOTIVATION OF STAFF OF NOVENA UNIVERSITY, OGUME, DELTA STATE

ABSTRACT
The study was designed to examine employee communication and the motivation of staff of Novena University, Ogume, Delta State. The study was designed to determine the extent to which Novena University communicates with its staff; ascertain the employee communication strategies adopted by the University and to find out the influence of employee communication on the motivation of the employees. The study was anchored on interactional view theory and relationship management theory. The researcher adopted survey research, while questionnaire was adopted as the instrument of data collection. Findings showed that the University recognizes the need for employee communication. Findings also showed that most of the respondents were not too satisfied with the level of employee communication in Novena University. Findings further showed that employee communication has positive influence on the motivation of staff. More so, findings showed that if the management communicates with its employees regularly they will be motivated. Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that Novena University recognises the need for employee communication, but the extent to which it does is minimal. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher, among others, recommended that Novena University should make more efforts to improve on their level of employee communication. This is because organisations that pay due attention to employee communication will minimise conflicts between them and their employees.

Statement of the Problem
Every organisation and business wants to be successful and have desire to get constant progress. The current era is highly competitive and organisations regardless of size, technology and market focus are facing employee retention challenges. To overcome these restraints a strong and positive relationship and bonding should be created and maintained between employees and their organisations. Human resource or employees of any organisation are the most central part; so they need to be influenced and persuaded towards tasks fulfillment (Manzoor, 2014, cited in Asemah, 2015).

Motivating workers requires creativity and an understanding of the areas where employee performance exceeds a company’s expectations. To solve the motivational problems, therefore, some organisations now schedule public announcements to recognise and praise employees’ efforts; for example, staff meetings are organised to recognise employees whose performance exceeds expectations. Some organisations also promote employees with performance records that consistently exceed the company’s expectations. This is because non-monetary employee recognition is an effective method for motivation. More so, to solve motivational problems, the management of some organisations now communicate effectively with employees. This is because through effective communication, employees will be able to understand the problems and prospects of the organisation. Another technique is the provision of training to employees, which ensure employees’ productivity. Though companies are trying to solve the foregoing problems, they still exist. Therefore, the problem this study investigates is employee communication and the motivation of the staff of Novena University, Ogume, Delta State.

1.3. Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study were to:
1. Determine the extent to which the management of Novena University communicates with its staff.
2. Ascertain the employee communication strategies adopted by Novena University
3. Find out how the employees perceive the relationship between them and the University
4. Find out the influence of employee communication on the motivation of the employees of Novena University.