Impact of Communication on Employee Performance

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background To The Study

Communication is one of the tools used to achieve the objective of any organization. The survival, growth, development, understanding and harmonizing of the activities of organization and society at large is largely dependent in the effective communication of that organization and society. On the other hand, employees are the human resources of the organization. The employees are the human resources of the organization. Their performance is largely recognised as the most important of all the resources required for the production of goods and services; communication enhances information flow, which leads to mutual co-existence and understanding both within and outside the organization. The key to rapid socio-economic development and efficient service delivery is dependent on communication. Therefore, without adequate skill and well motivation workforce operating with a sound human resource communication network programme, development is largely not possible. For the importance of the correlation between employee performance and communication network, one of man’s earliest preoccupations has been to increase the impact, diversity and intelligibility of his messages while simultaneously developing his capability to intercept and decipher them. Throughout history, human beings have sought to improve their ability to receive and assimilate information about their surroundings at the same time increase the speed and variety and gesturals signals roofed for transmission of information. Communication could be verbal, vocal and signals rooted in their physical structures, humans developed a whole range of verbal means of giving and receiving messages. Drum messages, dance signals, artifacts touching etc are paramount especially because they associated. with the presentation of objects with abstract ideas. The impact of employee performance and good communication network generates from the fact that human beings possess a highly developed sense of feeling, perceiving, deducing and reacting to situation and phenomena with the utmost consideration for his personal safety and comfort first and foremost. Thus, response elicited at times by utterance, situations and occurrences do not fall in line with what the originator envisage of the situation. Again, employee performance is the result on feedback for messages communicated to employees. As pointed out by Koontz (1979) communication is the transfer of information from the sender to the receiver with the information being understood by the receiver. To this end, group activity is impossible without effective communication because, coordination and exchange cannot be effected. As pointed out by Newcomer (1988), communication is a process of conveying message from one person to another, an organization to another, or from a network (e.g. radio, television) to people, mass communication or simply put it is the act of sending and receiving messages.. The impact of communication on employee performance cannot be over emphasized.

1.2 Statement Of Problem

The importance of communication in an organization cannot be over-emphasized, It is also difficult to find out the cause of communication in an organization. One of the tools for achieving an efficient Human Resources Management is communication. Katz and Kalin (1978) argued that organization as a social systems are restricted communication networks. To them, therefore, the life of any organization depends to a large extent on how information within and outside the organization is properly managed. If communication is the transmission of information for execution, is the whole essence of organization then employee performance of their functions or duties depend largely on how effective is the communication network in the social system or organization. Employees of organizations are of little or no function without directive, orders and command transmitted to them from management. Their performance of a given directive is the feedback management receives as communication being understood. There seems to be a serious argument as to the degree of the influence of impact of communication on employee performance, growth and development of the entire organization. While some theorists and practitioners agree that there is a correlation relationship between the two, others think otherwise. It is pertinent to note that the continued lack of communication which result in industrial conflicts and many other dysfunctional phenomena in organizations could have serious impact on the productivity of the system or organization at large. Inadequate communication could manifest clue to improper use of media or channels of communication.

1.3 Objective Of The Study

It is noted quite a number of organization are faced with the decline or low productivity from their workforce (employees). This below performance occurs even after management has met such vital areas like motivation, fringe benefits, adequate compensation to their employees. This perhaps due to the fact that most managers are egoistic, self centered, arrogant and full of themselves. A good manager or supervisor is one who recognizes and ensures that there is good, cordial communication amongst employees.

The objective of this research work are as follows:

1. To know the relationship between management and employees.
2. To assess the existing communication network in First Bank Nigeria Plc.
3. To evaluate the existing communication network in First Bank Nigeria plc.
4. To examine the impact of the channels of communication in First Bank Nigeria Plc.
5. To examine the impact of First Bank communications network on employee performance.