Communication, Human Relations and Leadership Skills Needed by Secretaries for Effective Job Performance in Polytechnics

Abstract

This study investigated communication, human relations and leadership skills needed by secretaries for effective job performance in public polytechnics in South-west Geo-political Zone of Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised 724 secretaries and 724 supervisors in the seventeen polytechnics (state and federal polytechnics) out of which 577 were selected for the study using simple random sampling technique. Six research questions guided the study and six null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The instrument used was a structured questionnaire. The instrument was subjected to face and content validity by experts from the Department of Business and Entrepreneurship Education, Faculty of Education, Kwara State University, Malete. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Pearson Correlation Co-efficient formula which yielded a result of 0.90. Frequency counts, percentages and mean ratings were used to analyze the data to answer the research questions. Independent Samples T-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses of the study at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there is no significant difference between the mean ratings of male and female respondents on oral communication skills (t₁₈ = 1.096; p = 0.287) and written communication skills (t₁₈ = 1.802; p = 0.433) needed by secretaries for effective job performance in public polytechnics. The findings also revealed among others, that there is no significant difference between the mean ratings of respondents on interpersonal relationship skills (F_3,548 = 1.997; p = 0.132) needed for effective job performance in public polytechnics based on qualification. It was recommended that for secretaries to succeed and retain their jobs, communication, human relations, problem solving, organization and time management, decision making and leadership skills are the most critical soft skills needed for efficient and effective service delivery in this technological era. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that the secretaries need to be trained in the area of communication, interpersonal relationship skills, problems solving skills, organizational skills, decision making skills and time management skills for efficient and effective service delivery.