Multidimensional Communication as a Strategy for Sustaining Employee performance During Covid-19 Pandemic in Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

In both public and private sectors, one-way communication has been highlighted as one of the reasons of ineffective communication. When internal communication in an organization is only one-way, there is a strong possibility that there will be little or no communication at all. This study was carried out during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic at Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Nigeria to examine the extent to which multidimensional communication strategy was used to enhance staff performance. Data was obtained using questionnaire administered to selected academic staff using simple random selection technique. A sample of 106 academic employees were selected from a population of 144. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) at a significance level of 0.05, and the hypothesis was tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The finding of the study revealed that there is higher correlation co-efficient of 79.8% which is significant at p-value 0.05 reinforces how multidimensional communication (downward communication, upward communication and horizontal communication) enhance employee performance. The study concludes that the strategy of multidimensional communication greatly enhanced employee’s performance during the lockdown that followed the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study recommends that there is need for Al-Hikmah University to continue adopting multidimensional communication in order to enhance staff performance.