FEATURED NEWS
Nwuche Links Employee Engagement to Productivity
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- Published: 06 February 2022
By Sunny Dada
The Faculty of Management Sciences has ended its one-day public lecture series with a call on employers of labour and policy makers to engage their employees in order to ensure a productive service. The call was made at the public lecture series held by the department on November 25, 2021, at the FAMSA Hall.
Speaking on the theme: 'Trajectory for Improving & Sustaining Employee Engagement,' the Guest Lecturer, Dr Christine Adaobi Nwuche, informed guests that highly engaged employees are the most productive workers in any organization. While calling on relevant stakeholders to explore new trajectories in the management of employees, the Guest Lecturer stated that employee engagement is a "multi-dimensional construct that must be understood in order to promote high productivity and industrial harmony." She also called on employers of labour to adopt a collegial approach in the management of employees where some level of autonomy is given to workers. She said such approach will mitigate any "trust deficit that may occur as a result of non-inclusion of employees in decision making processes."
Earlier, the Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences, Professor Godwin Umoh, informed that the lecture series was aimed at contributing to knowledge and to further update practitioners on current employee engagement trends across the globe.
In his opening remark, the Chairman of Research & Publications Committee, Faculty of Management Sciences, Professor Continue Eketu, stated that the lecture was a necessary instrument in the restoration of cordial relationship between employees and their employers.
In a separate remark, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor Clifford Ofurum informed the audience that there was need for employers and policy makers to be flexible with extant rules and the application of contingencies in work places. While commending the guest lecturer for her lecture, he regretted the attitude of some individuals whom he said "do not respect the diversity of others in the work place." Prof Ofurum also enjoined staff to treat students as equal stakeholders.
Declaring the event opened, the Chairman of the event who is also the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Owunari Georgewill, congratulated the faculty for their consistency in organising what he called the "best lecture series in the university." Describing the lecture series as a commitment to service, the 9th Vice Chancellor challenged the organisers to proffer practical solutions that will address the myriad of challenges bedevilling employees and employers relationship in the country.
