Human Resource Management and Academic Staff Productivity

This study examined the relationship between human resource management and academic staff job productivity across universities in Northeast Nigeria. Three specific objectives with corresponding research questions and hypotheses guided the study. This study adopted correlational research design involving 346 using multistage sampling technique from 3,530 target population for the study. 6 universities comprising 2 Federal, 2 State and 2 Private were randomly selected for the study from 21 total universities in the study area. While 58 respondents consisting management and academic staff were selected from each university using purposive sampling technique. Two self-developed Questionnaires titled “Human Resource Management Questionnaire (HRMQ) and Academic Staff Productivity Questionnaire (ASPQ)” were used for data collection from 346 sampled size. Reliability coefficient of the instruments was ascertained using test-retest method and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) Analysis, which yielded .76 and .83 reliability values for HRMQ and ASPQ respectively. The data generated from field was analyzed using mean, standard and PPMC for answering research questions while linear regression analysis was employed to test null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed significant relationship between staff recruitment and selection process and academic staff productivity; significant and positive relationship between staff performance appraisal system and academic staff productivity; as well as significant relationship between staff training and development and academic staff productivity in universities in Northeast, Nigeria. Among others, it was recommended that the management of these universities should ensure proper recruitment and selection process during engagement of staff so as to pick the best candidate for available job position with a view to getting best productivity from them. Based on the findings, it was concluded that as far as universities in Northeast Nigeria is concerned, human resource management significantly relate to academic staff productivity.