Assessment of the impact of human resource management practices on staff performance in Federal Medical Center, Asaba, Delta State

Abstract

The health sector is the fulcrum of the economic development of any nation because only healthy people work to advance a nation. The sudden drift of health professionals to other countries indicates possible gaps in the system that should be addressed. This study therefore assessed the impact of Human Resource Management practices on staff performance in Federal Medical Center (FMC), Asaba, and Delta State. The descriptive survey design was adopted in the study. Five research questions and four research hypotheses guided the study the population for the study consisted of all 1392 staff at the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, and Delta State. The sample for the study comprised of 311 staff selected from different units of the FMC. The multistage sampling technique was adopted for the selection of the sample size. The purposive sampling technique was used to determine the units and departments to be used for the study. The stratified sampling technique was then used to determine the number of staff   to be selected from each unit while the convenience method of selection was used for the final selection of the respondents. The instrument for data collection was a researcher’s developed questionnaire titled; Human Resource Management and Health Staff Performance Questionnaire (HRMHSPQ). The instrument was a 37-item four-point rating instrument divide into two sections of ‘A’ and ‘B’. section ‘A’ made provision for respondents’ biodata while section ‘B’ provided statements that elicited responses from the respondents. The statements were grouped into clusters in line with the research questions. The instrument was validated by two experts while 0.73 consistency value was established after a trial test was conducted to determine the reliability. 330 copies ofthe instrument were administered, while 311 (94%) were returned and used for the study. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used for data analysis while t-test statistical tool was used for the test of the hypotheses. Findings from the study revealed among other things that the Human Resources Management Practices of FMC, Asaba has clear stated goals aimed at enhancing staff performance and productivity but lacked strategies on how to motivate the staff to improve the quality of care and the level of customer satisfaction and build a strong reputation for the institution as it does not make adequate provision for compensation and benefits packages along with its health and safety policies; which affects the overall performance of staff. Based on the findings, the study recommended among other things thatthe Federal Government of Nigeria in partnership with the Hospital Management Board of the Federal Medical Centre Asaba should ensure the provision of the hospital with contemporary and adequate facilities/equipment that will make the system functional endeavour to create a conducive working environment that will foster staff performance, effectiveness, and efficiency.