RIGHTSIZING AS A TECHNIQUE FOR ACHIEVING EFFICIENCY IN THE NIGERIAN PUBLIC SECTOR

ABSTRACT

Organizations, be it in the public or private sector, strive to maintain the right quality and quantity of staff to contribute optimally to its goals and objectives. Consequently, one of the programmes developed by the Federal Government in its on-going reforms, to make its Institutions work more efficiently and effectively, is rightsizing. The underlying philosophy is transformation. Unfortunately, the operating officers seem to be at difficulty in implementing this important policy reform of the Federal Government. Consequently, the organizations are either overstaffed or understaffed. In either case, productivity suffers. As a result of these the study sought to find out the impact of the various rightsizing techniques (maintenance of accurate personnel records and regular personnel audit, Human Resource Planning, employee training and development; employee retention strategies such as performance pay, employee training and career development, high level of  wage rate and organizations image, employer paid medical scheme, employer provided  or employer paid housing, retired benefits etc, etc and employee regular evaluation, on efficiency. The study was conducted in Enugu and three public sector Institutions, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Power Holding Company of Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Television Authority were used as case study. The survey design was used for the study. The population and sample size of the study were 1175 and 298 respectively. The questionnaire and interview methods were used to elicit responses from the respondents. The data collecting instruments were appropriately tested to ensure Reliability and validity. Five Hypotheses were developed and tested using chi-square (x²) analytical techniques to find out the impact of the various rightsizing techniques mentioned above on efficiency. The study revealed that rightsizing techniques indeed have significant impact on efficiency. It is therefore recommended that public sector organizations should attach importance to effective management of its Human Resources through the application of appropriate rightsizing techniques to maintain optimum workforce and right caliber of staff at all times in order to enhance efficiency.