People Relations Skill and Office Efficiency in Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State

The study investigated people relations skill and office efficiency in tertiary institutions in Rivers State.  This study adopted correlational design. The target population of the was 835 which comprised of secretaries in tertiary institutions in River State which are Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Port Harcourt, Rivers State University (Nkpolu-Oroworokwo), Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (Rumuolumini) and Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori. Stratified sampling technique was used to arrive at 120 in which 30 secretaries were chosen from each of the institutions. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaires. Out of the 120 copies of questionnaires distributed, 100 copies representing 83% which were duly completed and returned was used for the analysis. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained by using Crombach Alpha (SPSS version 23) and .987>.71 which showed that the instrument was highly reliable. Mean and standard deviation was used in answering the research questions at mean benchmark of 2.5 criterion while Pearson Product Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) was used to test the hypotheses at .05 significance level using the SPSS version 23. The study found that there is significant relationship among the variables of understanding people behavior, effective communication, motivating people to achieve objectives and office efficiency in tertiary institutions in Rivers State.  The study concluded that understanding people behavior, effective communication and motivating people to attain objectives are necessary for office efficiency.  The study recommended among others that office staff should be trained or retrained from time to time by management of tertiary institutions in Rivers State, to improve office efficiency.