Melanie Lourens

There is a growing concern about the lack of skilled municipal employees who can deliver essential services to under-resourced local communities in South Africa. However, coaching and mentoring appear underutilized to train municipal employees to improve service delivery to local communities. The study aims to investigate whether coaching and mentoring could capacitate municipal employees whose performance appraisal reveals a lack of skills to provide essential services. A cross-sectional research design was adopted to conduct a survey. The target population comprised 265 municipal employees, and a stratified random sample of 115 employees completed a questionnaire. The employees held positions of general managers, general assistants, and administrators, with varied years of experience. Cronbach’s Alpha indicated an overall high 0.8 questionnaire reliability score.
Using a quantitative method, responses from municipal employees were collected to examine their perceptions of the influence of training and development on employee performance and service delivery. Hypotheses were tested using the bivariant inferential statistical tests of correlation (r) and Chi-square (χ2). The results indicated that training and development were more likely to improve employee performance. Furthermore, the results showed that trained employees were more likely to improve service delivery. In particular, coaching and mentoring could be used to improve performance. Therefore, the study found that the municipality was not providing employees with relevant training and development to enable them to address poor service delivery. Finally, the study recommends that the municipality invests in training and development to enrich employees with new skills and knowledge to improve the quality of service delivery.

An engaged workforce is vital for higher education institutions to contribute positively to the developing world. The purpose of this study is to examine employee engagement and its significance for academic and administrative employees at the Durban University of Technology in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The study opted for a quantitative research design to explore the role and importance of employee engagement. The target population consisted of 1,861 university employees at the selected university in South Africa, and 320 employee from different university units and positions were selected using simple random sampling without replacement. The results revealed that 80% of respondents exert high levels of physical energy, concentration, and dedication toward achieving institutional objectives. Additionally, the results showed a significant difference in the support employees get, with administrative staff receiving more support than academic staff members. The study concluded that university employees exhibit high levels of physical energy at work. In addition, the study found a significant and positive relationship between employees exhibiting high levels of physical energy at work and employees who find their work meaningful and experience inspiration.