Investigating Employee Perceptions of a Communication Strategy for Higher Education Institutions in Lesotho

Abstract

A communication strategy determines a selection of potential channels of communication to disseminate information within the institution. Higher institutions of education (HEIs) in Lesotho should have formal communication strategies that establish the communication function to support the institution and its strategies. This article aimed to investigate employee perceptions of a communication strategy for HEIs in Lesotho. A literature review on key aspects, a questionnaire, and interviews were conducted with the employees and senior management of the four public HEIs in Lesotho. A concurrent mixed-method research design was used to better understand the research problem. Leximancer and SPSS software were used to analyse qualitative and quantitative data, respectively, to enhance the quality of analytical output. The study revealed that institutions disseminate information to employees. However, their choice of communication platforms is sometimes non-functional thus rendering communication dominated by one-way and top-down communication. HEIs should develop and implement institutional communication strategies to effectively enhance the implementation of institutional strategies.

Keywords:

• communication platforms
• communication strategy
• corporate culture
• dissemination of information
• employee relations
• higher institutions of education
• perceptions