Teamwork and employee performance in public sector organizations. “Evidence from Uganda’s National Identification and Registration Authority”

Abstract

Teamwork is defined as a cooperative process that allows ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results according to Scarnati (2001). This study, therefore, aims at providing evidence on the role of work teams in public organizations of Uganda basing on the case study analysis of the National Identification and Registration Authority. Using individual-level data obtained from National Identification and Registration Authority in 2019, the study employed a logit model to determine whether employee teams influence individual performance. The study findings reveal that working in teams increases the likelihood of improved performance at work by 20 percent as opposed to not working in teams. Also, having a degree as the highest education level increases the likelihood of improved employee performance by 57 percent as compared to having a diploma as the highest level of education. Further, as an individual gets older over time, his or her likelihood of improved performance at work increases by 60 percent which shows a positive and statistically significant relationship between the age of an employee and employee performance at work. Teamwork, therefore, has the potential of improving the performance of individual employees and that of the organization, though; it needs to be nurtured over time (Ingram, 2000). This indicates that teamwork is a very strong pillar, whether on its own or with others it is so crucial in promoting employee performance. The study concluded that employees are more efficient, and learn more from each other as a result of teamwork. The study, therefore, recommends that the Institution should set team targets so that performance levels are not assessed at an individual level but rather as a team. Key Words: Team Work, Employee performance