Employee Satisfaction with Facilities Management Services in a Nigerian Private University: Evidence from Covenant University, Ota

Abstract This study assessed employee satisfaction with facilities management services in higher educational facilities at Covenant University, Ota, focusing on staff of the College of Management and Social Sciences and the College of Leadership and Development Studies. A quantitative research method was adopted using an exploratory survey design and a structured questionnaire. From a population of 199 employees, selected purposively because they are directly involved in or affected by facilities services, making them appropriate for evaluating satisfaction levels, a sample size of 133 was determined at a 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error, with 121 valid responses retrieved for analysis. The questionnaire captured respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics and perceptions of facilities management services using closed-ended Likert scale items. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS], employing frequencies, percentages, mean scores, and the Relative Agreement Index [RAI]. Findings indicate that the respondents were largely professionally mature and highly educated, with 85.1% possessing qualifications above HND or B.Sc., 73.6% being teaching staff, and 67.8% occupying private offices. Awareness of facilities management services was generally high, enabling informed evaluations of service performance. High levels of satisfaction were recorded for car parking [mean = 4.00, RAI = 0.80], cleaning and waste management [mean = 3.94, RAI = 0.79], and water supply [mean = 3.92, RAI = 0.78], reflecting effective delivery of routine and visible services. Lower satisfaction levels were observed for termite treatment [mean = 2.84, RAI = 0.57], civil works [mean = 3.06, RAI = 0.61], and mechanical services such as air conditioning and plumbing [mean = 3.16, RAI = 0.63]. The frequency of complaints further showed that mechanical works ranked highest [mean = 3.55, RAI = 0.71], followed by civil works [mean = 3.36, RAI = 0.67] and cleaning services [mean = 3.11, RAI = 0.62]. The study concludes that while performance is strong in routine facilities services, improvements are required in technical and preventive maintenance to enhance overall employee satisfaction and institutional productivity.