Influence of internal communication and engagement on the performance of public service tasks

The involvement of employees with their activities in the work environment can instigate higher levels of commitment to the organization in which they work. Employee commitment can be instigated by adequate levels of internal communication (Walden et al., 2017). In view of the growing concern with the commitment and engagement of employees, managers responsible for internal communication need to know the communication processes so that they can develop strategies that contribute to the construction of engagement (Welch, 2012). The engagement of individuals at work is frequently addressed in the literature as to its effects, but its background is little explored, especially in specific fields, such as in the public area. Thus, this study analyzes the influence of internal communication on task performance, mediated by the engagement of public servants. The study was carried out by means of a survey with 84 civil servants on active duty from a State Secretariat located in the Southern Region of Brazil. After data collection, analyzes were carried out using the Structural Equation Modeling technique, based on Partial Least Squares (PLS), which demonstrates the relationships between multiple variables and respective constructs. The estimation of structural equations was analyzed using SmartPLS 3. The results of the analyzes show a significant and positive effect of internal communication on engagement, which supports the confirmation of hypothesis H-1, that there is a positive relationship between internal communication and engagement. This result is consistent with empirical studies that consider that internal communication inspires engagement (Karanges et al., 2015; Vercic & Vocic; 2017). According to Abdullah and Antony (2012), communication induces employees to realize its importance in the organization and to contribute to the organization's strategies and results, as long as they are aware of the strategies and expected results. There was also a positive association between engagement and task performance, which confirms the hypothesis H-2, that there is a positive relationship between engagement and task performance. This result corroborates the findings of Shantz et al. (2013), who found a potential mediating role for employee engagement in the relationship between work design and performance, and that employee engagement positively influences task performance. A positive association was also found between internal communication and task performance, which confirms hypothesis H-3. This result is in line with the findings of Tsai et al. (2009) and Abugre (2011), that internal communication can be a determinant of task performance. The literature recognizes the need for adequate levels of communication between management and its employees, in view of its positive effect on the performance of employees' activities (Tsai et al., 2009; Neves & Eisenberger, 2012; Rajhans, 2012). The structural model also confirms the partial mediating effect of the engagement variable in the relationship between internal communication and task performance, which supports H-4. These findings are consistent with the assumptions of the literature, which considers that internal communication can improve employee performance through engagement, however, when internal communication is performed inappropriately, it can contribute to employee disengagement (MacLeod & Clarke, 2009). These results contribute to the literature by revealing positive and significant effects of internal communication and engagement in the performance of public servants' tasks, until then constructs analyzed in a dissociated way and generally in different fields of this study. They can also contribute with those responsible for internal organizational communication in the elaboration of strategies that instigate engagement and high performance of public servants' tasks.