Competencies as the protagonist for Talent development in Academia: The case of Malaysian Government Linked Companies‟ (GLCs) Universities.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the talent development antecedents in Malaysian Government Linked Companies (GLCs) Universities. There were four constructs elicited from the literature which are namely, talent identification, talent culture, competencies and talent development. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a literature review, from which the authors identified four constructs: talent identification, talent development, talent culture and competencies. The data required for this research were collected by means of a survey and as well as online surveys sent to the 3 Universities below. A questionnaire was developed with 26 items adapted from previously validated scales. A non-probabilistic sampling procedure, i.e. convenience sampling, was adopted owing to the unavailability of a satisfactory sampling frame. Academics from three GLCs namely Universiti Tenaga Malaysia (Uniten), Universiti Petronas Malaysia (UPM) and Multimedia University of Malaysia (MMU) were provided with the questionnaires. A total of 300 questionnaires were submitted to the three GLC universities, from which 168 survey questionnaires were completed and were useable for data processing.The research findings revealed that overall competencies play a significant mediating role for talent identification and talent culture that is crucial for talent development in retaining competent academics in Malaysian GLCs Universities. Among the competencies construct, the study found that leadership and motivational factors were relatively high contributors, denoted by indicators in the measurement model. The findings also suggest that for talent development to attract and retain competent academics; GLC Universities should institute formal career development opportunities and career orientated strategic plans. Finally, public policy makers should incorporate key indicators of talent identification and talent culture, which constitute equitable performance rating systems and the rewarding of exemplary contributions so as to stimulate overall talent development.GLC Universities could cultivate a Talent Management culture to enhance competencies and thereby upskill academics and retain quality academic staff. This research implies that there is need to highlight aspects of potential benefits in cultivating Talent Management Culture. The results of this study will certainly benefit the GLC Universities specifically and other