Talent Management Challenges Research Articles

Talent management in China and India: A comparison of management perceptions and human resource practices

This study investigates how the concept of talent is understood, what talent management practices are in place, and what talent-management challenges may be confronting firms in China and India through the perspectives of 178 non-HR managers. The study reveals the centrality of materialistic values in the evolving, contemporary employment relationships in the two countries. The findings shed light on the different needs of capacity-building for the HR institutions in each of the two countries, as well as the need to adopt a more particularistic (vs. a universalist) approach to conceptualizing and operationalizing talent management in the international context.

Talent Management Challenges in Developing Markets

In this paper, a broad overview of talent management practiced by multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in developing markets is presented. Although the individual components of the talent management process are the same in developing markets as they apply in developed markets the context and resultant practices are unique. Managing talent in developing markets yields very different challenges and responses to those experienced in the developed world. This paper reviews a range of activities associated with talent management in developing markets. To structure the discussion, a framework of talent management in developing markets is proposed, wherein some of the unique challenges and solutions are outlined. Key learnings for MNCs operating in developing markets are presented.

‘Building for the future?’ Government and industry responses to the challenges of talent management in China following the GFC

China suffered minimal fallout from the global financial crisis due to its burgeoning economy and ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics’ political strategy. However, despite this, its industries face enormous human resource management (HRM) challenges associated with the country's rapid economic growth. Principal amongst these HRM challenges is the need to attract and retain crucial talent. It is likely that if Chinese industry is unsuccessful in these endeavours, the future economic growth of China may be stalled, resulting in more serious long-term outcomes. This paper explores these challenges together with some possible solutions and future research directions.

An analysis of the talent management challenges in a post-communist country: the case of Poland

There is a dearth of empirical studies on talent management (TM) in the emerging markets, and in particular a lack of research on TM in the countries of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Our empirical study in 58 organisations in Poland, a major economy in the CEE region, is one of the first studies to examine TM in this context. Our study highlights the particular nature of the TM challenges facing organisations in Poland and shows that there is little evidence to suggest that Polish practice is converging with Western models. Our paper suggests that TM is likely to challenge many traditional management practices and attitudes which continue to dominate Polish culture in the period of transition to a market economy.

Perceived challenges to talent management in the South African public service: An exploratory study of the City of Cape Town municipality

Local government municipalities in South Africa are faced with a serious challenge of service delivery. Research continues to point to a plethora of problems in the public service that lead to the failure of municipalities in the country to deliver services to the local population. One of the problems emanating from research is poor talent management strategies that fail to retain key talent in the public service. The aim of the study was to explore perceived challenges to talent management at the City of Cape Town municipality. A qualitative research method was adopted for the study with the semi-structured interview utilised as the data collection tool and conducted on twenty senior managers at the municipality. Data collected was subjected to the content analysis method. Challenges facing talent management at the City of Cape Town municipality included failure to retain key talent, lack of employee recognition, succession planning and management problems, and sluggish career management strategies. These talent management challenges were found to be connected to the dependent variables of the study like pay satisfaction, turnover and intention to turnover theories, organisational commitment, employee engagement and motivation. To overcome these challenges, it was recommended that the City of Cape Town municipality must devise a strategy that will ensure that highly talented employees are retained for the longest time within the employ of the organisation. This, inter alia, included the recommendation that senior managers must ensure that they recognise the individual input and efforts of those they lead. Key words: Talent management, motivation, organisational commitment, employee engagement, pay satisfaction, job satisfaction, turnover, intention to turnover.