Unlocking the "black box" in the talent management employee performance relationship : evidence from the Ghanaian banking sector

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed ever-increasing focus on the effective management of people that represent special significance to their organisations’ success, and perhaps this has been one of the most important developments in human resource management (HRM). Specifically, talent management (TM) has been the focus and centre of attention of both HRM scholars and practitioners since it entered the managerial lexicon in the 1990s. From the work of the McKinsey consultants, the field of TM has gain much respect and attention across corporate functions, industries, and national boundaries and has consistently grown from infancy to adolescence.

However, while there is now a sufficient body of evidence that indicates that TM practices are related to employee performance and the intention to quit, it is still unclear how these practices affect such outcomes. This study fills this gap by empirically examining the mediating mechanisms through which TM affects four dimensions of employee performance, as well as the intention to quit in the Ghanaian Banking Sector. Thus, this study developed a conceptual model that explains the relationship between TM and four dimensions of employee performance, as well as employee intention to quit, through the mediating role of TM outputs (perceived organisational support [POS], and commitment and satisfaction), taking into account the effect of business strategy on TM.

Using a sample of 232 talented employees in three Ghanaian banks, a partial mediation model is outlined and tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The individual constructs, measurements, and structural models were validated through SEM and all achieved adequate fit. The findings revealed that quality and innovative business strategies were positively related to TM, while the cost leadership strategy was negatively related to TM. Also, the findings showed that TM has a significant positive relationship with the four dimensions of employee performance: task, contextual, and adaptive and counterproductive work behaviours. TM has a positive and significant relationship with POS, which then positively affects employee satisfaction and commitment. Again, TM has a significant relationship with TM outputs (POS, satisfaction, and commitment). However, TM has no significant relationship with intention to quit. Whereas POS has a significant relationship with the intention to quit, commitment and satisfaction do not.

Furthermore, the results also showed that whereas commitment and satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between TM and the four dimensions of employee performance, POS does not mediate this relationship. Lastly, POS fully mediates the relationship between TM and quit intentions while satisfaction and commitment do not. Therefore, the findings suggest that TM affects the four dimensions of employee performance directly and indirectly through commitment and satisfaction. TM appears not to be the solution or key to a reduced intention to quit; however, POS may help reduce the intention to quit. Finally, the social exchange theory (SET), the ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO) theory, and the signally theory (ST) provide a useful way of explaining the mechanisms through which TM leads to employee performance, thereby increasing our understanding of the phenomena of TM.