Talent Management in Higher Education Institution

Introduction

Higher educational institutions world over are mostly guided by supervisory bodies that mainly consist of external stakeholders, making it quite controversial in terms of institutional autonomy. Almost all higher education institutions of learning have a collegiate academic body i.e. Senate, Academic Council or Academic Board. The academic body was traditionally the collegial decision-making body of the university under the direction of the State or government (Kamau, Gakure & Waititu, 2013). Further Kamau et al. (2013), concur that more than half of the countries studied have such academic bodies with a relatively limited decision-making role and do not hold direct responsibility for institutional policies, orientation, or strategic development. Literature, however, reveals that higher institutions of learning lack talent management. Further there is lack of system for attracting, training and supporting the best people for the jobs in the field of education (Fossestøl, Breit, Andreassen, & Klemsdal, 2015). As producers of knowledge, institutions of higher learning are expected to be at the forefront of talent management (Baporikar, 2011) but this is not so. The private sectors have taken a lead in this area (Baporikar, 2017a; 2017b). But the education sector lacks engagement in talent management practices especially in the areas of attracting and retaining talent, motivating and developing workers and transforming and sustaining the work force. (Ringo, Schweyer, De Marco, Jones & Lesser, 2008). The most critical element in academic institutions is human capital which includes academic, administrative and technical staff resources (Baporikar, 2016a; 2015a). Hence, all developed countries struggle to attract talent and reduce the migration of their skilled professionals to other countries Baporikar, 2013a). However, talent management activities undertaken by higher education institutions are limited to selection, recruitment, employment contracts and career advancement (Baporikar, 2013b). Riccio (2010) agrees that the key differentiators identified as the talent management practices believed to be successful in the work environment include the incorporation of organisational and leadership competencies. Talent Management is possible in a conducive environment and its provision is a responsibility of institutional leadership. The institution of higher learning in Namibia, like any other institution in the world is operating in a highly competitive environment locally and globally and this require management styles that enhance staff retention to have competitive advantage (Kamau, et al., 2013). According to Riccio (2010), “Colleges and universities that accept the challenge to build talent from within to meet impending leadership requirements will certainly gain an advantage on peer institutions in this competitive climate.”

However, the critical issue for institution of higher learning is regarding administrative and support staff. It is a workforce that is not motivated to perform optimally, and this results in poor service delivery (Shin, & Jung, 2014). Compared to other sectors, the education sector underperforms in its talent management practices, especially in the areas of attracting and retaining talent, motivating and developing, transforming and sustaining the workforce Kamau et al., 2013. This is supported by literature (Parker & Baporikar, 2011; 2013c; Baporikar, 2014, 2015b; 2015c; 2015d), revealing that higher institutions of learning lack talent management. Riccio (2010), observed that the education field which is knowledge intensive is least engaged in enlightened talent management practices. Hence, the main objective of this research is to study the relationship between talent management and motivation of support staff at a higher education institution.¹