Talent Management Strategies and Organizational Performance in the Banking Sector in Kenya: A Case of Equity Bank

Abstract

Given the highly competitive nature of the labor market, the primary objective of most organizations was to pursue high-performance levels through the use of human capital. As a result, many institutions worldwide have given top emphasis to talent management. A powerful and positive employer brand was essential for any firm globally to attract and retain top talent. The goal of measuring organizational performance was to compare a worker's output to its intended objectives. Talent management methods were believed to impact organizational performance when a company could secure and manage its human resources to meet its demands and objectives. Employee recruiting, training, retention, and development were facilitated by a personnel management approach. Poor talent management negatively influences labor turnover, productivity, and employee morale, affecting an organization's return on investment. The main objective of the study was to determine the effect of talent management strategies on organizational performance. The study aimed to objectively assess the effects of talent acquisition, training, retention, and development on organizational performance and to evaluate the impact of talent attraction at Equity Bank. The study was grounded in social talent management theory and competence-based theory. A descriptive research design was adopted, with a population consisting of 297 employees from various departments at Equity Bank and a sample size of 103. A stratified random sampling technique was utilized, and primary data was collected using a structured five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Inferential statistics were employed to determine the relationship between the variables. The study established that all the variables had an overall mean score of 4.0 and above, indicating a high level of talent management strategies being embraced to boost organizational performance. The Pearson correlation analysis reveals significant relationships between various talent management strategies and organizational performance. Talent attraction (r = .462, p < .05) and talent development (r = .574, p < .05) both positively correlated with organizational performance, indicating that improved attraction and development practices are associated with better performance. Talent retention shows a strong correlation with organizational performance (r = .599, p < .05), suggesting that retaining talent management strategies is crucial for performance. Talent acquisition has a moderate positive correlation with organizational performance (r = .523, p < .05). All correlations are statistically significant. The study concluded that effective talent acquisition, attraction, development, and retention significantly enhance organizational performance at Equity Bank. The study recommends that Equity Bank refine its onboarding and recruitment strategies, enhance training programs, and periodically review compensation schemes. Maintaining flexible work arrangements and improving talent management policies will boost employee satisfaction, retention, and overall organizational performance. Future research should extend its focus to broaden the lens for comparison of the talent management strategies in many organizations and different sectors to increase the transferability of the results.