Exploring the challenges in implementing talent management strategies in a selected South African mining company

Abstract

Talent management involves the strategic processes of attracting, developing, retaining, and optimizing the skills and abilities of employees to drive the success of an organisation and achieve its short and long-term objectives. This study explored the challenges in implementing talent management strategies in a selected South Africa mining company. This study was guided by six research objectives which include to: explore the challenges in the implementation of talent management strategy; know the roles of talent managers at the selected mining company; explore the challenges talent managers at selected South African mining company face; investigate the competencies talent managers should possess; document the mechanisms talent managers can adopt in keeping high potential employees; and to identify the best practices in talent management to attain organisational goals. The social constructivist paradigm underpinned this study, and a qualitative methodology/design was adopted where semi-structured interviews were chosen to collect data from the selected participants. This enhanced obtaining the in-depth feelings and perceptions of the participants due to interactions with them. A total of 10 participants were selected to participate in the study which include the HR manager, assistant manager, HR analyst, HR specialist, senior-level and junior level employees. Data was analysed thematically using Atlas-ti software (version 23). Findings confirmed that the challenges of talent managers include the confusion in choosing between internal and external candidates, unalignment of strategies, outdated document in the recruitment process, lack of succession planning, and lack of communication. The roles of talent managers include problem solving, leadership. Furthermore, the study discovered that the competencies of the talent managers include having adequate communication skills and having the knowledge of legal precepts guiding HR. Finally, the study highlighted that the mechanisms that talent managers can employ to retain high-potential employees include employee development, succession planning, and creating a positive organisational culture. The study recommends that the talent managers should adopt the best practices in talent management such as the provision of training opportunities for employees, awareness of legislation guiding talent management, leading with integrity, able to make data driven decisions, formulating good talent strategies, supporting, and developing employees, and attracting high potential employees. This study offers valuable insights for organisations, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to enhance their talent management strategies.