Management perspectives on a talent value proposition for academic staff in a South African Higher Education Institution

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), like other organisations globally. are presently confronted with intricate and evolving operating markets in which they need to stay competitive in order to survive. This implies that because talent has since been acknowledged to be critical to the success of any organisation, HE!s should; therefore, find ways to best appeal to their main source of competitive advantage - highly effective academic staff members. Despite this knowledge, institutions of higher learning continue to lag behind in acquiring and keeping the best talent and minimal research exists on the subject. The few studies that exist do not offer much insight on the importance of a Talent Value Proposition (TVP) for gaining and retaining top academics. The main objective of this research was to explore management perspectives on a talent value proposition for academic staff in a South African Higher Education Institution. The management of the merged South African REI were selected as the unit of analysis owing to the fact that they are the custodians of the institution's TVP. It was; therefore, pertinent to obtain their opinions on the subject. This research applied purposive convenience sampling; participants were selected on the basis of their willingness and relevancy in being able to provide the information sought after. This research had a sample size of 12 participants - N=l2. Data analysis was performed through content and thematic analysis, from which emerged various themes and sub-themes. The findings suggest that the current perceived organisational brand of the merged South African REI is constituted by the reputation and image, the culture and identity, the strategic vision, the corporate social responsibility, the work and surrounding environment of the institution and lastly, the merger implications that exist within the institution. The most frequent sub-themes were organisational branding, work and surrounding environment, reputation and image, and organisational culture and identity. The qualitative inquiry in this research implied that the current perceived employment brand of the merged South African REI is made up of the fringe benefits/incentives and remuneration; the leadership and managerial support; the work/life balance and flexibility; and job security offered within the institution; the occupational health and safety; and performance management and development in the institution; as well as the fulfilment and

purpose gained through working for the institution. The following sub-themes occurred the most in descending order: employment branding, fringe benefits/incentives and remuneration, leadership and managerial support, and occupational health and safety. The findings further suggest that the elements: talent mind-set; talent preparation and acquisition; talent development; talent performance and recognition; as well as talent retention are pertinent to the application of a Talent Life Cycle (TLC) with regard to the academics of the merged South African HEI. Out of the sub-themes that emerged from TLC, talent development, talent retention, and talent performance and recognition were the highest recurring. Finally, the findings showed that the main determinants of a TVP for academic staff members in a merged South African HEI are the organisational brand of the institution; the employment brand of the institution and the talent life cycle within the institution. Apart from the previously mentioned themes, another theme of TVP occurred, which generated the sub-themes: importance of TVPs; mutual expectations; and implementation challenges of TVPs. This study offers crucial acumens to the theoretical, methodological and practical body of existing knowledge. Theoretically, the most feasible TVP for academic staff in a merged South African HEI was examined - a phenomenon which had not previously been investigated. Methodologically, this study gave rise to a new TVP model for academic staff members in a merged South African HEI through a qualitative inquiry. A practical offering is that the developed model can now be implemented by the merged South African HEI at will. Recommendations for implementation and for further research are also provided in this study.