Exploration of the impact of talent management practices on service delivery outcomes at eThekwini Municipality.

Abstract

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality established in 2000, that includes the city of Durban, South Africa, and surrounding towns. The vision of the eThekwini Municipality is that by 2030, eThekwini will enjoy the reputation of being Africa’s most caring and liveable City, where all citizens live in harmony. eThekwini Municipality is operating under unprecedented conditions of competition and turbulence in which it is increasingly difficult to attract and retain talented employees and scarce skills positions with a resulting impact on service delivery. Capacity constraints within the Municipality could hamper economic growth. Therefore, effective talent management is a business imperative as a lack of necessary skills could have serious consequences for the City’s economy. The objective of the study was to understand the impact of talent management on organisational performance from each participant’s point of view. This study was not intended to make any truth claims about the research topic, but rather to understand the impact of the phenomenon under investigation. The qualitative research methodology was selected as a preferred approach because it reinforces an understanding and interpretation of meaning as well as intentions underlying human interactions. This approach was suitable for this study as it allows for data collection through interviews for an in-depth investigation of a problem in one or more real life settings. The study reviewed and utilised the integrated talent management framework which assists organisations to understand the impact of talent management on organisational performance better. In today's world of global trade, talent can guarantee the success and excellence of organisations against competitors, especially at the managerial level. The major findings of the study indicate that eThekwini Municipality has significantly high levels of an aging workforce in leadership and critical positions leading to capacity constraints. There is a clear misalignment between people and organisational performance which needs to be corrected. The study recommends that eThekwini Municipality reviews the implementation of talent management initiatives with clearly stated success measures that drive organisational performance and talent retention strategies.