Identifying and sourcing talent in a South African information and technology consultancy
Date
2011-03-24
Authors
Tandy, Cameron Peter
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Abstract
The research was conducted on a single South African Information and
technology consultancy using a mixed methodology. Results were determined
from 16 qualitative interviews, and 122 quantitative surveys, including 64 newhires
to the organisation.
The research served to establish and confirm the list of components of talent
required within a South African information and technology consultancy, as well
as the importance of job profiling, business strategy and organisational culture
in the process of identifying talent needs.
Furthermore, using an analysis of the relative significance of means of Likert
scale responses, the research established the most important talent needs of a
South African information and technology consultancy as being: adaptability,
analytical skills, communication skills, learning ability, problem solving, quality of
delivery, self management and teamwork.
The research, using an investigation of standard deviations, determined that
there is a high degree of agreement on the talent importance ratings both within
the executive and new hire survey groups, and when comparing the responses
from the two groups with each other.
Prior to the statistical analysis, the Stacey (2005) normalisation algorithm was
used to rescale the mean and standard deviations of the responses in order to
allow for statistical significance to be determined from ordinal level data.
The research concluded with an investigation of the organisation’s recruiting
activities, and concluded that they are suitable for identifying the required talent.
Recommendation to executives fighting the ongoing war for talent are given, as
the need to recognise and prioritise the agenda of talent management, via
activities such as successful identification and understanding of talent
requirements, is likely to be a differentiator for the most successful
organisations of the future.
Description
MBA - WBS
Keywords
Talent management, Talent development, Consultancies