Organisational Efforts towards Effective Executive Talent Management: An Analytical Study

India has evolved as a country in terms of its performance in the manufacturing sector. Its need for the talented workforce is also growing by each passing day. The manufacturing industry, like many industries, is undergoing a rapid evolution spurred by technological advances, globalisation, and shifting demographics. An ageing and retiring workforce, combined with outmoded talent recruitment, and management processes, and continued global expansion are taking their toll. The country at present is mostly affected by a high level of unemployment. Today, there is a growing demand for talent. In such a scenario, it becomes imperative for companies to attract, develop, engage and retain talent. This brings up the need for a full-fledged talent management system which would support the organisations to manage their talent. Many eminent researchers advocate the importance of the drivers of talent management in developing and enhancing the commitment of the employees towards the organisation. Business strategy, human resource strategy and human resource planning are also considered to influence a typical talent management system. However, empirical studies on talent management in Indian manufacturing sector are scarce. Though manufacturing organisations are gearing up to manage talent, they lack proper direction and strategy to do so. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the efforts undertaken by Indian manufacturing organisations towards effective executive talent management and provide a holistic model to implement a talent management system in a manufacturing setup. In order to do so, firstly secondary data was analysed, and a comparative study of the three units was done. Secondly, perceptions of 522 executives belonging to three different units, i.e., Rourkela Steel Plant, Larsen & Toubro Ltd., and Tata Motors Ltd., were recorded using a structured questionnaire and scrutinised. The survey was carried out by distributing 800 questionnaires. The response rate was found to be 65 %. The data were analysed using SPSS and Amos 20 software. The preliminary analysis of data was conducted by using the descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis. Then, the hypothesized research model was validated by using statistical tools such as exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The findings of the study revealed that all the study variables had positive and significant relationships and a proper talent management system would alleviate the commitment of the executives. It was also found that human resource planning played the role of a partial mediator in the relationship of human resource strategy and talent acquisition. Moreover, talent acquisition, talent development, talent engagement and talent retention also fully mediated the relationship of human resource strategy and management of employee talent. Organisational culture seemed to moderate the relationship between the management of employee talent and committed professionals. Hence, this study is an approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a talent management system and suggest its practical application to manage executives in a manufacturing setup. The study also provides essential recommendations and implications to managers and theorists to implement and explore the field of talent management