Assessing talent management within the Western Cape Provincial Treasury (WCPT)
Roman, Keith Charles (2011-03)
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African Constitution, 1996, requires a development–oriented public administration, cultivating good human resources management and career development practices to maximise human potential. Talent management complies with this constitutional requirement as a practice that ensures that people with the required skills and aptitude are attracted, developed, utilised and retained to increase workplace productivity. The Provincial Government Western Cape (PGWC) has aligned itself with talent management by focusing on the attraction, development and retention of skills to address poverty and unemployment. The Western Cape Provincial Treasury (WCPT), which manages the PGWC finances, has however experienced high employee turnover rates lately with talented employees leaving the organisation for other public service departments or private sector organisations. This thesis assessed WCPT’s approach to talent management by: Obtaining an understanding for why talented employees left or are leaving WCPT; Exploring the concept of talent management in organisations globally; Exploring the legislative context for talent management in the South African public service; and Determining what WCPT’s approach to talent management is by using WCPT as a case study. A qualitative case study research design with unstructured interviews, a survey questionnaire and documentation were used to conduct this study. The case study of WCPT was used to draw inferences between the practice and theory in the literature review to understand why talented employees left and are leaving WCPT and what WCPT’s approach to talent management is. It was found that job dissatisfaction was the broad reason why talented employees left WCPT. Job dissatisfaction includes dissatisfaction about competitive salaries, sufficient training and development, a career planning programme, work-life balance, and so on. A draft talent management strategy has been formulated for WCPT but has not been implemented because the Human Resources department of WCPT has been relocated to the Department of the Premier as a result of the modernisation1 of public service departments in the PGWC. This thesis has made recommendations that the draft talent management strategy be implemented, despite the absence of the Human Resources department, as part of a broader strategy to establish WCPT as an employer of choice.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: The Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet, 1996 vereis ŉ publieke administrasie wat goeie menslike hulpbron bestuurspraktyke bevorder en loopbaanontwikkeling sowel as menslike potensiaal aanhelp. Talentbestuur voldoen aan hierdie vereiste deur te verseker dat mense met vaardighede gewerf, ontwikkel, aangewend en behou word om produktiwiteit te verbeter. Die Wes-Kaapse Provinsiale Regering het homself in lyn gebring met hierdie grondwetlike vereiste deur te fokus op die werwing, ontwikkeling en behoud van vaardighede om armoede en werkloosheid aan te spreek. Die Wes-Kaapse Provinsiale Tesourie (WKPT) het egter, inteendeel, ŉ hoë omset in talentvolle werknemers ondervind, wie die organisasie verlaat het vir posisies in ander openbare sektor departemente sowel as privaatsektor organisasies. Hierdie verhandeling het die WKPT se benadering tot talent bestuur gemeet deur: ŉ Begrip te verkry vir hoekom talentvolle werknemers WKPT verlaat het; om die begrip talentbestuur in organisasies wêreldwyd te verken; om die wetlike konteks van talentbestuur in openbaresektor organisasies in Suid-Afrika te ondersoek; en om vas te stel wat WKPT se benadering tot talentbestuur is deur WKPT as ŉ gevallestudie te gebruik. ŉ Kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp was gebruik om die navorsings probleem te ondersoek met ongestruktureerde onderhoude, ŉ meningsopname vraelys en dokumentasie as navorsingsmetodes. Die gevallestudie van WKPT was gebruik om verskille tussen die praktyk en die teorie te verstaan en vas te stel waarom talentvolle werknemers WKPT verlaat het en wat die organisasie se benadering tot talentbestuur is. Daar was gevind dat werknemerontevredenheid die oorhoofse rede was waarom talentvolle werknemers WKPT verlaat het. Werknemerontevredenheid sluit in hierdie geval ontevredenheid oor kompeterende salarisse, genoegsame opleiding en ontwikkeling, ŉ loopbaanontwikkelingsprogram en werk-leefbalans in. WKPT het ŉ konsep talentbestuur strategie ontwerp, maar dit was egter nog nie geimplementeer nie omdat die menslikehulpbronne department van WKPT verskuif was na die Departement van die Premier. Hierdie verhandeling het aanbeveel dat die konsep talentbestuur strategie nog steeds geimplementeer word ten spyte van die feit dat die menslikehulpbron department verskuif was. Die implementering van hierdie strategie sal deel uitmaak van ŉ oorhoofse strategie om WKPT te vestig as ŉ werknemer by keuse.
Please refer to this item in SUNScholar by using the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6794