Abstract

Brain drain has been the main cause of academic staff attrition in Nigeria Higher Education Institutions which results in talent void. This circumstance has left HEIs to grapple with the challenge of managing the consequences of talent void among faculty in areas of course/module allocation, project supervision and recruitment of new talents to fill the vacuum occasioned by brain drain. This loss of experienced academics remains a challenge to institutions of higher learning in particular and often culminates in disruptive academic service delivery.
In a proactive approach to manage the fallouts of talent void in HEIs, this research proposes a talent management strategy based on application of Profile theory to manage talent positioning in a higher education institution in Nigeria in order to cope with evolving workforce. The research specifically had its focus on three scenarios; talent recruitment, project supervision, and course/module allocation.
The research used a mixed method of inquiry involving five departments in a single institution in which two sets of data were collected. The first set of data collection involved survey using questionnaire and interview. While simple descriptive statistics was used in analysing the questionnaire, Soft System Methodology was used in interpreting and analysing the qualitative data in order to gain rich contextual understanding of the problem situation. The second set of data collection involved anonymous artefact representing candidates’ attributes used for modelling candidates profile for capability and compatibility. The profile theory based talent management strategy was developed and evaluated using Importance-Satisfaction analysis model. Specifically, profile theory modelled candidates’ characteristics/attributes for talent identification and made distinctive talent identification where ties occurred based on capability and compatibility
This research contributes to body of knowledge in two ways. First, it demonstrates how Talent Management approach can mitigate the impact of brain drain and other forms of employee turnover in HEI. Second, it also explores and demonstrates how profile theory tool can be applied in filling talent void and allocation of duties as a strategy for talent positioning within academic roles in a HEI.