Talent management practices: perception of registered nurses in Malawian public hospitals

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate nurses’ perception towards the current application of talent management practices in Malawian public hospitals. It further explores whether significant differences exist between the registered nurses’ perceptions of the current application of talent management practices based on their demographic factors. Design/methodology/approach - The study employed a quantitative research approach, using a cross-sectional survey strategy. An adapted version of Human Capital Index (HCI) questionnaire with 45-items was administered amongst 947 registered nurses in four public hospitals. Eventually, 580 responses, representing 61.2 per cent were found to be acceptable for analysis. Stata version-16 software programme was used to analyse the data. Findings - Findings of the study demonstrated that talent management practices are currently poorly applied amongst the nurses. Substantial gaps existed between the current applications versus the importance of talent management practices. Significant differences exist between the nurses perceptions of talent management practices based on their marital status. Research limitations/implications - The study only focused on a single perspective (registered nurses) and a single area (Malawian public hospitals) – an issue that disregarded different views (e.g. doctors, hospital administrators, hospital directors and other hospital staff). Furthermore, the results of this study cannot be generalised to other public and private hospitals settings because the data were collected from central hospitals only. Practical implications - Practically, this study highlights the problematic areas of talent management practices hence the need for effective talent management for nurses. Social implications - The study has huge social implications in that the results will inform best practices for public hospitals thereby improving welfare of the patients and society at large. Originality/value - The study contributes to new knowledge on nurses’ perception towards the application of talent management practices within the Malawian health sector and presents a valid and reliable measure to assess their perception.