The need of effective talent management practices to ensure high performance in the public healthcare settings in Malta

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore whether Talent Management (TM) practices can be applied in the public healthcare settings in Malta, and what the potential effects of these practices on the performance of these organisations would be. The aim of this research is to identify the perceptions of the nursing managers at Mater Dei Hospital (MDH); as a public healthcare setting in Malta, about TM practices and to determine the impact of these practices on hospital performance. The data collection was done by conducting a qualitative approach in the form of in-depth semi-structured interviews using the purposive sampling technique to obtain the view of the managers. The replies to the interviews questions were analysed to investigate the need of effective TM practices strategy to enhance hospital performance. The findings reveal that although career development and training programs were identified by the participants as TM practices at MDH there is a room of improvement. The findings also explored the need of more focus on other practices such as creating a culture of engagement, performance management programmes and succession management and planning. The study concluded that in today’s evolving healthcare systems the need of effective talent management practices is not optional but essential in enhancing performance within the public healthcare settings in Malta The study provides several recommendations in relation to TM practices which it is hoped to be valued to public healthcare organisations in Malta to achieve their goals. This research concludes with recommendations for further studies and future research to continue expanding on other areas which were not analysed in detail.