Talent Management and Succession planning: A Conceptual Assessment of Rivers State Owned Tertiary Institutions in Port Harcourt

Abstract

The human aspect of every organizationƒ??s resources remains the most revered and critical; more especially in the service sector such as the tertiary institutions where knowledge creation and dissemination is only made possible through effective engagement of the right mix of talent in the right situations. Hence, this study critically reviewed extant literature on the concept of talent management and its contributory role in the enthronement of succession planning efforts in tertiary institutions owned by the State Government in Rivers State, Nigeria. Effective talent management indicates the extent an institution is able to attract, develop and retain the right pool of skilled individuals such that institutions do not ever experience shortfall in expertise in the future. Based on literature exploration, successful organizations are products of quality workforce arrangements through effective talent management and succession planning policies.  urthermore, the study reveals that Rivers State Government owned tertiary institutions have no visible operational talent management policy that promotes sustainable succession planning; rather the predominant practice is what we may call accidental replacement system. The study therefore concludes that inconsistencies and inadequacies in managing core assets (talents) of the institutions is the main cause of paucity of competent and committed employees to deliver on the institutionsƒ?? core mandate of progressive novel knowledge generation and dissemination to make the society a healthy place. Therefore, we recommend: i) That the administrators of these institutions go back to the drawing board and set things right before the entire system slides into entropy by reengineering the systemƒ??s procedures and practices in such a manner that incorporates young talent discovery, attraction, retention and development through mentoring to facilitate transfer of tacit knowledge from the mentors to the mentees as well as regular training through grants for conferences, locally and internationally, to facilitate the acquisition of current knowledge needed for effective succession planning . ii) They should not give politicians any further room to make a mess of the sanctity of the system by declining acceptance of any unqualified applicants imposed on them for employment without merit.