Identifying and analysing talent management practices in a VUCA environment

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to identify and analyse most effective Talent Management (TM) practices in a VUCA environment i.e. Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. The study is qualitative and quantitative in nature involving primary and secondary sources of data collection. The two main variables under study are VUCA factors in Indian business environment and Talent Management practices in organisations experiencing VUCA. The term VUCA is abbreviated as Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. This is a common phrase being used by organisations and leaders and was coined by the United States Army to describe the unfavourable environment which resulted from cold war. Indian business environment is groping with similar challenges; rapid changes have been taking place on political, economic, social and technological fronts. This has created deep implications for employees and leaders across organizations. Human Resource Management (HRM) plays an important role in the current scenario as HR function revolves around managing people, their careers and workplace culture. Studies done in the past show that talent management is viewed as one of the best HR practices in human resource function. Therefore, implementation of innovative Talent Management strategies can help organisations sail through the impact of changing times. This generates need to identify and analyse best talent management practices in Indian organisations experiencing VUCA. The data will be collected through a structured questionnaire and shall be analyzed through SPSS package and results will be illustrated in tables. The prime focus of this study is to identify the VUCA factors present in Indian business environment and to find out the best Talent Management practices that can mitigate impact of these VUCA factors. Keywords: VUCA, Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous, HR Practices, Talent Management Practices, Indian business environment, organisation newline