ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY AND TALENT ATTRACTION IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN KENYA

Abstract

Attracting the best and talented workforce with the right mix of skills to a firm from the global labour markets is a crucial resourcing strategy that enables a firm to distinguish itself from others. Firms with outstanding innovative capacity and strategies and nurture creativity in the workplace are known to attract the best talent. The purpose  of the study was to determine the effect of organisational environment strategy on talent attraction in the banking industry in Kenya. Signalling and job choice theory underpinned the study. The study utilised descriptive research design. It  was carried out in 43 commercial banks in Nairobi City County, Kenya with a target population of 2216 operations Managers, human resource and marketing managers, supervisors and bank tellers. The sample size for the study was 339, selected using purposive, random and proportionate stratified sampling. Closed and open-ended questionnaires were used in data collection.  Reliability was determined by piloting 34 questionnaires. A Cronbach’s Alpha value of 0.719 was calculated, considered suitable for the study. Validity was guaranteed by expert review in the field of human resources and related literature. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. The findings revealed a strong correlation exists between organisational environment strategy and talent attraction (r=0.837, p<0.01). The model coefficient was found to be significantly different from zero (t=6.517, p< 0.001). Organisational environment strategy explains (0.837²) 70.06 % of the variation in talent attraction. Further analysis showed that moderated organisational environment strategy had a statistically significant effect on talent attraction (β = 0.212, P=0.004). Thus, talent attraction mechanism had a significant moderating effect on organisational environment strategy and talent attraction in the banking industry in Kenya. The study recommends that banks should enhance working conditions to ensure they attract potential talents to sustain their competitive advantage.