This study examined the influence of executive coaching on talent management in an organisation. Four research questions were posed by the study. The cross-sectional research design was adopted for the study. The questionnaire was used as the instrument for collecting data from staff of selected firms in the Manufacturing, Oiland Gas sector of Nigeria. The simple random sampling technique was utilized for selecting the samples from the population while the simple percentage, frequency distribution table, mean and Pearson product moment correlation statistical techniques serves as the method of data analysis. Findings from the study therefore showed teaching employee about a given job is a part of talent management and that delegating tasks to employees helps to build talent. The study also found that executive coaching can help boost employee capacity and that job process coaching enables employees to become more knowledgeable about the different factors that surround the performance of a job. The study further found that task supervision helps to ensure that the employee does his/her job accurately. Based on the findings the study recommends that every organization should institute an effective framework for identifying talented employees which can be nurtured to perform efficiently overtime and that management of every organisation should institute executive coaching programs that will be targeted at enhancing the knowledge and skills of employees in the organisation. The study also recommends that organizations should ensure that employees are well supervised and guided, so as to help them minimize errors on the job and learn to work under scrutiny and pressure and organizations should combine both job process coaching and job content coaching to provide a more comprehensive system of talent management.
Talent management is the recruitment and talent management an organization’s employees to become as efficient and productive as possible [1]. It involves a strategic and deliberate method of sourcing, attracting, selecting, coaching, developing, promoting and moving skilled employees through the organization. Talent management is the solution to an unproductive workforce. It involves various processes such as selecting the most proficient job applicants based on pre-established metrics, motivating and maintaining existing employees, preventing organizational brain drain, coaching existing talents and promoting competent employees to top positions in the organization [1,2].
In this competitive market era, organizations and businesses are incessantly seeking for ways to be more competitive and increase productivity. The need to standout from other competitors has propelled businesses to develop several talent management strategies in terms of being strategic and deliberate in how they source, attract, select, train, develop, promote and move employees through the organization. This term also incorporates how companies drive performance at the individual level (performance management). For any organization to succeed, it is imperative for the management of that organization to provide an avenue for the management of existing talents within that organization. This is where executive coaching come into the fore. Executive coaching can be a valuable strategy to use in talent management. Successful talent management is the goal of an efficient succession planning program of a company.
The level of unproductivity in many Nigerian organizations has become alarming. Although there are no accurate data on the exact amount of companies that fail to achieve their objectives and experience employees' underperformance, the continuous turnover and inefficiency of employees is glaring facts.
The foregoing has been largely traceable to the inability of organizations to effectively manage talents. Failure in talent management has inhibited the achievement of the goal of efficient succession planning program of many organizations in Nigeria. Organizations lack the capacity to recruit the most proficient employees and effectively manage the talents that are at the disposal of the company and most at times, resort to the recruitment of external candidates for vacant positions of leadership within the organization. This is why this study has been designed to investigate the influence of executive coaching on talent management in an organization.
Objectives of the Study
The main objective of the study is to examine the influence of executive coaching on talent management in an organization.
Specifically, the study seeks to:
Find out the impact of job content coaching on talent management
Examine the impact of task delegation on talent management
Assess the relationship between job process coaching and talent management
Examine the extent to which task supervision affects talent management
Research Questions
The following questions have been posed to guide the study:
What is the impact of job content coaching on talent management
What is the impact of task delegation on talent management
What is the relationship between job process coaching and talent management
To what extent can task supervision affect talent management
Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses have been formulated to guide the study:
There is no significant relationship between job content coaching and talent management
There is no significant relationship between the task delegation and talent management
There is no significant relationship between job process coaching and talent management
There is no significant relationship between task supervision and talent management
Literature Review
Concept of Executive Coaching: Executive coaching is one of the main human resource activities in order to have qualified, flexible and proactive employees. This is because even with the most effective selection process and the very important element of selection test that brings employees into an organization, the wave of advancement and application of such technology, complexity of operations, competition, need for growth and sustainability makes employee coaching critical. Other scholars describe executive coaching as a planned programme that results in acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and social behavior that improve me employees “Job performance (Gordon as cited in [3,4]. To sum it up, employee executive coaching is a planned activity carried out either within or outside the organization that equip employees (trainees) with relevant competencies that enable employees perform assigned task optimally. Executive coaching exists in the following dimensions: orientation coaching, skills coaching, refresher coaching, literacy coaching, cross-functional coaching, team coaching, creativity coaching and diversity coaching [5]. Human resource are the intellectual property of the firm; a good source of gaining competitive advantage and coaching is the only way to developing organizational intellectual property and talent management through building employees competencies.
Talent Management
Talent management is the recruitment and talent management an organisation's employees to become as efficient and productive as possible [1]. It involves a strategic and deliberate method of sourcing, attracting, selecting, coaching, developing, promoting and moving skilled employees through the organization. Talent management is the solution to an unproductive workforce. It involves various processes such as selecting the most proficient job applicants based on pre-established metrics, motivating and maintaining existing employees, preventing organisational brain drain, coaching existing talents and promoting competent employees to top positions in the organisation [1,2]. The survival or success of companies therefore, is now dependent on their ability to nurture existing talents existing within them. Organisations build themselves based on the amount of talent that is available to them. In order to survive in the market in Nigeria, companies are keenly interested in developing strong talent management strategies. Executive coaching has emerged as part and parcel of modern day sustenance strategies and is now considered a key organisational asset.
Nexus between Executive Coaching and Talent Management
According to Sara Naqi Mirza executive coaching and its importance towards nurturing human capital has been recognized over the years by several authors. Investing in developing employees’ skills, knowledge and abilities can prove to be vital for organizations. This has been agreed by Nadeem, who mentions that organizations looking to achieve talent management will look to strengthen their employees’ skills and education that will enable them to use resources more efficiently. He further adds, to survive in these competitive times, an employee needs to be professionally strong in order to meet the level of expectations and fulfill his/her job responsibilities. In order to do so, they need to constantly expand their skill horizon for which coaching is necessary. Chen et al., also mentions that’s coaching not only helps in enhancing the skills that they may be lacking but will also reduce the anxiety within the employees, that is brought on by work demands. These competencies are a cluster of knowledge, skills and behavior that can be applied in their day to day activities and are critical to their job performance. According to Bowling and Truitt if this talent arte developed and nurtured over time can provide a firm with sustained competitive advantage. This idea has been supported by Pool and Pool and Mullen who further says that coaching and talent management initiatives increase an employee’s engagement in the firm which positively affects his/her psychological contract. This means coaching can add value to a firm through having a motivated and committed workforce which can lead to a firm having increased productivity and a better performance. According to Guest [6], mentioned in his study that coaching and talent management programmes, as one of the vital human resource management practice, positively affects the quantity of workers knowledge, skills and capability and thus result in higher employee talent on job. This relation ultimately contributes to supreme organizational performance.
Theoretical Framework
The theory that was adopted for this study is the human capital theory and resource base view theory. The Human Capital Theory argued that a person’s formal education determines his or her earning power. Human capital theory holds that it is the key competence, skill knowledge and abilities of the workforce that contributes to organizations competitive advantage. It focuses attention on resourcing, human resource talent management and reward strategies and practices. According to Human Capital Theory, education is an investment because it is believed that it could potentially bestow private and social benefits. Human capital theorists believe that education and earning power are correlated, which means, theoretically, that the more education one has, the more one can earn and that the skills, knowledge and abilities that education provides can be transferred into the work in terms of productivity, [7]. This study is anchored on Human Capital Theory. Human Capital Theory is selected as the leading theory because the central tenet of the theory holds that it is the key competencies, skills, knowledge and abilities of the workforce that contributes to organizations competitive advantage. Thus, the theory emphasized that if human resource talent management and reward strategies and practices. Thus, the theory emphasized that if human resource is developed and effectively utilized, it leads to enhance organizational performance.
Empirical Review
Sakwa in his study of the relationship between executive coaching and talent management in Kenyetta university of agriculture and technology Nairobi, Kenya, the study adopted an Explanatory research design, the population was 232 HRM from which a sample of 142 respondents were selected, the research tool was a questionnaire which constituted structured or closed items, Quantitative and qualitative data was generated using SPSS. The findings established a positive correlation between coaching and talent management and organizational Talent. The findings also suggested to the authorities of the corporations’ studies to give main focus to the coaching and talent management function to enhance organizational Talent.
Al-Awawdeh conducted a study which aimed mainly to analyze the relationship between a strategy of coaching and talent management statistically. The independent variables; coaching system, coaching and obstructions were tested by using simple regression method; SPSS. A sample of 120 employees was chosen out of 651 administrative departments employees at Al al-Bayt University. The results showed statistically significant effects of all independent variables on the Talent; the effect was statistically significant on morales. The effect of transaction of the two independent variables of Talent was also positive. The study showed that there is a need to have scientific methods to determine the coaching needs of workers in Al-Bayt University, as well as work on building coaching programs that focus on obstacles practice and work to resolve them. Recommendations of the study included developing coaching programs in the light of global talent managements that provide coaching opportunities for trainees to face what may result from changes in the world, which means re-coaching from time to time.
From the review of literature, it is observed that there is a gap in the geographical scope. it is observed that most of the reviewed studies have been carried out in places outside Delta State. This means there is a paucity of research on executive coaching and talent management in the context of Delta State. Also, another gap was spotted in the content of previous studies; while many studies sort to assess the impact of executive coaching on employee performance and talent management simultaneously without given extensive attention to just talent management and its associated variables. Hence, it is these observed gap in knowledge that this study aims to fill.
The design adopted descriptive survey. The population of this study is 1658 staff; comprises of all employees of the 10 selected companies in Warri, Delta State. With a sample size of 320 using Taro Yamame Formula. Thereafter, 32 staff were selected from each of the companied. The study employed simple sampling techniques. Questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The instrument was faced validated. The data that was collected from the administration of the questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistic. The responses from the completed questionnaires was sorted, coded and analyzed using the descriptive statistics such as tables, frequency count, simple percentage distribution and mean to answer the research questions. Finally, the Pearson Product Moment correlation will be used to test the hypotheses. This is because the aim is to ascertain the relationship between the variables under investigation.
The mean and the standard deviation were utilized in answering the various research questions that were posed in the study. The adopted cut-off point for the mean test is 2.50. This means that any item with a mean value from 2.50 above is accepted, while a value below means rejected.
In Table 1, it is clear that all the items had means of 2.50 and above. This means that all the items were accepted. Therefore, job content coaching has a significant impact on talent management, task delegation has a positive impact on talent management, job process coaching has a positive impact on talent management and task supervision can enhance talent management in an organization. Also, given the fact that the Standard Deviation value was 0.62, which is lower than the SD cut-off point of 1.41, it is clear that there is a low variability in responses, with the majority of respondents agreeing to the questions asked.
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of Executive Coaching and Talent Management
Statements | Likert Scale | _ X |
Std. |
Remark | ||||
| SA | A | D | SD | |||||
Job Content Coaching And Talent Management Teaching employee about a given job is talent management | Count | 88 | 169 | 30 | 21 | 3.44 | 0.62 | Accepted |
| % | 28.6 | 54.9 | 9.7 | 6.8 | ||||
| Job content coaching enhances talent management | Count | 99 | 188 | 9 | 12 | 3.57 | 0.59 | Accepted |
| % | 32.1 | 61.1 | 2.9 | 3.9 | ||||
| Talent management takes place when executive coaches teach | Count | 98 | 133 | 77 | - | 3.45 | 0.71 | Accepted |
| % | 31.8 | 43.2 | 25 | - | ||||
| On the job coaching usually builds talents | Count | 56 | 216 | 32 | 4 | 3.47 | 0.66 | Accepted |
| % | 18.2 | 70.1 | 10.4 | 1.3 | ||||
Task delegation and technical and talent management Delegating tasks to employees helps to build talent | Count | 83 | 163 | 40 | 22 | 3.32 | 0.71 | Accepted |
| % | 26.9 | 52.9 | 12.9 | 7.1 | ||||
| Employees are working on a job, it helps to advance their capacity | Count | 87 | 180 | 29 | 12 | 3.56 | 0.57 | Accepted |
| % | 28.5 | 58.4 | 9.2 | 3.9 | ||||
| Giving employees work to do increases technical know-how. | Count | 79 | 152 | 77 | - | 3.55 | 0.64 | Accepted |
| % | 25.6 | 49.4 | 25 | - | ||||
| working on the job, they are able to develop good techniques | Count | 101 | 163 | 35 | 9 | 3.41 | 0.57 | Accepted |
| % | 32.8 | 59.2 | 11.4 | 2.9 | ||||
| Job Process Coaching And Talent Management Executive coaching can help boost employee capacity | Count | 56 | 216 | 32 | 4 | 3.57 | 0.59 | Accepted |
| % | 32.1 | 61.1 | 2.9 | 3.9 | ||||
| Job process coaching enhances employee knowledgeable | Count | 98 | 133 | 77 | - | 3.45 | 0.71 | Accepted |
| % | 31.8 | 43.2 | 25 | - | ||||
| Job process coaching helps employees to understand others | Count | 99 | 188 | 9 | 12 | 3.52 | 0.71 | Accepted |
| % | 60.9 | 33.0 | 1.7 | 3.5 | ||||
| Coaching employees on the job process enhances leadership skill | Count | 88 | 169 | 30 | 21 | 3.44 | 0.62 | Accepted |
| % | 28.6 | 54.9 | 9.7 | 6.8 | ||||
| Management supervision usually helps the employee to work under pressure | % | 32.8 | 59.2 | 11.4 | 2.9 | |||
| supervision helps employee do their job accurately | Count | 79 | 152 | 77 | - | 3.55 | .64 | Accepted |
| % | 25.6 | 49.4 | 25 | - | ||||
| Talent management is facilitated by task supervision | Count | 83 | 163 | 40 | 22 | 3.32 | .71 | Accepted |
| % | 26.9 | 52.9 | 12.9 | 7.1 | ||||
| supervised employees utilise their possessed talents | Count | 87 | 180 | 29 | 12 | 3.56 | .57 | Accepted |
| % | 32.3 | 62.6 | 1.5 | 2.6 | ||||
| Average | 3.47 | 0.62 | ||||||
SPSS (2022)
Test of Hypotheses
In analyzing and testing the research hypotheses, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used. The computed data was analysed using SPSS.
Hypotheses 1: There Is no Significant Relationship Between Job Content Coaching and Talent Management
From the Table 2, the relationship between job content coaching and talent management is positive (0.289), indicating that executive coaching enhances talent management significantly in an organisation. On this ground, we reject the null hypothesis. Therefore, there is a significant relationship between job content coaching and talent management.
Table 2: Correlation Between Job Content Coaching and Talent Management
| Variables | Job Content Coaching | Job Satisfaction | |
| Job content coaching | Pearson Correlation | 1 | 0.289** |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | - | 0.000 | |
| N | 308 | 308 | |
| Talent management | Pearson Correlation | 0.289** | 1 |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | 0.000 | - | |
| N | 308 | 308 | |
SPSS, 2022
Hypothesis 2: There is no Significant Relationship Between Task Delegation and Talent Management
From the Table 3, the relationship between task delegation and talent management is positive (0.650), indicating that task delegation enhances talent management significantly. On this ground, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant relationship between task delegation and talent management.
Table 3: Correlation Between Task Delegation and Talent Management
| Variables | Task Delegation | Talent Management | |
| Task delegation | Pearson Co,dd f ,*rrelation | 1 | 0.650** |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | - | 0.000 | |
| N | 308 | 308 | |
| Talent Management | Pearson Correlation | 0.650** | 1 |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | 0.000 | - | |
| N | 308 | 308 | |
SPSS, 2022
Hypothesis 3: There is no Significant Relationship Between Job Process Coaching and Talent Management
From the Table 4, the relationship between job process coaching and talent management is positive (0.495). This means that job process coaching enhances talent management significantly. On this ground, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant relationship task supervision and talent management.
Table 4: Correlation Between Job Process Coaching and Talent Management
| Variables | Job Process Coaching | Talent Management | |
| Job process coaching | Pearson Correlation | 1 | 0.495** |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | - | 0.000 | |
| N | 308 | 308 | |
| management | Sig. (2-tailed) | 0.000 |
308 |
| N | 308 | ||
SPSS, 2022
Hypothesis 4: There is no Significant Relationship Between Task Supervision and Talent Management
From the Table 5, the relationship between task supervision and talent management is positive (0.398**), indicating that task supervision enhances talent management significantly. On this ground, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant relationship between task supervision and talent management.
Table 5: Correlation Between Supervision and Talent Management
| Variables | Task Supervision | Talent Management | |
| Task supervision | Pearson Correlation | 1 | 0.398** |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | - | 0.000 | |
| N | 308 | 308 | |
| Talent management | Pearson Correlation | 0.398** | 1 |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | 0.000 | - | |
| N | 308 | 308 | |
SPSS, 2022
In line with the results of the data analyses, as well as the review of relevant literature, the findings of the study are presented as follows:
Job Content Coaching and Talent Management
The correlation coefficient showed that there is a significant relationship between job content coaching and talent management (r=.289**, p<0.01) The findings corraborate the assertion of Sakwa there is positive correlation between job coaching and talent management. He also suggested to the authorities of the corporations’ studies to give main focus to the coachingnfunction to enhance organizational talent. Similarly, Abdullahi, Gwadabe and Ibrahim asserted that organizational talent is enhanced through catching employees about their tasks and roles as related to a given job.
Task Delegation Coaching and Talent Management
The test of hypothesis showed that there is a significant relationship between task delegation and talent management. This implies that delegating tasks to employees helps to build talent. Also, when employees are working on a job, it helps to advance their capacity. Giving employees work to do increases employees technical know-how and when employees are working on the job, they are able to develop good working techniques. There is also the tendency of employees building their confidence, as they perform the tasks that are associated with the job in question. This is why Guest [6], mentioned in his study that task delegation and talent management programmes, are some of the vital human resource management practice, that positively affects the quantity of worker’s knowledge, skills and capability and thus result in higher employee talent on job. Farooq and Aslam study also depicted a positive correlation between coaching and employees’ performance.
Job Process Coaching and Talent Management
The test of hypothesis showed that there is a significant relationship between job process coaching and talent management. This implies that executive coaching can help boost employee capacity. Also, job process coaching enables employees to become more knowledgeable about the different factors that surround the performance of a job. It must also be stated that job process coaching helps employees to understand others better and also, coaching employees on the job process enhances leadership skills. This is in line with the findings of Wright and Geroy [8], who argued that employee competencies changes through effective coaching programmes. Also, Swart et al. [9], argued that employee superior performance occurs only because of good quality coaching programmes that leads to employee motivation and their needs fulfillment.
Task Supervision and Talent Management
The analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between task supervision and talent management. This implies that task supervision usually helps the coached employee to work under pressure. Also, task supervision helps to ensure that the employee do his/her job accurately. Talent management is facilitated by task supervision and when employees are supervised they are able to utilise their possessed talents.
Employees are the most important asset of every organization. Hence, many companies are concerned with maintaining existing talents. Organizations consider addressing skills shortages a priority. The shortage of talent brings the retention of talent to the forefront in organizations. This brings executive coaching to the fore. In addition, professional and academic studies show that leadership talent management is both a concern and a core priority for organizational talent management. Leadership capability is perceived as a perennial issue with a majority of business leaders claiming that it is one of the most critical talent challenges faced by global organizations. Very few organizations believe their leadership pipeline contributes to prepare the future global leaders needed in a highly competitive, uncertain and knowledge-based economy.
From the research findings, it was recommended that organization should institute an effective framework for identifying talented employees which can be nurtured to perform efficiently overtime and management of every organisation should institute executive coaching programmes that will be targeted at enhancing the knowledge and skills of employees in the organisation. This study contributed to knowledge by revealing the influence of executive coaching on talent management in Nigeria.
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