The Impact of Talent Management Practices on Staff Retention: A Case Study in the Sri Lankan Apparel Industry

Abstract

Apparel industry has become the major economy provider in the Sri Lankan context. High employee turnover and low supply of employee benefits may lead many apparel firms to survive at economy downturn. High employee retention practices may cause to reduce employee turnover. Therefore, the Sri Lankan apparel firms are willing to invest money and time on high employee turnover, being in a leading sector. The objective of this study is to find the impact of talent management practices on staff retention in the Sri Lankan apparel industry. Population of this study was 100 individuals within the staff of a selected apparel manufacturing organization. Among them, 80 were selected with systematic random sampling. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using correlation and regression analysis. The literature review recognized five major independent talent management practices such as compensation, training and development, succession planning, work-life balance and job security. The study developed the conceptual framework based on five independent variables. Regression and correlation analysis results showed that the staff retention has positive relationships with compensation, training & development and work-life balance. The analysis further showed that succession planning and job security have negative impact on staff retention. This study suggested managers to focus on developing succession planning to identify the next suitable person and some benchmarking practices to improve job security. Suggested solutions were financially feasible and improve the efficiency of the company performance.