Talent management: an insight into the health sector of Sri Lanka

Talent management 

Source: blog.planview.com

Most important resource of an organization is its employees. In order to harness the full benefit from employees a comprehensive talent management programs need to be in place and it needs to fully align with the strategic plan of the business.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), talent management is the systematic attraction, development and deployment of individuals who are of particular value to the organization, either because they fulfill a critical role or the possess skills that have higher potential for adding value in the future, (CIPD, 2018). Talent management process typically has organizational planning, recruitment, development, retention, assessment, performance management and system for outplacement, (Armstrong, 2006). Employee tenure shall be taken into account when planning talent management. Some employees will change their employer time to time while some individuals will remain in the organization. These employees ideal for grooming for promotion. 

Healthcare domain of Sri Lanka

The primary concern of any type of healthcare organization is to uplift the health standards and reduction of mortality of people. Sri Lanka has very good health indicators such as low maternal mortality (33 per 100,000 live births) and infant mortality (9 per 1000 live births) rates. These were achieved in the backdrop of very low (less than 3 %) allocation by the budget, (WHO, 2017). Further, health professionals play a significant role in uplifting the health standards of people. They (Health professionals) are considered as one of the more important professional categories in the world and this is applicable to Sri Lanka also. It is worth to examine the talent management strategies in the Government health sector. This brief write up mainly focuses on the doctors.   

What are the key concerns?

• In 2015, Government health sector had about 123, 845 employees, which composed of different staff categories such as doctors, nurses, other paramedical staff (MLT, Pharmacist, Radiographers, etc.), health attendants, clerical staff, etc.,(Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, 2015). Health staff is distributed either through the central health or through 9 provincial health departments across the country. They perform various functions in the preventive and curative health sectors. To manage and develop the talents of these staff categories, Ministry of Health requires an integrated and robust talent management system that suits the 21^st century. Although the talent management activities are addressed somehow, there is no coordinated activity.   

• When recruitment management is concern, there is a shortage of doctors mainly due to the increased demand (opening of new health facilities) and the vacuum created by retirement and migration. Each year there are about 1200 medical graduates are produced by the 8 state medical faculties and all who willing to join the Ministry of Health is absorbed directly into the government health system.  

• Retention is becoming a challenge. The main reason is the low pay and the attractive benefits offered by the affluent countries. Lack of work-life balance and job satisfaction also contributed to migration. Government doctors are allowed to work in the private sector after hours (usually after 4 pm to 8 am), mainly because of the shortage of doctors in the country and the inability to pay a decent salary (to suit the qualifications and the work responsibility). The ultimate result is the lack of time to stay with loved ones. 

Management of these issues is a daunting task. In my opinion, the development of a robust human resource management system is the starting point and this will resolve many issues related to the health sector of Sri Lanka. 

References

1. Armstrong M., 2006. Talent Management. In: Human Resource Management Practice. London: Kogan Page Limited, pp. 389-408.
2. CIPD, 2018. Talent Management. [Online] Available at https://www.cipd.asia/knowledge/factsheets/talent-management. [Accessed 01 May 2019].
3. WHO, 2017. Health financing profile 2017 Sri Lanka. [Online] Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259644/HFP-SRL.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y [Accessed 20 May 2019].
4. WHO, 2019. The next step for Maternal and Newborn Care. [Online] Available at: http://www.searo.who.int/srilanka/areas/maternal_reproductive_health/en/[Accessed 20 May 2019].