An overview of the talent management in Turkey: An application on the participation banks

Today, the effects of global competition affect all processes of enterprises and make them compulsory to adopt new management approaches. The rapid developments in information and technology adversely affect the long-term competitive advantage of enterprises. In spite of all the investments and the measures taken, the products and services specific to the enterprises are copied and put on the counter market, leaving the companies in a difficult situation. Businesses have realized that the human element cannot be copied since the last quarter of the 20th century. The distinctive power of the human resource factor in the global competitive environment has revealed a new management philosophy in human resource management, which has the name of 'Talent Management'. This new management philosophy adopts the understanding of talent management instead of human resource management by imposing new roles and responsibilities on human resources. In the financial sector, human resources are more important than other sectors. Participation banks operate in the financial sector and have an organizational structure that is dependent on skilled labor. It is also very important for the sector to have high potential, to have talented employees, and to retain the employees in this sector, in order to keep up with its growth target. However, no studies have been found on the adoption and implementation of talent management in participation banks in Turkey. In this study, firstly, the literature related to human resources management, strategic human resources management and talent management process is examined and necessary concepts are explained. Then, after informing about the interest-free banking system, information about the human resources policies of participation banks was included. Finally, data were collected by the qualitative research method of in-depth interview techniques in 5 participation banks in Turkey, of which 2 are state-owned and 3 owned by private equity. Interviews were conducted with managers in human resources departments, which are practitioners and supervisors of talent management approach. According to the findings obtained from the interviews; except for one bank with private capital, talent management practices were found to be below the desired level. Moreover, it is found that the level of utilization of talent management and its sub-dimensions in private participation banks is much higher than that in public participation banks.