Rebooting strategic human resource management to drive talent management in state-owned enterprises

Background: This study examined how strategic reconfiguration of strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices influences the effectiveness of talent management (TM) within South Africa’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs), with particular attention to how SHRM can drive organisational performance through enhanced talent acquisition, development, and retention. Aim: This research explored a ‘rebooted’ SHRM framework to address talent acquisition, development, and retention, and to mitigate unique SOE challenges, including governance deficits and operational inefficiencies. Setting: The study took place at selected SOEs in Limpopo province. Method: The study was quantitative; the survey questionnaire was distributed across four strata among 252 employees. SPSS (ver. 4.2) was used to analyse data, and factor analysis, correlation, and multiple regression analysis were employed to test the research objectives. Results: The findings reveal noticeable critical SHRM and TM sub-factors, including greening the workplace, corporate social responsibility, future of work, work satisfaction, work motivation, and workforce development. Notably, work motivation showed strong explanatory power, accounting for 61% of the variance (R2 = 0.615; adjusted R2 = 0.605). The findings demonstrate a significant positive relationship between SHRM and TM, and a significant influence of SHRM sub-factors on TM. This reveals work motivation through the social exchange theory perspective, indicating the reciprocal nature of SHRM, fostering employee contributions, and sustaining competitive advantage. Conclusion: The study highlights insights for SOE leaders and policymakers seeking to optimise human capital and improve organisational performance in a dynamic environment. Contribution: The study contributes to the academic literature by identifying context-specific SHRM dimensions and providing empirical evidence of SHRM’s influence on TM outcomes in SOEs.