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To review the impact of talent management on service quality in
banking industry- case study of HSBC
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ABSTRACT
In this high competitive business world talent management is considered as an essential
element for enhancing the overall business success as it highly helps in improving employee
productivity and employee retention. Service quality is the important factor that highly drives
the success rate of banking sector. And it can be found the effective implementation of talent
management can highly improve the service quality. Thus in this context the researcher
implemented an analysis on the impact of talent management on service quality in banking
industry and for carrying out the study the case study of HSBC is taken. HSBC is considered as
one of the leading financial services company that highly invested on talent management for
attracting more talented people.
The researcher has adopted positivism philosophy and deductive approach for conducting the
research study effectively. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the present
study. The quantitative data was collected by conducting online survey on 7 employees of
HSBC, UK and direct survey on 42 customers of HSBC respectively. The secondary data was
collected by reviewing various internal and external secondary sources and this helped in
developing a detailed case study of HSBC, UK. Descriptive analysis method was used to analyze
the quantitative data collected. The findings of the study revealed that HSBC adopted a
effective talent management system for enhancing the performance of the employees so that it
leads to improvement in service quality. It was found from the study the talent management
strategies of the bank was effective and but it was also noted that employees were unsatisfied
with some of the talent management techniques. The findings also revealed that the customers
were moderately satisfied with the service quality of the bank. Thus the researcher
recommended HSBC to improve the various talent management strategies such as rewarding
system, training, communication etc for improving the service quality of the bank.
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Table of Contents ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS ...................................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 7
1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 7
1.2 Research background .......................................................................................................................... 7
1.3 Rationale of the research .................................................................................................................... 8
1.4 Research Aim ...................................................................................................................................... 9
1.5 Research objectives ............................................................................................................................ 9
1.6 Research Questions ............................................................................................................................ 9
1.7 Significance of the research ................................................................................................................ 9
1.8 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 10
1.9 Structure of the dissertation ............................................................................................................. 11
1.10 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 13
2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 13
2.2 Talent management .......................................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Service quality ................................................................................................................................... 14
2.4 Key factors influencing service quality .............................................................................................. 14
2.5 Model to analyse talent management .............................................................................................. 16
2.6 SERVQUAL model .............................................................................................................................. 19
2.7 Impact of talent management on service quality in UK banking industry........................................ 22
2.8 Link between the existing literature and researcher’s work ............................................................ 23
2.9 Conceptual framework ..................................................................................................................... 25
2.10 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 26
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 27
3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 27
3.2 Research philosophy ......................................................................................................................... 27
3.3 Research approach............................................................................................................................ 28
3.4 Research design ................................................................................................................................ 29
3.5 Research strategy .............................................................................................................................. 30
3.6 Data collection methods ................................................................................................................... 31
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3.7 Sample selection ............................................................................................................................... 33
3.8 Sampling methods ............................................................................................................................ 33
3.9 Data analysis plan ............................................................................................................................. 35
3.10 Ethical issues ................................................................................................................................... 36
3.11 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 36
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION .................................................................................. 38
4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 38
4.2 Plan of analysis .................................................................................................................................. 38
4.3 Case study of HSBC in UK ................................................................................................................. 38
4.4 Quantitative data analysis ................................................................................................................ 44
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS ................................................................. 59
5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 59
5.2 Discussion of Findings ....................................................................................................................... 59
5.3 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 63
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................... 64
6.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 64
6.2 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 64
6.3 Limitations of the research ............................................................................................................... 66
6.4 Recommendations for future research ............................................................................................. 66
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 67
APPENDIX-I .................................................................................................................................................. 72
APPENDIX-II ................................................................................................................................................. 73
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LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS
List of figures
Figure 2.1: Talent management wheel...........................................................................16
Figure 2.2: SERVQUAL model.......................................................................................19
Figure 2.3: Conceptual framework.................................................................................24
Figure 4.1: Global Talent Management Process at HSBC............................................39
List of pie charts
Pie Chart 4.1: Age.........................................................................................................44
Pie Chart 4.2: Gender...................................................................................................45
Pie Chart 4.3: Education level.......................................................................................46
Pie Chart 4.4: Experience..............................................................................................47
Pie Chart 4.5: Opinion regarding HSBC talent management strategies........................49
Pie Chart 4.6: Impact of talent management strategies on service quality....................50
Pie chart 4.7: Age of customers participated in survey..................................................52
Pie chart 4.8: Gender of customers participated in survey.............................................53
Pie chart 4.9: Years of customer relation with HSBC.....................................................54
Pie chart 4.10: Satisfaction in HSBC's service quality....................................................55
Pie chart 4.11: HSBC elements that attracts customers.................................................56
List of tables
Table 4.1: Rating provided to the talent management strategies of HSBC....................48
List of bar charts
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Bar chart 4.1: Rating provided to the talent management strategies of HSBC...............48
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Service quality has gained its own important place in the field of academic research while talent
management is currently a budding concept as far as Human Resource Management is
concerned (Nafei, 2015a). According to the author, talent management has acquired immense
attention from both business and academic areas, but, there are still gaps remaining for further
empirical and theoretical studies. It is in this regard the researcher has decided to conduct a
study to know the relationship between these two variables and particularly choosing the
banking industry where the prime concern is to offer best service to the customers. Through
this chapter of the study, the researcher offers a succinct introduction to the research problem
and also mentions the research aim, objectives and significance of the study.
1.2 Research background
In the highly competitive business world, retention of potential staffs is essential for the
organizations to provide better quality services to customers and to improve customer
satisfaction. In the opinion of Cook and Macaulay (2009), most of the organizations are now
heavily invested on talent management to improve the productivity and performance level of
the employees and it aid the organizations to improve the service quality. However, improper
working condition, over work load, improper internal communication, etc created employee job
dissatisfaction and it reduces the quality of customer services (Nafei, 2015a). In this context,
the present study will analyse the impact of talent management on service quality.
Banking industry is considered as one of the leading service sector and offering of high quality
services is necessary for the banks to retain potential customers. Staffs in banks have direct
contact with customers and thus employees have prominent role in offering good quality
services to customers. Most of the banks offer effective training and reward programs,
motivational programs, fringe benefits, etc to employees for improving their performance level
(Higginbottom, 2015). However, TalentQ (2012) identified that, over work pressure, long
working hours, lack of effective reward programs, etc created issues among the employees and
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it negatively affects employee performance. Thus the study will evaluate the role of talent
management on improving service quality in UK banking sector.
Being one of the leading financial service companies, HSBC has heavily invested on talent
management for improving the employee performance. Effective working condition, good
relation between management and employees, etc improves employee performance and it aid
HSBC to provide better services to customers (Harrison, 2013). However, recently the company
faced large number of customer complaints about unfriendly attitude of employees towards
customers. Discrimination in offering rewards to employees, inefficiency of HSBC’s training
programs to improve the skills of the employees, etc adversely affects the performance level of
the employees and it reduce service quality of HSBC (Vrontis and Thrassou, 2013). Thus the
study analyse the impact of talent management of HSBC to improve its service quality.
1.3 Rationale of the research
As per the study findings of Barkhuizen, Mogwere and Schutte (2014) and Collings, Scullion and
Vaiman (2015), talent management is necessary in firms for identifying, recruiting and
promoting right talents and thereby to improve the service quality of the organization. In
addition to this, organizations which provide higher preference for talent management can
retain skilled and talented labour force and it assist such firms to provide high quality services
to customers (Heathfield, 2016). HSBC is a UK based multinational financial and banking
services organization which heavily investing on talent management for attracting more
talented employees for offering high quality services to customers. Global Talent Management
programme of HSBC helps them to improve service quality and it made the organization as
world’s leading financial service company (Harrison, 2013). However, discrimination in offering
rewards, ineffectiveness of training and development programs to rectify the weakness of
employees, etc reduced the efficiency of performance of HSBC employees and it increases the
customer complaints about poor service quality (Vrontis and Thrassou, 2013). This shows the
importance of analysing the impact of talent management on service quality. So the research
will evaluate the role of talent management on improving service quality by taking the case of
HSBC in UK.
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1.4 Research Aim
Modern day organizations are placing greater emphasize on talent management for achieving
sustainable competitive advantage in the market. Kaliannan, Abraham and Ponnusamy (2016)
notes that talent management helps organization in effectively utilising human resource and in
developing their workforce for providing high quality service to customers. HSBC was one of the
first banking organizations to adopt the principles of talent management (Cook and Macaulay,
2009). However, improper talent management strategies of the banks created employee
dissatisfaction and it negatively affected service quality and thus HSBC received more than
12,429 customer complaints (Salmon, 2014). In this context, this study aims to review the
impact of talent management on service quality by focusing on the case HSBC, UK.
1.5 Research objectives
The main objectives of the present study are:
• To analyse the major talent management practices followed in an organization
• To evaluate the major factors influencing service quality
• To understand the impact of talent management on service quality of HSBC, UK
• To provide recommendations for HSBC to improve its talent management practices for
enhancing service quality.
1.6 Research Questions
The study is based on following research questions:
1. What strategies does HSBC use for talent management in the company?
2. What are the key factors influencing the service quality of an organization?
3. What role does talent management play in improving service quality in banking sector?
4. How has talent management of HBSC influenced service quality offered by the bank?
5. How can HSBC improve talent management in the company?
1.7 Significance of the research
According to Alma'aitah and Al-Shalabi (2013), talent management is an essential element for
the organizations to improve the performance level of the employees and to avoid employee
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issues in the firm. Implementation of effective talent management practices helps the
organizations to solve the employee issues and it also help to enhance the productivity and
retention rate of employees. Improvement in employee performance aids the organizations to
offer better quality products and services to customers. However, most of the organizations are
unaware about the effectiveness of talent management to improve service quality and most of
the firms are only try to enhance its profitability. Over concentration on profit without
considering the employee will negatively affect employee performance and it leads to poor
service quality (Altinoz, Cakiroglu and Cop, 2013). Moreover, compared to retail and fashion
industry, UK banking sector faces large number of customer issues due to poor service quality.
Thus in the industrial point of view, this study is significant for understanding the role of talent
management on service quality of UK banking sector. From the academic view point, the study
will be significant for identifying the relation between talent management and service quality
and it also aid HSBC and other similar banks to improve its talent management strategies and
thereby to enhance service quality.
1.8 Methodology
The researcher will use deductive approach in the present research for analysing the impact of
talent management on service quality in HSBC. By using deductive approach the researcher will
be able to conduct objective analysis on the research issue. For conducting the research, the
researcher will collect both primary and secondary data. The information about the talent
management programs of HSBC and their effectiveness will be collected from secondary
sources such as case studies, company documents, previous researches, books journals, etc.
The researcher will also conduct online survey with employees of HSBC for collecting
quantitative data about the efficiency of talent management practices of HSBC, main issues
faced by the employees of HSBC, impact of talent management on employee performance, etc.
The researcher will also collect primary data from customers of HSBC by using self-administered
survey for understanding the service quality offered by the bank. This means the researcher will
collect both qualitative and quantitative data for the study. The qualitative data will be
analysed using descriptive analysis method while quantitative data will be analysed with help of
charts, tables and graphs.
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1.9 Structure of the dissertation
Chapter 1: Introduction First chapter of the dissertation introduce the research
topic and also discuss the aims and objectives of the
study. Significance of the study, research background and
rationale, etc will cover in this chapter.
Chapter 2: Literature review Through this chapter, the researcher critically examines
the previous studies related to talent management and
service quality and also framed conceptual framework for
the study.
Chapter 3: Methodology Various research methods like research philosophy,
research approach, research design, sampling, etc are
discussed in this chapter. Justifications for the selected
methods are also discussed in this chapter.
Chapter 4: Findings Chapter four summarises the major findings of the study
by using graphs, tables, etc.
Chapter 5: Discussions
This chapter cross examine the findings of the study with
literature review. This segment identifies the gap between
collected secondary and primary data findings.
Chapter 6:
Conclusion and recommendations
This is the final chapter of the dissertation and through
this chapter, the researcher conclude the findings of the
study on the basis of research objectives.
Recommendations for future researchers and research
limitations and recommendations for HSBC to improve
talent management practices are also mention in this
chapter.
1.10 Summary
It can be inferred from the above discussions that, talent management plays a significant role in
improving the service quality of the organizations. Even though HSBC implement effective
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talent management, ineffectiveness of rewards programs, training and development programs,
etc adversely affected employee performance and thereby quality of services. The first chapter
of the dissertation provided brief introduction to the research topic by evaluating background
of the study, rationale of the research and significance of the study. This chapter also
mentioned the objectives and aims of the study. Structure of the dissertation is explained at the
end of this chapter.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
According to Galagan and Oakes (2011), talent management is viewed as an essential
component which constitutes to the business growth of companies as it assists the companies
in retaining their skilled talent whilst enhancing productivity. In a bid to sustain in the
competition and to maintain market position, it has also become significant for companies to
deliver quality service to their target customers. It has been stated by Schweyer (2010) that a
series of factors persuade employees to perform in a certain way and thus affecting the service
quality. Besides, these factors are found to have high relevance in embedding motivation and
satisfaction among staffs of a company. With this aim, companies strive to implement an
effectual talent management system that offers adequate training and development, constant
feedback and support as well as benefits. This chapter provides an extensive explanation of the
research variables- talent management and service quality and elucidates factors that influence
service quality in a company. Besides, how the talent management model affects the service
quality of companies particularly in the banking sector is also discussed. Moreover, a
comparison is made between existing and earlier research findings and also gives the
conceptual framework developed for this study.
2.2 Talent management
Talent management includes a series of business HR practices and procedures that make sure
the sustainable efficacy of the highly adept labour force within a company(Schweyer, 2010). In
the talent management practice, HR department strives to entice, motivate and instigating the
productivity and functioning level of employees through series of procedures like employee
hiring, training, development, retention, planning and performance management. Ariss (2014)
finds that the prime objective of talent management is to facilitate a company with higher
performance which is paramount to meet the organizational target and objectives.
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2.3 Service quality
To meet customer expectations, companies intends to sustain a better service quality in terms
of product deliverance and performance of the employees. As per Zeithaml, Parasuraman and
Berry (2010), service quality implies to the comparison of expectations regarding a service with
the competence or performance delivered. It has been found that a business enterprise with
enhanced service quality is tempted to fulfil customer demands and requirements by remaining
financially competitive. In this regard,enhanced service quality wouldboost financial
competitiveness of companies. Kenyon and Sen (2014) observe that although service quality
and customer satisfaction are independent, they are referred to be highly associated as an
increase in one results in the rise of other. As companies today have understood the necessity
of having a group of talented and skilled workforce to deliver a better, quality service that could
meet the expectations of customers, it would accordingly leads to the customer satisfaction
and thereby to high purchasing or consuming rate. Hence, to attain this, it has become essential
for companies to better their service, identify issues and to analyse the customer satisfaction.
2.4 Key factors influencing service quality
As per the viewpoint of Wang (2010) service quality is perceived by companies with high
priority as it has significant impact upon the customer satisfaction as well as the performance
and profitability of a company. Ghasemi, Kazemi and Esfahani (2012) view that the expectation
of customers regarding a specific service is decided by several factors such as performance of
the staffs, quality of products, organizational ambience, customer expectations, customer
satisfaction, service process, service potential, communication, credibility, security and privacy.
If these factors are implemented properly, companies could deliver a better, enhanced quality
service (Kenyon and Sen, 2014).
• Performance of the staffs
An organization’s internal staffs’ attitude and behaviour highly depend upon the customer
satisfaction level (Lisch, 2016). If customers are approached with arrogant attitude, they would
develop discontentment with the service of a company and would ultimately find the service
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unpleasant. However, as per Wang (2010), highly skilled and experienced staffs do not fail in
identifying, understanding and fulfilling customer needs.
• Quality of products
A company’s product quality possess a significant role in deciding service quality (Kenyon and
Sen, 2014). If delivered products are of low quality, customer would hardly think of buying
products from the company again. This would also prompt customers to think that they are
offered with bad service. Hence, it would be effectual for companies to deliver high quality
products to have enhanced service quality.
• Organizational ambience
The physical appearance of a company comprising interior, employee dress pattern etc. can
have a substantial impact upon the satisfaction level of customers as they would attach the
organizational ambience with the overall quality of the company(Wang, 2010).
• Customer expectation and satisfaction
Customer expectation and satisfaction level would be high if they are facilitated with better
experience and service, finds Oliver (2014).
• Service process and service potential
Service quality is highly influenced by the staffs’ expertise and qualifications as well as
quickness in service since efficacy in service process and potential prompts customers to
perceive that they are provided with high quality service by an adept staff without any delay
(Rai, 2012).
• Communication
If customers are not properly and timely informed with the new policies or strategies or offers
of a company, they would develop a sense of negligence and would feel that the company
facilitates a bad service (Rai, 2012).
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• Credibility
When a company is truthful and loyal with its service to the customers, it is acknowledged to be
a credible organization. If a company has a bad image and reputation, it would adversely affects
the service quality as perceived by customers (Oliver, 2014).
• Security and privacy
In business industries like banking sector, security and privacy matter the most as any failure in
securing the highly confidential data of customers would negatively impact the overall image
and functioning of an organization. A company that has high service quality safeguards security
and privacy level of customers and thereby fulfilling the customer needs and expectations
(Lisch, 2016).
2.5 Model to analyse talent management
As per Altinoz, Cakiroglu and Cop(2013), due to high competition in the business world, talent
management practices have important role in improving the productivity of the employees and
thereby to offer better quality services to customers. The life cycle of talent is a question of
debate for many years and talent management wheel is an essential model to analyse the
various stages that talented individuals move through in an organization (Collings, Scullion and
Vaiman, 2015).
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Figure 2.1: Talent management wheel
Source: Effron and Ort (2013)
From the above figure, it is clear that, major indistinguishable stages that the talented people
move through in a company are:
Acquisition: Recruitment of acquisition of right talent is an important task for the organizations
to hire good talent. In some way, the organization employ a staff, either by acquiring a new
business, or by direct recruiting. Only by analysing the subjective references from others and
evaluating the past performance of the employees, the firm can estimate the future
performance of the staffs. Surveys, interview, assessments and other kinds of recruitment
practices are involve in this process (Collings, Scullion and Vaiman, 2015).
On-boarding: On the basis of the industry in which the company operates, each organization
has its own organizational structure, strategies, values, goals, etc.In narrow sense, on-boarding
aid the new staff to obtain a basic idea about the job and it help to improve their performance.
In broad sense, this helps the employees to accept the practices, processes, culture, etc of the
organization (Heathfield, 2016).
Incubation: As per Schweyer (2010), it is considered as a talent funnel which allows
classification and segregation of talent.Mainly special assignments and projects, assignment of
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mentors, targeted training, etc are considered as incubation programs and which aid the staffs
to improve their skills and talents.
Identification: In the opinion of Heathfield(2016),identification of talented employees is
essential for the organizations to improve the company performance. For identifying the talent,
well organised firms have continuous, systematic and well defined programs. Talent review
sessions, surveys, leadership assessments, etc are commonly used by the organizations to
identify the talented employees (Galagan and Oakes, 2011).
Assessment: In the opinion of Effron and Ort (2013), assessment of the employee performance
is essential for identifying the main areas requires improvement and it also aided the firm to
adopt effective strategies to improve the performance level of the employees. 360 degree
feedback, quantitative evaluation, multi stakeholder feedback, etc helps the company to
evaluate the performance of employees.
Promotion: As per Barkhuizen, Mogwere and Schutte (2014), after identifying the talent of the
employees, many firms promote them to higher positions based on their abilities. In many
cases, special assignment, job rotation, promotion, etc greatly aid the employees to obtain a
good awareness about the firm and increase the network of contract within the firm and the
industry. Some type of organization use “Up or Out” strategy in which the employees need to
perform the tasks provided by the company within the allotted time or should leave the firm.
Evaluation of leadership groups, management teams, potentials of executives are the general
practices for promoting employees (Collings, Scullion and Vaiman, 2015).
Retention:Altinoz, Cakiroglu and Cop (2013) mentions that, organizations need to implement
various programs and activities to improve the satisfaction level of the employees and thereby
to retain potential staffs in the firm. Rewards and recognition programs, compensation
alignment and other types of employee benefit programs are offered by the firms to retain
talented employees.
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Succession: When leaders of the organizations leave from the company, well managed
organizations have better programs to easily and quickly transform the potential employees to
the new vacant higher job roles (Heathfield, 2016).
Forecasting: Talent management programs have important role in fulfilling the future needs
effectively. Well organised companies have a clear understanding about their current gaps and
ongoing strategies and plans to rectify it and about their future needs. Dashboards and
analytics are used by some organizations to get a clear understanding about the future needs
(Tiwari and Shrivastava, 2013).
From the above discussions, it was clear that, talent management is a key concept in
organization for hiring, assessing, identifying and promoting right talents. So it can be inferred
that, talent management have vital role in all types of organizations to improve the
performance level of the employees and thereby to enhance overall performance of the
organizations.
2.6 SERVQUAL model
The SERVQUAL service quality model is considered as the quality management framework
which initially identified 10 factors of service quality. However, in the later work of the
propounded authors, the number of factors reduced to 5, namely reliability, assurance,
tangibles, responsiveness and empathy (RATER) (Kumar, 2013).
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Figure 2.2: SERVQUAL model
Source: (Kumar, 2013)
The SERVQUAL model proposes efficient activities that can be adopted by companies for
enhancing their service quality. This model also analyses 5 factors and their dimensions of the
service they acquire. As per this model, if customer expectations are higher than their
perceived dimensions of delivery, service quality would be low (Ghasemi, Kazemi and Esfahani,
2012).It also analyses how these factors improve the satisfaction level of customers.
Furthermore, the authors of this model also noted 5 gaps that would prompt customers to
experience deprived service quality. Hence, these gaps are found to be the key impediments
while enhancing service quality in accordance with the expectation level of customers. In
banking sector as well, the following factors are fundamental when improving the overall
service quality of organizations (Kumar, 2013).
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Reliability: This factor implies to the ability to deliver the service as promised by a company in a
precise, accurate way. When upholding this factor, the service is delivered accurately,
accounting and tabulation is correct, documents and records have timeliness as per the
schedules. By ensuring the reliability factor, companies can deliver a better performance to
their customers, thereby get high loyalty and contentment level from customers (Ghasemi,
Kazemi and Esfahani, 2012).
Assurance: Assurance implies to the courtesy and expertise of employees and their capability in
delivering services with confidence and trust. As customers interact with employees during the
deliverance of the service, the courtesy of the employees plays a crucial role in influencing the
contentment level of customers. If the customers feel highly satisfied, they would develop trust
towards the company and would have confidence and trust to approach the company for
another service (Kumar, 2013).
Tangibles: They include the physical appearance, facilities and amenities, personnel,
communication tools and equipment related to a particular service. All these aspects that
constitute to the tangible factors need to be given high prominence whilst delivering a service
to the customers so as to effectively meet their expectations (Ghasemi, Kazemi and Esfahani,
2012).
Empathy: This factor includes the individualized consideration provision of attention and caring
to customers. Customers prefer to be treated individually while offering with services. Hence,
any adverse actions from employees could negatively impact upon the overall quality of
products and service as well as would result in an undesirable company image. Hence, it is
significant to embed relevant skills in employees for providing customers with special care and
attention (Kumar, 2013).
Responsiveness: It refers to the readiness to assist customers and to facilitate quick, timely
services as they require. Hence, an employee who has an enthusiastic mind-set and eagerness
to serve customers could deliver a high quality, satisfactory service. Apart from employees, it is
also significant that company management also need to monitor the customer perceived
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service quality as responsiveness factor also implies how much a company is accountable while
dealing with customers (Ghasemi, Kazemi and Esfahani, 2012).
2.7 Impact of talent management on service quality in UK banking industry
A significant factor that impacts the efficient functioning banking sector is the talent
management. Service quality and availability are considered to be the key aspects that drives
the success rate of banking sector in UK markets. As per the reports of TalentQ (2012) the
banking industry continues to develop its employee workforce irrespective to the existing
market instability. A major issue encountered by the banking sector in UK are the lack of
availability in suitable individuals to hire as employee as well as sufficient customers (PWC,
2012). The unavailability of key talents and skills are identified as a significant downturn in
customer attraction towards UK banking industry.
Another major challenge encountered in banking industry of UK is based on the remuneration.
The staffs within the management team expects the bank in offering an increase in fixed pay
apart from bonus payments. As per the studies performed by the reports of PWC (2012)
majority of the employees working within UK banking sector responds that the salary growth
within the banking sector would facilitate in the overall efficiency in banking firm
functionalities. On the other hand, many expects a drop down of employee performance and
service quality due to the novel regulations of European Union. Talent management facilitates
the organisation in alerting the banking staff upon the needs of the banking sector and thereby,
prevent the salary drop with the support of varied approaches (Higginbottom, 2015). The HR
team members of banking industry believes that the major challenges faced by the UK banking
sector are restoration, remuneration and regulations.
In due regards to regulations European Union directives, Financial Council Authorities and
Prudential Regulation Authority defends that human management activities have a major
influence in talent management activities of the organisation and thereby, it affects the service
quality of the banking sector in UK (Higginbottom, 2015). The human management activities
include the rise of Capital Requirements Directive and the bonus caps introduction of 100% of
the basic payment or the shareholder approval up to 200%. According to Tajuddin, Ali and
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Kamaruddin (2015) and the reports of TalentQ (2012), a significant challenge faced by the UK
banking sector is upon the implementation of novel regulations on the banking sector by the
European Union. The political changes driven by the regulatory changes within the banking
sector also forces the HR team in providing more emphasis on regulatory changes and thus,
lacks service quality provided to the customers. The reports of TalentQ (2012) states that the
continuous changes put forth by the external political forces upon the banking sector hinders
other activities to be enhanced by the HR team members within the banking industry.
There also exist a fear regarding the elimination of talent management from the banking
industry as part of executing the novel European Union regulatory. Secondly the reward
elements provided by the banks. The European Union issues new regulatory based on reward
element in banking sector. As per the observation of Tajuddin, Ali and Kamaruddin (2015) and
PWC (2012) among the varied sources, the novel reward element introduced are tangible
irrespective of the guaranteed base pay and is offered to employees as allowances as
appreciation to employee performance within the banking sector. The changes that has been
executed in the remuneration code through the consultation by the Financial Council
Authorities and Prudential Regulation Authority changed the bonus deferrals, malus, bonus
buy-outs and claw backs in correspondence to the financial sanctions that aimed the top
authorities of a bailed out banks (Higginbottom, 2015). Thirdly, the restoration of organisational
reputation. Most of the financial institutions exhibited their hard work in order to identify or
recognise the corporate values and behaviours of employees of the banking industry (TalentQ,
2012).
2.8 Link between the existing literature and researcher’s work
Various researchers have been carried out by different researchers and marketing practitioners
to obtain in-depthknowledge about the concept of service quality and talent management.The
study conducted by Barkhuizen, Mogwere and Schutte (2014)to analyse the relation between
talent Management, work engagement and service quality orientation of support staff in a
South African Higher Education Institution identified that, talent management and service
quality orientation are directly linked with each other. Nafei (2015a) carried out a study to
24
analyse the impact of talent management on service quality by taking the case of commercial
banks in Egypt. Nafei (2015a) reported that, talent management and service quality are directly
related to each other and high talent management aid the organizations to attain high profit.
The study conducted by Nafei (2015b) to understand the relation between talent management
and health service quality from the employee perspective revealed that,talent management
and health service quality have statistically significant relationship with each other.Alma'aitah
and Al-Shalabi (2013) was carried out a study to identify the impact of talent management on
competitive advantage and the main findings of the study was that, effective talent
management strategies of the organizations improve the quality of services of the company
and it aided the firm to attain competitive advantage from business. By analysing the future
studies related to talent management and service quality, researcher identified that, service
quality was directly linked with talent management. Even though several researchers have
analysed the relation between talent management on service quality, studies focusing on UK
banking sector was limited. Thus it reveals a gap between the present study and existing
literatures. The present study analyse the impact of talent management on service quality by
focusing on UK banking sector.
25
2.9 Conceptual framework
Figure 2.3: Conceptual framework
Source: Created by the author
From the conceptual framework of the study, it is clear that, talent management of the
organisation have important role in improving the service quality of the organization. Through
acquisition, on-boarding, incubation, identification, assessment, promotion, retention,
succession and forecasting, organizations can manage the talents effectively and it aids the firm
to improve the performance level of the employees. Service quality is influenced by various
factors like communication, security, privacy, credibility, service process and potential,
customer expectation and satisfaction, organizational ambiance, quality of products and
employee performance. These factors of the service quality are influenced by the attitude and
performance of the employees. Through effective talent management, organization can
improve the productivity and performance level of the employees. Good employee
performance aids the firms to provide high quality services to customers. So, it can be inferred
that, talent management is directly linked with service quality.
26
2.10 Summary
From the above discussions, it can be ascertained that, the talent management practices of the
organization is directly related to the quality of services of the company. Every type of
organizations now adopts talent management practices with an intention of improving the
productivity, engagement and performance level of the employees. Highly talented employees
can offer high quality services to customers and it positively influence customer satisfaction and
thereby organizational performance. In this chapter of the study, the researcher analysed
various secondary sources like books, journals, websites, etc for collecting adequate data for
the study. The various factors influencing service quality, model to analyse talent management
and service quality are discussed in this chapter. In addition to this, impact of talent
management on service quality in UK banking sector and link between existing literature and
present study are also analysed through this chapter. Based on the secondary data findings, the
researcher also framed a conceptual framework for the present study.
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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
According to the observation made by Creswell (2014) research methodology is the procedure
based on the conceptual and scientific techniques to help analyze issues related to a research
topic.
Through this section, the researcher discusses about a variety of research techniques included
in research methodologies such as research approach, research philosophy, research strategy,
sampling methods, data collection techniques etc. Appropriate justification for choosing the
methods is also given by the researcher. An explanation on accessibility and ethical issues, data
analysis plan, etc is also furnished by the researcher in the following chapter.
3.2 Research philosophy
According to Creswell (2014) research philosophy defines the nature of data involved in the
research study. As per the positivism philosophy, the realism can be studied and described from
objective point of view because of its steady nature. An objective study about research problem
is given by positivism which mainly deals with quantifiable interpretation, along with the
application of statistical analysis. As per the outcome of observation proposed byHowell (2013)
the study of positivism is exceedingly independent of the researcher, and human interest is not
included, where as in interpretivism philosophy , a great spotlight is given to human interest,
together with the inclusion of researchers interpretation. Interdependency is considered as the
values of person in terms of realism philosophy in association with the response of individuals
with respect to situations prevailing in actual world (Howell, 2013). This philosophy gives
importance to opinion and perception of respondents.
Positivism philosophy was adopted by the researcher for exploring the influence of talent
management on service quality in banking industry and the current study is performed in the
case of HSBC. By using this method the researcher was able to evaluate the research problem
effectively and in an objective manner (Howell, 2013). With the help of positivism philosophy
the researcher was able to collect quantifiable and observable data on the talent management
28
strategies adopted by HSBC and its impact on the service quality of the organization. Positivism
philosophy aided the researcher to understand the various strategies adopted by HSBC for
improving the talent management in the organization. Also, this method enabled the
researcher to understand more about the importance of talent management in enhancing the
service quality in banking industry. Further, positivism philosophy enabled the researcher’s
ability to critically analyse the influence of talent management on service quality in HSBC. Also,
the researcher identified those factors that affect service quality and the role of talent
management in improving the performance of the organization and employees. Positivism
philosophy has also aided the researcher to determine the issues associated with the talent
management strategies in HSBC. Besides, the researcher was able to explore the various
strategies adopted by the organization to improve its quality of products and customer
satisfaction so as to achieve organizational growth.
3.3 Research approach
According toBryman (2016) the definition of research approach is the plans and procedures
chosen for the gathering of needed information. Deductive approach supports the researcher
to put forth hypothesis based on the existing theories (Gulati, 2009). It is also referred as a top-
down approach, because it flows from general to particular approach by designing the theory
first, and then performs observation and verification based on the already known theories.
Inductive approachis not based on the pre-determined theories and thus assumed as a flexible
approach (Bryman, 2016). As per this approach, analysis of observations is done in a suitable
manner for bringing forth theory development. This is said to be a bottom-up approach where
the flow is from a particular to general approach.
In this study, Deductive approach was used by the researcher as this method is closely linked
with positivism philosophy. By using this method the researcher was able to develop theories
on the role of talent management on service quality in banking industry. Deductive approach
helped the researcher to identify the causal relationship between talent management and
service quality and this method aided the researcher to develop hypothesis on the basis of pre-
existing theories. This method enabled the researcher to design an appropriate research
29
strategy so as to test the validity of the hypothesis developed during the research study. A
detailed investigation on the research topic helped the researcher to generalise the
observations and to deduce appropriate inferences on the influence of talent management
system in HSBC on the organization’s service quality. The top down approach helped the
researcher to hypothesize the research situation and also to analyse the gathered data
(Bryman, 2016). Further, deductive approach enabled the researcher to understand the various
aspects of talent management and its role in enhancing service quality and in improving
customer interest towards HSBC. Deductive approach helped the researcher to identify various
issues faced by HSBC in association with service quality and the approach of its employees
towards the customers. In addition, the researcher identified the strategies adopted by the
organization for improving service quality and performance of employees. This method helped
the researcher to develop theories from the collected data. Further, the researcher was able to
provide recommendations for HSBC to improve talent management strategies so as to enhance
the service quality in the organization.
3.4 Research design
According toZikmund et al. (2013) research design assists to find out the vital objective of
research and provides an evident explanation of research issues. Explanatory research
designhighlights the connection between dependent and independent variables. As per the
view point of Sekaran and Bougie (2010) explanatory research design supports mainly to
describe elaborately about research problem. Explanatory research design is efficient for giving
further information about the problems of research. As per the statement prepared by Babbie
(2010) if background awareness is unknown for a researcher or having only primary idea of a
topic, the researcher will have to follow exploratory research purpose as it supports in
exploring the research topic. It helps to conduct studies from diverse angles of a research topic.
Descriptive research design investigates particular phenomena in a detailed way both for
explaining and exploring the research topic (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010).
The researcher selected exploratory research design for accomplishing the research study.
Exploratory research design aided the researcher to investigate about the role of talent
30
management on service quality in HSBC. This method also helped the researcher to gain
profound knowledge on the strategies adopted by HSBC to improve the performance of
employees, to enhance customer satisfaction and to improve quality of products. Exploratory
research design is used by the researcher to identify the research problem and to enhance the
knowledge level on various aspects of the research topic (Babbie, 2010). By using this method
the researcher was also able to analyse the current talent management strategies adopted by
HSBC and the how it affected the performance of the employees and service quality in the
organization. The major factors that drive service quality and performance of the organization
were identified by the researcher with the help of exploratory research design. Further,
exploratory research design enabled the researcher to choose the appropriate data collection
methods that are essential for gathering qualitative and quantitative data on the impact of
talent management on service quality in the banking sector. The major advantage of
exploratory research design was that it helped the researcher to explore and understand the
key issues faced by the organization with the implementation of talent management.
3.5 Research strategy
With respect to the findings made byDawson (2009) the organized way to gather information
for research study is known as research strategies. A significant part is played by research
strategy in serving the researcher to find out the problems connected with the particular
research study. Survey strategy is assumed to be the potent tool to gather huge data in an
inexpensive way (Paneerselvam, 2014). As per the observations made by Creswell (2014) this
strategy normally assists to portray the features of large population which is reliable and
flexible in nature. Case study strategy supports to carry out a detailed study on a particular
circumstance, while it directs the general research field into a meticulous research topic
(Farquhar, 2012). Realism provides more realistic response, while it helps to conduct the
research in an extra holistic way. Interview strategy is a conversation between the researcher
and the participant, where in a common stage the questions and answers are provided
(Creswell, 2014). It is a method where bi-directional communication takes place, while
transferring of information occurs between both the parties. Various methods like face to face
31
telephone; video-conferencing etc can be used to do it. It can be either structured or
unstructured.
Case study and survey research strategy was used by the researcher to collect valid
information on the effectiveness of talent management on service quality in banking industry
and in this study the research was conducted in the context of HSBC. These methods have
helped the researcher to collect quantitative and qualitative data that are required for
accomplishing the research objectives (Farquhar, 2012). By evaluating the qualitative and
quantitative data the researcher was able to understand about the effectiveness of talent
management in enhancing the performance of employees and improving the quality of
products offered by HSBC. With the help of case study research strategy the researcher was
able to perform a detailed investigation on research situations and this method aided the
researcher to collect realistic and precise information on the talent management strategies and
its significance in banking industry. Moreover, case study research helped the researcher to
carry out the current research study in a holistic manner. Through the survey method the
researcher was able to gather accurate and reliable data on the research topic. Direct survey
was conducted with the customers of HSBC so as to collect details regarding the customer
reviews on the quality of products and services offered by the organization. Also, the
researcher was able to understand how satisfied was the customers with the service quality of
HSBC. Further, the researcher was able to understand the elements that attracted the
customers towards the organization. Online survey was performed to collect the responses of
employees in HSBC and the researcher has analysed the perceptions of the employees on the
talent management strategies adopted by the company and how it has affected the
performance of employees and service quality of the organization. Thus, through case study
and survey research strategy the researcher was able to suggest recommendations for HSBC to
improve the talent management strategies so as to enhance the organization’s service quality.
3.6 Data collection methods
With respect to the studies made byFlick (2011) data collection is the process of accumulation
and measurement of data which is very much related to research topic. An important role is
32
played by this for gathering dependable and valid data associated with research topic. Data
collection methods are technical ways adopted for collecting qualitative as well as quantitative
information needed for the study. The data collected by the researcher for conducting the
study is called primary data and there is no role for the third party collection (Hair et al., 2011).
Secondary data collection methods permits the collection of secondary data, which is collected
by the third party from key secondary sources such as books, websites, magazines, journal etc
(Flick, 2011). Generally, these are collected from external as well as internal sources. Internal
sources are existing in the company, and includes company websites, review reports, sales
reports, yearly reports etc whereas external data are available from outside the company and
include external sources like online publications ,articles, printed books etc.
Both primary and secondary data collection methods were used by the researcher to
accumulate factual information on the effectiveness of talent management in service quality.
The primary data that are required for meeting the research objectives was obtained through
the survey method. Through the survey method the researcher was able to collect the
quantitative data that are necessary for accomplishing the research study. Further, secondary
data collection method enabled the researcher to gather secondary data for developing the
case study analysis and also for preparing the questionnaires. The case study analysis has aided
the researcher to assess the research findings and to collect factual data associated with the
research topic from different sources (Farquhar, 2012). The researcher has reviewed the
secondary sources like company website, annual reports and other internal documents for
collecting the relevant secondary data. The secondary data was used by the researcher to
analyse the findings obtained from the primary data that was collected to study the impact of
talent management on improving the service quality in HSBC. In addition, the qualitative and
quantitative data acquired from the case study has helped the researcher to have an in-depth
knowledge on the significance of talent management in improving service quality. The earlier
studies were also reviewed by the researcher for developing the case study effectively. The
primary data collected from the survey analysis has enhanced the precision of the current
study. The researcher surveyed the customers and employees of HSBC to gather quantifiable
data and valid responses on the effectiveness of the talent management strategies in enhancing
33
customer and employee satisfaction. Through the survey the researcher was able to
comprehend the perceptions of customers on the product quality offered by HSBC and
employee perception on the impact of talent management strategies adopted by HSBC for
improving employee performance and enhancing service quality.
3.7 Sample selection
According to the view point of Emmel (2013) studies based on samples assist in carrying out the
research studies in a cost effective manner at a particular time. Population is the group of
elements relevant to the research issues. The studies based on population provide high
reliability and correctness. Nevertheless, it is assumed to be a hectic task. As per the studies
done by Daniel (2012) a small portion or section of the total population is known as samples.
Sample size is the dimension of the samples chosen from the population by employing
sampling methods for performing the study in a time bounded and cost effective manner. The
sufficient sample size chosen from the population portrays the characteristic specialties of the
population (Emmel, 2013).
In the current research study the entire customers and employees of HSBC in UK was chosen
as the population for selecting the appropriate samples. However, the researcher has selected
smaller sample size due to time and cost restriction. The researcher has conducted the online
survey with the 15 employees and self-administered survey with 45 customers of HSBC and
only 7 employees and 42 customers responded to the questionnaires provided by the
researcher. Thus, the researcher has chosen 49 as the total sample size of the current research
study. The researcher has visited the branches of HSBC located at Ipswich and Colchester in UK
so as to conduct the survey with the customers of HSBC. Thus, the sample size chosen by the
researcher for carrying out the research study was found to be appropriate.
3.8 Sampling methods
Sampling methods are the procedures considered for selecting particular samples from the
population. Probability sampling methods give identical chances for all units in the population
for being chosen as sample and it is considered as unbiased method (Daniel, 2012). In
probability sampling method, there are various types of sampling such as cluster sampling,
34
stratified random sampling, simple random sampling, and systematic random sampling. In the
case of cluster sampling, the population is categorized into various clusters and it is from these
clusters the samples needed for the study are chosen while in simple random sampling all the
constituents are provided with neutral chances of being chosen as samples. In the systematic
sampling method, the process is done in a systematic manner for choosing the required sample
whereas in stratified random sampling, the population is divided into various groups and
necessary samples are chosen from these groups (Emmel, 2013).
In Non- probability sampling methods, samples are selected on the basis of the availability of
details and convenience of the researcher, and hence it is a biased method. The main divisions
in non-probability sampling methods are convenience sampling, quota sampling, snowball
sampling, and judgment sampling (Daniel, 2012). In quota sampling method, the whole
population is differentiated into various quotas, in terms of their general features, enabling to
choose the required necessary samples. In judgment sampling both the opinions and judgment
of the author is highly considered for collecting the required samples. In the case of snow ball
sampling it is the author who chooses the first respondent, while the rest of the samples are
chosen based on the recommendation of the first respondent. In convenience sampling method
the respective samples needed for the study are chosen on the basis of the availability of data,
by giving utmost preference to the convenience of the researcher (Emmel, 2013).
In this study criterion sampling method was used by the researcher to select the appropriate
samples for carrying out the case study. The samples that are required for the study were
selected on the basis of the characteristics of the research topic. Also, the cases that are linked
with HSBC were chosen and the researcher also ensured that the cases selected for the
research study were issues after the year 2009. The researcher has reviewed the earlier studies
on the impact of talent management on service quality and performance of the employees in
HSBC. Also, the samples were selected by the researcher after defining a criterion and the
researcher has selected 13 cases as samples for performing the study. Thus criterion sampling
helped the researcher to explore more about talent management strategies and its importance
35
in improving the employee performance and in providing better service quality in the banking
industry.
Convenience sampling method wasused by the researcherto select appropriate sample size for
conducting survey with the customers and employees of HSBC. This method has enabled the
researcher to choose the samples on the basis of convenience and proximity. In this study the
researcher has performed online survey with the employees of HSBC. The researcher has
conducted the survey analysis with 15 employees but only 7 of them responded to the
questionnaires provided by the customers. Through this survey analysis the researcher was able
to evaluate and understand how satisfied the employees are with the talent management
strategies adopted by the organization. Further, self-administered survey was conducted with
45 customers of HSBC where 42 customers provided the responses to the questionnaires. This
method has enabled the researcher to understand the various elements that attracted the
customers towards HSBC. Thus, both criterion and convenience non probability sampling
method has helped the researcher to collect reliable data regarding the research topic.
3.9 Data analysis plan
For studying the research issues, the researcher has utilized both secondary and primary data
collection methods. The secondary data needed for the research was obtained by reviewing
various available internal and external secondary sources relevant to the research topic such as
annual reports, sales reports, magazines, newspapers, articles, online publications, websites of
the company etc. Primary data has been collected by carrying out self- administered survey
with customers and online survey with employees of HSBC, UK. The researcher has utilised the
secondary data collection method for developing the case study on HSBC. With the help of case
study research strategy the researcher was able to collect quantitative and qualitative data on
the effectiveness of talent management on service quality in HSBC. For studying the qualitative
information, thematic analysis has been utilized along with the descriptive analysis method
which evaluated the quantitative information obtained from the study. Pie charts, tables and
bar charts were used by the researcher for analyzing the quantitative data. The researcher has
also cross examined both the qualitative and quantitative data for finding out appropriate
36
conclusion and hence the researcher was able to analyze the impact of talent management on
service quality in banking industry.
3.10 Ethical issues
Since the current research has given utmost importance in upholding ethical principles in the
study, there are no chances to arise ethical issues. All the respondents involved in the study
were treated fairly by the researcher. In this particular research study, the researcher has
strictly followed the Data Protection Act, 1998 for guaranteeing the privacy and confidentiality.
The information as well as personal details gathered from participants have been kept as
confidential and used only for academic purposes. Before carrying out the survey, the
importance of the research objectives and detailed outline of the research study have been
provided by the researcher to the respondents. The researcher has not forced any of the
respondents to participate in the data analysis. The secondary data used in the study was given
with a precise reference list.
3.11 Summary
Through this chapter the researcher explains the various research methods and the
justifications for adopting each method for carrying out the research effectively. The different
types of research methodology such as research approach, research purpose, research
philosophy, research strategy, sampling methods and data collection methods have been
discussed in this chapter.
Positivism philosophy and deductive approach was utilised by the researcher for conducting the
research study. Exploratory research design was employed by the researcher in this study for
understanding the research issues. Survey and cases study research strategies as well as
primary and secondary data collection methods were employed by the researcher for gathering
the essential information for the study. Online survey was conducted with 7 employees of
HSBC and direct survey with 42 customers of the organization for gaining the qualitative and
quantitative details relevant to the study. Criterion sampling has been used by the researcher
to choose the cases as samples for developing the case study. Convenience sampling was also
employed to choose appropriate sample size for conducting the survey with the customers and
37
employees of HSBC. Moreover, the researcher also discussed the data analysis plan and ethical
issues in this chapter.
38
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introduction
In this present chapter the collected data is analyzed and interpreted for attaining suitable
conclusions and for meeting the objectives of the research study in an efficient manner. For
reviewing the impact of talent management on service quality in banking industry the
researcher has adopted both primary and secondary data. It was through the survey analysis
the researcher collected primary data and the quantitative data collected through the survey
analysis was represented by using pie charts, tables and bar charts. Survey analysis was
conducted on both the employees and customers of HSBC, UK for getting a detailed insight
about the research issue. The researcher carried out online survey on 7 employees of HSBC and
direct survey on 42 customers of HSBC respectively. Survey analysis on the customers was
conducted by the researcher by visiting the branches of HSBC located at Ipswich and Colchester
in UK. The researcher also analyzed and interpreted the information attained through the
survey with the literature review findings. The secondary data is collected by the researcher
from various secondary sources and the research outputs are derived by analyzing and
discussing the data collected. The researcher by reviewing the various internal and external
secondary sources has framed a detailed case study Of HSBC, UK.
4.2 Plan of analysis
As mentioned above the researcher has developed a profound case study by collecting data
from various internal and external documents such as official websites of the company, sales
and annual reports, financial statements, online publications, journals and earlier studies and
case studies related with the research topic. For depicting the details collected regarding the
HSBC the researcher has used charts and tables.
4.3 Case study of HSBC in UK
HSBC (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) Plc is a UK based multinational financial
and banking services organization headquartered in London. HSBC has approximately 6000
branches in 71 territories and countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and America, serving around
60 million customers (Burkardt, 2010). As of the report of Forbes (2011), the bank has been
39
listed as 6th biggest public organization, as per composite measures by Forbes magazine. The
major services offered by the bank includes corporate banking services, retail banking,
mortgage loans, investment banking services, credit cards, private banking etc. The bank holds
dual primary listing on London Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is a part of
the FTSE 100 index and Hang Seng Index, with a market capitalisation of £102.7 billion FY 2012.
HSBC has also been listed as the 2nd biggest company on London Stock Exchange after Royal
Dutch Shell by measuring service (Lau et al., 2013).
As per Harrison (2013), HSBC had been investing highly on talent management for attracting
more talented people towards the attainment of company goals and objectives. HSBC adopted
Global Talent Management programme in order to attract, retain and promote staffs. The
Global Talent Management assists HSBC vision to become world’s leading financial service
company and the results based on the reports of Forbes (2011) and Lau et al. (2013) it could be
delineated that HSBC is one of the biggest financial services company in the world.
Identifying the senior business management talent pool across management positions is the
initial step in HSBC’s Global Talent Management process which assists the bank to clarify their
objectives and provide business an external insight of potential managers (Scullion and Collings,
2011). For this procedure, HSBC adopts interviews, 360 degree feedback, manager assessments
and panel reviews with the intention of getting details on who fits for management positions.
Afterwards, they asses the talent pool based on capability, aspiration and performance. As per
Harzing and Pinnington (2014), the bank avoids recruitment of foreign staffs for managerial
positions in offices in emerging countries like Nepal, China, Vietnam etc as it focus on increasing
customer satisfaction level based on diversity, integrity and collegiality as core competencies
required for a leader. Subsequently, HSBC expands talent pool further than the senior manager
level and forward to other competent staffs and junior managers. Finally, the bank implements
development programmes focussed on core capabilities, HSBC estimates to develop leadership
of all staff levels (Burkardt, 2010).
40
Figure 4.1: Global Talent Management Process at HSBC
Source: Scullion and Collings (2011)
According to Frost and Kalman (2016), the Global Talent Management programme provided a
superior opportunity for lower and middle class staffs to climb-up their career steps via own
competencies. Through this, the bank has been able to assure that staffs are able to offer
professional, prompt and appropriate services to its customers and the means to building
bridges with clients (Scullion and Collings, 2011).
The recruitment process of HSBC varies from country to country and the bank adopts 2 distinct
system of acquisition in Asia and Europe. This strategy would help the bank to determine
cultural differences and the bank will be able to change those implications into chances for
getting superior level of dedication form staffs (Harrison, 2013). This in turn enhances staff
productivity and performance level, which in turn persuades customers to continue to select
HSBC’s products and services. However, if the bank is developing standard system globally, it
would be waste as each region and staffs might not need to adapt those systems, generating
internal as well as external issues (Sivesan, 2012). However, Kearns (2013) argue that HSBC
recruitment focus only on attracting fresh talents and it lacks link with banks corporate strategy
through which bank could attract staffs with competencies, who can make an effort to attain
company objectives. Moreover, Frost and Kalman (2016) finds that HSBC lacked linking culture
in each country with recruitment policy of each country as it would have helped the bank to
attain cultural opportunities in attracting candidates.
41
The training and development programmes at HSBC are designed and organised by regional
teams or developed in collaboration with major business schools, observes Harzing and
Pinnington (2014). The major training methods adopted by HSBC include leadership training,
management training, coaching and executive training, sales and relationship management
training, off-the-job training and on-the-job training (HSBC, 2016).
While analysing HSBC training and development, it could be delineated that the bank always
makes an effort to make their staffs competent by implementing needed skills and talent. Lau
et al. (2013) note that by training HSBC staffs will be able to enhance their personal
performance and hence it helps to increase entire organizational performance. Employees can
offer clients precise personal services and can understand their needs and assist customers
through HSBC’s training and development. Since, staffs become more talented, it enhances the
service quality of HSBC which in turn satisfy customers and retain their loyalty (Docherty and
Viort, 2014).
Training and development also helps to enhance work efficiency through reducing wastes and
provides further competitive price for end-services. Employees get enough knowledge and skills
to solve customer queries and have the enthusiasm to realize customer needs (Frost and
Kalman, 2016). According to Lau et al. (2013), through training and development, HSBC has
become bank with one of the superior customer services in the globe in terms of higher profit,
customer loyalty and retention.
HSBC also offers both monitory and non-monitory rewards for their staffs. HSBC has adopted an
ethnocentric approach to their reward system and it is a control for handling staff absenteeism
and turnover (Harrison, 2013). Reward systems created by HSBC are simple to understand and
staffs are entitled for choosing needed rewards among others. This would help staffs to work
without complexities and increases organisations ability to change with staff preferences.
Even though HSBC rewarding system is effective in motivating staffs, there is an issue with
equitability in rewarding as managers tend to reward staffs based on their preference without
considering staff competencies (Kearns, 2013). Due to this, employees experience
discrimination inside the bank, which in turn affect their performance and further customer
42
service quality. This can be identified in the report of KPMG Consulting (2016) as HSBC is getting
increasing number of complaints from customers regarding the troubles such as long waits on
telephonic enquiries, being moved to multiple branches, different accounts requiring different
calls etc.
Staying contradict with the efficiency of training and development of HSBC, Lau et al. (2013)
indicated that the bank has given small attention on employee weakness in its training program
and pulled staffs towards training persisting on service period and seniority. Due to this staffs
were unable to correct their performance issues and lacked knowledge to resolve customer
issues. Moreover, Vrontis and Thrassou (2013) observed that the present performance
management system in HSBC focussed only on job related features and due to this staffs were
unable to handle time and work in a balanced way. One of the main rationales for increased
customer complaints could be recognised as the ineffectiveness of bank’s talent management.
Case study analysis
The above case study showcases that HSBC bank in UK has adopted various talent management
strategies in the bank ranging from Global Talent Management program (Scullion and Collings,
2011) and recruitment (Harrison, 2013) to training and development (Harzing and Pinnington
(2014). All these talent management strategies help the firm to enhance the performance and
productivity of employees, which in turn persuades staffs to offer competent services to
customers. This can be linked to the stages such as identification, acquisition, incubation etc
discussed in Talent Management Wheel in the literature review (Effron and Ort, 2013). Altinoz,
Cakiroglu and Cop (2013) in the literature review states that talent management enhances
productivity of employees and hence to offer quality services to customers. Also Higginbottom
(2015) in the literature review has noted that human management practices have major
influence in talent management practices of firm and hence, it affects the service quality of UK
banking sector. This means that HSBC adopts various talent management strategies such as
recruitment, Global Talent Management etc which enhances employee productivity and
performance and hence offers quality services to customers.
43
It could be identified from the literature review that talent management plays a significant role
in enhancing the service quality of HSBC bank. This relates to the talent management practices
as outlined in the Talent Management Wheel of an organization (Collings, Scullion and Vaiman,
2015). Also Altinoz, Cakiroglu and Cop (2013) noted in the literature review that talent
management practices have significant role in enhancing the productivity of staffs and thereby
to provide better quality services to clients. From the case study of HSBC, it can be delineated
that through Global Talent Management process, HSBC has been able to assure its staffs are
providing prompt, professional and appropriate services to its customers and the methods to
build bridges with customers (Scullion and Collings, 2011). The recruitment process at HSBC
enhances staff performance and productivity which finally influences customers to continue
with HSBC (Harrison, 2013). Moreover, Docherty and Viort (2014) in the case study identified
that training and development programs as part of talent management plays an important role
in enhancing service quality in HSBC and finally satisfying customers and retaining their loyalty.
The reward system created by HSBC helps staffs to work without complexities, enhancing
service quality of the bank. By analysing HSBC case study with literature review, it can be
inferred that talent management plays a significant role in enhancing service quality in the
bank.
From the case study of HSBC, it can be identified that the talent management of HSBC
influenced service quality provided by HSBC in various ways. The Global Talent Management
process uses 360 degree feedback, interviews, assessments etc which supported the bank to
clarify their goals and offer business an external overview of potential managers (Scullion and
Collings, 2011). The talent management program is expanded to junior managers and
competent staffs also which offers them superior opportunity for competency developments
and make them capable of providing prompt, appropriate and professional services to
customers and the ways to constructing bridges with them (Scullion and Collings, 2011). This
can be linked to on-boarding process in the Talent Management Wheel discussed by Heathfield
(2016) in the literature review. The changing recruitment strategy at HSBC assists the bank in
identifying cultural differences for obtaining higher level of commitment from staffs (Harrison,
2013). This can be linked to the acquisition stage in Talent Management Wheel which includes
44
interviews, surveys, assessments etc (Collings, Scullion and Vaiman, 2015). HSBC training and
development plays a major role in making staffs more talented which in turn enhances the
service quality of the bank through satisfying and retaining customers (Docherty and Viort,
2014). This can be in line with the incubation stage of Talent Management Wheel (Schweyer,
2010). The case study analysis also reveals that rewarding system in HSBC plays a major role in
motivating staffs and help employees to work without difficulties (Harrison, 2013). This finding
agrees with the retention practices in the Talent Management Wheel as discussed by Altinoz,
Cakiroglu and Cop (2013). From this can be understood that talent management of HSBC
influenced service quality offered by the bank in various ways.
Another finding emerging from the discussion of case study is the issues in talent management
of HSBC which adversely affected their service quality. Issues such as attracting only fresh
talents, not linking culture with recruitment policy in each country, problems with equitability
in rewarding system, evading staffs weakness in training programs, focussing only on job
related aspects etc enhances the need for further improvements in talent management system
of HSBC. From the literature review, it can be identified that staffs working within UK banking
industry reacts that the salary growth within the banking industry will facilitate overall efficacy
in banking firm functionalities (PWC, 2012). Moreover, recruitment of acquisition of adequate
talent is a significant task for companies to hire good talent (Collings, Scullion and Vaiman,
2015). Also Schweyer (2010) noted in the literature review that target training as considered as
incubation practices and which assist the employees their talents and skills (Schweyer, 2010).
Hence, it can be inferred that talent management in HSBC needs improvement.
4.4 Quantitative data analysis
The researcher for attaining the quantitative data has performed online survey on15 employees
of HSBC, UK in which only 7 employees responded back. The researcher through the survey
analysis was able to obtain a detailed understanding about the research issue. The survey
questionnaire and the responses of the employees are mentioned in the below section:
1. Age
45
Pie Chart 4.1: Age
Source: Created by author
From the above survey analysis it was concluded that majority of the employees belonged to
the age group between 35 to 45 years. From this it can be inferred that these age group were
willing to participate in the survey analysis and they were also interested to share their view
points about the talent management strategies adopted by their firm for enhancing the service
quality.
2. Gender
28%
57%
15%
Age
Between 25 to 35 years
Between 35 to 45 years
Above 45 years
46
Pie Chart 4.2: Gender
Source: Created by author
72% of the employees who participated in the survey were males and this shows that the male
employees of HSBC were having a profound knowledge regarding the talent management
strategies and they were ready to discuss about the effectiveness and issues regarding the topic
based on their company so that they can provide certain suggestions on the existing strategies.
3. Education level
28%
72%
0 0
Gender
Female
Male
47
Pie Chart 4.3: Education level
Source: Created by author
Analyzing the education level of the employees it was found that among the survey
respondents 57% were graduates and this indicates that the bank highly focussed on talented
and skilled employees at the time of recruitment. This was similarly mentioned by Scullion and
Collings (2011) in the case study analysis that HSBC adopts interviews, 360 degree feedback,
manager assessments and panel reviews for attaining talented and skilled employees with high
qualification levels fit for the management positions.
4. Your work experience with HSBC
57%
43%
Education level
Graduates
Postgraduates
48
Pie Chart 4.4: Experience
Source: Created by author
The main intension of this question was to identify whether with the talent management the
bank was able to retain the talented employees. However the survey findings showed that most
of the employees had a working experience varying from 2 to 5 years. Thus from this it can be
inferred that the bank to a certain level was able to retain the skilled and talented employees
with its talent management strategies. The observations of Harrison (2013), revealed that the
bank has highly invested on talent management for retaining and attracting more talented
people towards the achievement of the organizational goals. It was also found from the survey
analysis that 28% of the employees were working with the HSBC bank for a period above 5
years. However, Kearns (2013) in the case study analysis argues that only the fresh talents are
focussed by the recruitment of the bank. Thus a contradictory statements are found in between
the findings of the survey and case study analysis.
5. Please rate the talent management strategies adopted by HSBC (200)
[1-highly satisfied, 2-moderately satisfied, 3-unsatisfied]
15%
57%
28%
Experience
Less than 2 years
Between 2 to 5 years
Above 5 years
49
Talent management strategies of HSBC 1 2 3
Global Talent Management programme 4 2 1
Recruitment process 1 5 1
Training and development programmes 2 4 1
Rewarding system 1 1 5
Table 4.1: Rating provided to the talent management strategies of HSBC
Source: Created by author
Bar chart 4.1: Rating provided to the talent management strategies of HSBC
Source: Created by author
Analysing the employee rating on various talent management techniques it was obtained that
staffs of HSBC is highly unsatisfied in organizations’ rewarding policies. Lack of high level
satisfaction was also expressed by HSBC employees in the organizations’ training and
development programs and recruitment procedures. However on regards to Global Talent
Management programme organized by HSBC, employees have provided high satisfaction rating.
4
1
2
1
2
5
4
1
1
1
1
5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Global Talent Managementprogramme
Recruitment process
Training and developmentprogrammes
Rewarding system
Unsatisfied
Moderately satisfied
Highly satisfied
50
This result supports the reports of Forbes (2011) and Scullion and Collings (2011) that explains
the efficiency of Global Talent Management process provided by HSBC. Kearns (2013) and Frost
and Kalman (2016) reports on issues associated with recruitment strategies of HSBC also
supports this survey inferences. However, Lau et al. (2013) reports on training programs
efficiency and Harrison (2013) study on effectual rewarding strategies of HSBC contradicts the
survey data.
6. What is your opinion on the talent management strategies provided by HSBC?
Pie Chart 4.5: Opinion regarding HSBC talent management strategies
Source: Created by author
This question helped to analyze the opinion of the employees regarding the talent management
strategies provided by HSBC. From this survey results it was understood that majority of the
employees of HSBC mentioned the talent management strategies as effective. The reports of
Lau et al. (2013) in the case study also pointed out that for enhancing the personal performance
level of the employees HSBC adopted various talent management strategies.
28%
57%
15%
Opinion regarding HSBC talent management strategies
Highly effective
Effective
Not at all effective
51
7. What is your outlook on the influence an organizations’ talent management strategies
produce on your service quality?
Pie Chart 4.6: Impact of talent management strategies on service quality
Source: Created by author
Majority of the employees in the survey analysis pointed out that the talent management
strategies moderately influenced their service quality. But this was found to be opposed by
Docherty and Viort (2014) in the case study by pointing that HSBC training and development
policies highly helped the employees to exhibit excellent performances and this in turn vastly
enhanced the satisfaction level of the customers. It was also revealed that the service quality
was highly enhanced with the organizations’ talent management strategies.
8. What are the recommendations you suggest to HSBC to improve its talent management
programs?
15%
57%
28%
Impact of talent management strategies on service quality
Highly influences
Moderately influences
No influence at all
52
By this survey question, researcher aimed in determining individual outlooks of HSBC
employees on enhancing the talent management programs of this organization. Among the 7
employees of HSBC that participated in survey strategy, 28.57% opined that discriminations
that existed in rewarding strategies have to be eradicated from this organization. This supports
Kearns (2013) reports that explained the inequitable rewarding systems at HSBC with
ineffectual consideration on staff competency. 28.57% employees also opined that the
organization must focus on both weakness and strengths of its employees during the training
strategies. Furthermore suggestions to improve the work-life balance of HSBC employees and
to enhance the career development strategies was also provided from minor number of survey
participants. However these survey results are in parallel to the studies of Vrontis and Thrassou
(2013) that explained the lack of career development programs at this organization. These
authors also had explained the intense focus HSBC provides only on job related training that
adversely affected work-life balance and personal developments. Thus from these various
recommendations it can be inferred that rewarding and training programs of HSBC necessitates
healthy and immediate improvements.
Survey for HSBC customers
In order to analyse the individual perspective on service quality offered by HSBC employees,
researcher directly surveyed customers of this organization. Visiting HSBC branches located at
Ipswich and Colchester in UK the researcher distributed 45 questionnaires to this organizations’
customers. However only 42 questionnaires were returned and hence the customer survey
inferences will be based on the data gathered from these 42 individuals.
1. Age
53
Pie chart 4.7: Age of customers participated in survey
Source: Created by author
Analysing the age range of the customers that participated in survey programs, it is clearly
visible from the above pie diagram that majority of the respondents, i.e. 66.67% belonged to
age category of 30 to 40 years. This indicates the increased willingness and enthusiasm of these
age groups to share their individual outlooks on service quality of HSBC employees.
2. Gender
9.52%
66.67%
23.81%
Age of customers participated in survey
Below 30 years Between 30-40 years Above 40 years
54
Pie chart 4.8: Gender of customers participated in survey
Source: Created by author
As depicted in above picture, relatively comparable number of females and males participated
in this survey strategy. Only very slight variation of 4.76%, i.e. a difference of 2 people existed
between the number of male and female customers that partook in this survey program. Thus it
can be inferred that both gender categories have valid and strong opinions about the service
quality of employees at HSBC.
3. How long have you been the customer of HSBC?
52.38%
47.62%
Gender of customers participated in survey
Male Female
55
Pie chart 4.9: Years of customer relation with HSBC
Source: Created by author
Analysing the number of years, surveyed customers has been associated to HSBC it was
obtained that 71.44% participants had 1 to 3 years customer relation with this organization.
Comparatively lower percentage of customers (14.28%) possessed very small (below 1 year)
and prolonged (above 3 years) duration of association with this organization. However the large
figure of customers that possessed 1-3 years customer relation with HSBC indicates the
effectiveness of this organization in meeting customer expectations. It can also be inferred
from this statistics that HSBC has been able to satisfy and retain its customers with attractive
features such as its service efficiency, quality performance, etc. These findings support the
reports of Docherty and Viort (2014) that explained the effectiveness of service quality offered
by competent HSBC staffs. Authors also explain that this efficiency has enabled the organization
to satisfy and preserve loyalty in its customers, which indicates the positive influence of HSBC’s
talent management strategies on its service quality.
4. How satisfied are you in the service quality at HSBC?
14.28%
71.44%
14.28%
Years of customer relation with HSBC
Below 1 years 1-3 years Above 3 years
56
Pie chart 4.10: Satisfaction in HSBC's service quality
Source: Created by author
This question aimed in determining individual opinion on the satisfaction level in the service
quality attained from HSBC. As illustrated in figure above, majority of the customers i.e. 90.48%
participants opined that they are moderately satisfied in this organizations’ service quality. Only
a minor fraction of 2.38% customers negatively polled for their satisfaction level. This indicates
that service quality of HSBC is reasonable and is not deprived and impecunious as reported
byKPMG Consulting (2016). On the other hand it is also visible from the pie diagram that only
7.14% customers opined that they are highly satisfied in service quality provided by HSBC. It can
be comprehended from these figures that service quality of HSBC is not perfect and highly
efficient as stated by Scullion and Collings (2011) and Lau et al. (2013). Thus comparing the case
study details and survey results it can be inferred that these results contradicts the reports of
KPMG Consulting (2016), Lau et al. (2013) and Scullion and Collings (2011).
5. In your opinion which among the following elements of HSBC attracts you to this
organization?
7.14%
90.48%
2.38%
Satisfaction in HSBC's service quality
Highly satisfied
Moderately satisfied
Not at all satisfied
57
Pie chart 4.11: HSBC elements that attracts customers
Source: Created by author
By this survey question researcher intended in analysing individual outlook to each factors that
HSBC’s service quality. As illustrated in pie diagram above, highest customer support was
attained for the product quality and service process and potential offered by HSBC (35.71% and
33.33% respectively). This is in line to the reports of Lau et al. (2013), Docherty and Viort (2014)
and Scullion and Collings (2011). In these reports authors had explained the efficiency of HSBC
in the quality of service it offers and also had exemplified this organizations’ achievement in
meeting customer expectations. However for employee performance and communication,
security and privacy provided by HSBC, customers provided least support (4.76% and 2.38%
respectively). This indicates HSBC’s ineffectiveness in these elements and hence supports the
reports of KPMG Consulting (2016) that explained the various customer grievances regarding
HSBC services. Thus it can be inferred that service quality provided by HSBC is not highly
effective and perfect and hence this contradicts the study of Lau et al. (2013).
6. According to your opinions which are the areas of HSBC that requires improvements?
4.76%
35.71%
23.82%
33.33%
2.38%
HSBC elements that attracts customers
Employee performance
Quality of products
Organizational ambience
Service process and potential
Communication, credibility,security and privacy
58
Allied with the prior survey results, this question queried suggestions from customers on the
areas that HSBC has to improvise. Most of the survey participants opined that they faced
several service quality issues related with employee performance and in communications. Thus
they suggested that it would be advantageous if HSBC implements effectual training programs
and motivates its employees so that communication and performance issues can be reduced to
some extent.
59
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS
5.1 Introduction
In a research study, the next phase after data collection and analysis is its interpretation and
discussion. Only when the analysed data gets interpreted, the researcher can derive at the main
findings. In this chapter, the current author has attempted to critically analyse the data
collected from case study and survey and develop the research findings. The findings from the
study has been categorized and interpreted under two sections namely theoretical contribution
and managerial implications. On the basis of the research findings, the researcher has also
made necessary recommendations to HSBC.
5.2 Discussion of Findings
• Theoretical Contributions
During the process of data collection, the researcher noticed an important aspect that HSBC
was a corporate company which made high investments on its talent management activities. In
the literature review Schweyer (2010) and Ariss (2014) had pointed out that effective talent
management processes are aimed in recruiting and developing most competent work force and
this process was conducted by organisation to entice and motivate talented staffs. Relating to
the case study analysis, it is observed that the banking company made high investments on its
talent management to attract highly talented personnel and achieve its goals and objectives in
competitive manner. It was previously found that the talent management process in HSBC was
according to three main phases namely identification, expansion and implementation and these
stages were targeted in improving the motivation levels and competencies of its workforce.
While carrying out survey, the researcher received similar opinion from HSBC employees and
they stated that the talent management program of HSBC was effective in improving their
motivation levels. Linking back to the literature review, Schweyer (2010) had stated that there
were many factors that influenced the service quality level of employees and motivation was
one among them. Ghasemi, Kazemi and Esfahani (2012) has also put forward the finding that
60
satisfied employees could deliver better service quality and thus talent management has
inevitable role in improving employee satisfaction levels.
By linking the primary and secondary data findings, this study contributes the theoretical
knowledge that talent management and employee motivation/ satisfaction are closely related.
The current researcher is of the opinion that improved service quality could be delivered only
by contended staffs and thus talent management needs to be considered important by
organisations. Particularly in the banking industry, success and growth is largely dependent on
the service quality by banking personnel and thus banking firms need to arrange talent
management strategies that improve skills, caliber, competencies etc of personnel. By
arranging such talent management activities, banking organisation will be able to educate
employees about needs and demands in banking industry and also support in their professional
growth. It is important to find that this theoretical understanding done by current researcher is
in line with the literature study of Higginbottom (2015).
Another finding has been extracted from the reports of PWC (2012) done in literature review.
PWC had reported that salary and other monetary rewards were significant factors that
influenced service quality levels of banking employees. In line with the above observation,
Higginbottom (2015) had also proposed that talent management helped banking firms to
identify the needs and preferences of staffs and thereby arrange satisfactory salary systems.
The author had stated that employees who receive better salary and rewards provided good
service quality. In order to identify this fact, the case study of HSBC was analysed and the
researcher found that HSBC adopted ethnocentric approach for rewarding its employees. With
this system of reward, the bank has been able to control absenteeism among its employees and
attain higher turnover in UK banking sector. Kearns (2013) had further found that HSBC was
effective in motivating its employees. The survey with customers has also provided satisfactory
information about services in HSBC. The current researcher thus cites that talent management
is a platform that could assist banks in identifying employee preferences, preferably salary and
rewards and arrange accordingly. As monetary payments and rewards a factors supporting
61
employee motivation, these could improve service quality in banking organisations. The studies
of Tajuddin, Ali and Kamaruddin (2015) and PWC (2012) can be related to this aspect.
On the contrary, the researcher has also interpreted that though rewarding systems could
motivate employees, rewards and recognition provided without equality could demotivate
employees. This was inferred from the case analysis of HSBC in UK. As per Kearns (2012) one
among the main issues observed in HSBC is its unequal rewarding system. As HSBC gave more
emphasis for seniority of staff, the bank was also found to give little consideration to low-
experienced employee’s weaknesses. The current researcher makes theoretical contribution
that unequal rewarding systems lead to discrimination in internal atmosphere and this could
adversely affect the talent management objectives of the entity. Simultaneously it could
negatively affect the service quality provided. This finding could be related to the average
satisfaction cited by employees and customers of HSBC in the survey conducted.
While questioning about the impact of talent management, the participated employees in HSBC
stated that they were only moderately influenced and satisfied by talent management of
banking entity. Likewise participated customers also stated that they received moderately
satisfied service quality from the bank. The current researcher argues that if talent
management activities of HSBC had been highly influential and motivational, the employees
would have rated it to be highly effective and concurrently, customers would have rated service
quality of the bank as highly satisfactory. These findings thus give way for wider research on the
statements made by Higginbottom (2015),Tajuddin, Ali and Kamaruddin (2015) and PWC
(2012). The present researcher is thus of the opinion that unequal treatment of employees and
little attention to employee weakness are negative elements to talent management and HSBC
needs to address these issues for improving its current service quality. The researcher also
exposes that if these issues are left unaddressed by HSBC, customer complaints could increase
and thereby question the overall quality and performance of the bank in UK banking industry.
• Managerial Implication
62
One of the most important findings that offers implications to the management of HSBC is the
issues of talent management of HSBC. From the case study of HSBC the researcher was able to
identify that the issues of talent management of HSBC ranged from attracting only fresh talents
to not linking culture with recruitment policy in each country and problems with equitability in
rewarding system and evading staffs weakness in training programs and focusing only on job
related aspects. Among these issues the lack of effective rewarding system is a key issue in
HSBC especially as the employees of HSBC also gave poor rating to the reward system of the
company in the employee survey. The importance of rewarding employees in UK banking
industry or achieving performance improvements was established in the report of PWC (2012).
By taking these into consideration, it can be inferred that there is clear need for improvement
in the reward system employed by HSBC.
Another finding of the present study that offers relevant insight to the management of HSBC is
related to the need for improvement in training and development programs employed by the
company. The survey of employees of HSBC revealed that the training and development
programs of HSBC need to take into account both strengths and weaknesses of employees.
Similarly, the customers of HSBC also noted in the survey that there was need for improvement
in training and development programs of HSBC. Vrontis and Thrassou (2013) had underlined the
significance of effective training and development programs for service quality improvement in
organization. Hence, it can be inferred that the management of HSBC needs to improve the
existing training and development programs in order to improve service quality of the
company.
Another finding of the present study that offers relevant insight to the management of HSBC is
related to the need for improvement in work-life balance in HSBC. The employees of HSBC in
the survey noted that improvement in work-life balance in HSBC was critical for improving
talent management programs of the company. As improvements in work-life balance can help
HSBC in attracting the best talents in the job market, it can be inferred that the bank would
benefit from improving work-life balance of its employees.
63
5.3 Recommendations
In this section, the researcher offers recommendations to the management of HSBC based on
the managerial implications of the findings of the present study.
Improve rewards system: The researcher was able to identify from the study that the existing
rewards system employed by HSBC was not effective. The employees of HSBC in the survey
noted that they were not satisfied with the reward system of the company. Furthermore, the
case study of HSBC has also outlined that the existing reward system of the bank was not
effective. These findings led to the inference that there was need for improvement in the
reward system used by HSBC. As rewards system directly impacts employee performance, it is
essential that HSBC improve the current reward system of the bank. The bank can use
performance based reward system for ensuring that employees are rewarded in accordance
with their performance.
Improve training and development programs: Another important finding emerging from the
present study is related to the need for improvement in training and development programs of
HSBC. Though most of the employees of HSBC in the survey expressed moderate to high
satisfaction with training and development programs of the bank, they also noted the need for
improvement in training and development programs. Hence, it is recommended that HSBC
improve the training and development program employed by the bank.
Improve work-life balance of employees: Work-life balance is an important concern for
employees in the present age. The survey of employees of HSBC revealed that there was a
definite need for improvement in the work-life balance enjoyed by employees of HSBC. It is
clear from the study that work-life balance has implications on talent acquisition of an
organization. In this context, improving work-life balance in HSBC becomes even more
important. SO, it is recommended that HSBC adopt strategies such as flexible work timings for
improving the work-life balance enjoyed by the employees of the bank.
64
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS
6.1 Introduction
The researcher in this final chapter of this research study elucidates the findings and
conclusions based on the objectives of the research topic. In view of all the analysis and
evaluations made in correspondence to the case study and survey performed, the researcher
identifies that talent management has a vital role in the service quality of banking industry in
UK. The researcher outlines in this chapter the research conclusions with respect to each
objective of the research study and how far the researcher was successful in meeting the
objective. Furthermore, the researcher also facilitates the chapter with limitations encountered
while accomplishing this research study and recommendation to future researchers in
enhancing the research study.
6.2 Conclusions
• To analyse the major talent management practices followed in an organisation.
The primary goal of this research study was to identify the major talent management practices
of HSBC in UK. The commonly used models in analysing and followed by organisations in
adopting talent management practices are acquisition, on-boarding, incubation, identification,
assessment, promotion, retention, etc. As per the findings in the case study performed on the
basis of HSBC, UK, Global Talent Management programme is talent management practice
adopted by HSBC in attaining customers and retaining and promoting employee within the firm.
This enabled HSBC in attaining the market position of biggest financial services worldwide. In
line to the case study findings and literature review the survey observations attained from
employee of HSBC, the Global Talent Management programme followed by HSBC was an
efficient strategy and employee rate this as a highly satisfied strategy. Therefore, to a very high
extend, the researcher was able to meet the primary objective of this study.
• To evaluate the major factors influencing service quality
As per the observations attained by the researcher in the literature review the major factors
that influence the service quality of banking sector are staff performance, product quality,
65
organisational ambience, customer expectation and satisfaction, service process and service
potential, communication, credibility, security and privacy, etc. The researcher also states that
as per the reports of Kenyon and Sen (2014) the proper implementation of these factors within
an organisation would enable the company in providing with efficient and quality services to its
customers. As comprehended by the researcher in the literature review, the case study on
HSBC estimates that staff productivity and dedication leads to increased level of performance
of employees as well as organisation. To enhance efficient staff performance sufficient
communication is to be made within the organsiation. In contradiction to the literature and
case study findings, customers of HSBC finds that talemt management program do not enforce
much influence on the organisational performance. Therefore, contradictions were observed
while meeting the specifications of the objective.
• To understand the impact of talent management on service quality of HSBC, UK
As per the literature review is concerned, the talent management program exhibits both
positive as well as negative impact upon the banking sector of UK. The major impact of talent
management program are observed to be influenced by the novel regulations of European
Union, remunerations of HR team and the employees of the organisation and the restoration of
a failed strategy in enhancing the performance of the organisation. The execution of European
Union regulatorys stands as a threat in eliminating the talent management programs from
organisational activites. This induces fear among the top managements in an organisation. As in
the case of HSBC the talent management program do not enforce much influence on the
roganisational activities. It has been identified by Vrontis and Thrassou (2013) that the existing
talent management program in HSBC focuses only on the aspects associated to tas
performance and lacks the work-life balance of the th employees. The survey results too do not
provide a justifiable opinion on the same. Most of the employees disclose unsatisfaction
towards the rewarding and training and development programs of the firm. Thus, while
meeting the specifications of the objective the researcher encountered contradictions too.
• To provide recommendations for HSBC to improve its talent management practices for
enhancing service quality.
66
As per the survey results are concerned, the major suggestions put forth by the employees of
HSBC stands in line to the justification of Vrontis and Thrassou (2013). The workers of the firm
expect to have a better and efficient work-life balance that could be attained through the
efficient implementation of the talent management program. The authors Vrontis and Thrassou
(2013) estimates that an efficient work-life balance would enable the employees of the firm in
increased performance level and thereby, attain an organisaed and systematic service quality.
As per the customer point of view, efficient training and development programs and efficient
communication strategies would motivate employees in enhancing performance level and
attain better service quality.
6.3 Limitations of the research
The major limitation that was encountered while performing this research study was in
adopting a single specific organization under a particular industry. This was a major limitation in
meeting the scope of research study. The reduced sample size in performing survey reduced
the accuracy in gathering relevant data. On the other hand, time and cost constraints was
another limitation that was encountered in the research study. The time constraint limited the
data gathering among the sample size chosen, and the cost constraint limited the accessibility
to various secondary sources as they demanded patents. Limited number of studies on the
topic affected the genuineness of the study.
6.4 Recommendations for future research
A major recommendation to be taken into consideration by future researcher is to choose a
larger sample size, so as to gather relevant and accurate data during survey. As this research
study lacks interview, future researcher could facilitate and enhance the scope of future
research study with the help of interview. Future study could also be enhanced by choosing
more than one organisation within the same industry and by enabling a comparative study on
both. Future researcher is also suggested to perform the study based on the research topic
ensuring the accessibility and availability of the data sources with respect to cost and time.
67
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APPENDIX-I
Survey questions for the employees of HSBC, UK.
Dear Employees,
I kindly request you to participate in the survey analysis as I aim to review the impact of talent
management on service quality in banking industry and for carrying out the study the case study
of HSBC is taken. Below is the questionnaire intending to obtain your opinions and responses
regarding the impact of talent management on service quality in the banking industry. It will
only take 10 minutes to mark your responses. I assure that the personal information and
feedback provided shall be kept highly confidential. The participants will not require more than
10 minutes for completing this questionnaire. I also assure that this study complies with the
Data Protection Act of 1998 and the data collected will be used only for academic reasons.
Kindly mark ‘✓’ in the columns that are most appropriate to you.
1. Age
• Between 25 to 35 years
• Between 35 to 45 years
• Above 45 years
2. Gender
• Female
• Male
3. Education level
• Graduates
• Postgraduates
4. Your work experience with HSBC
• Less than 2 years
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• Between 2 to 5 years
• Above 5 years
5. Please rate the talent management strategies adopted by HSBC
[1-highly satisfied, 2-moderately satisfied, 3-unsatisfied]
Talent management strategies of HSBC 1 2 3
Global Talent Management programme
Recruitment process
Training and development programmes
Rewarding system
6. What is your opinion on the talent management strategies provided by HSBC?
• Highly effective
• Effective
• Not at all effective
7. What is your outlook on the influence an organizations’ talent management strategies
produce on your service quality?
• Highly influences
• Moderately influences
• No influence at all
8. What are the recommendations you suggest to HSBC to improve its talent management
programs?
___________________________________
APPENDIX-II
Survey questions for the customers of HSBC, UK.
74
Dear Customers,
As part of my research study, I aim to review the impact of talent management on service
quality in banking industry and I have considered the HSBC for case analysis. I have developed
the below given questionnaire as part of this study and would be extremely thankful if you
participate in this survey and provide valuable information for my study. However none among
the participants will be forced to take part in this survey and I also ensure the privacy and
confidentiality of the information collected and the personal details. You will only need to
approximately spend 10 minutes time to answer to the questions in the questionnaire. This
research will comply with the Data Protection Act (1998) and the data gathered from you will be
used completely for academic purposes.
Kindly mark ‘✓’ in the columns that are most appropriate to you.
1. Age
• Below 30 years
• Between 30-40 years
• Above 40 years
2. Gender
• Male
• Female
3. How long have you been the customer of HSBC?
• Below 1 years
• 1-3 years
• Above 3 years
4. How satisfied are you in the service quality at HSBC?
• Highly satisfied
• Moderately satisfied
75
• Not at all satisfied
5. In your opinion which among the following elements of HSBC attracts you to this
organization?
• Employee performance
• Quality of products
• Organizational ambience
• Service process and potential
• Communication, credibility, security and privacy
6. According to your opinion which are the areas of HSBC that requires improvements?
__________________________________
Thank you
I extend my thankfulness to all the customers and employees who participated in the survey
process for helping me in acquiring pertinent information to perform my research study.
Furthermore, I offer my sincere gratitude to all who cooperated in this data collection process
for obtaining adequate information for carrying out the research study. I also make sure that all
the data gathered will be confidential without disclosing identity of respondents.
Name : ….
E-mail :
Contact No :
