Research Proposal: Talent Management Strategies at River Island

This research proposal examines talent management as a strategic priority, focusing on its significance in enhancing employee performance, with River Island as a case study. The research aims to understand talent management in a business context, analyze River Island's strategies for improving employee performance, identify talent management issues faced by the company, and explore potential solutions. The proposal includes a literature review exploring the concepts of talent management, various strategies, and challenges. The research methodology employs a research onion framework, using pragmatism and interpretivism as research philosophies, deductive and inductive approaches, and a survey strategy. Activities and timescales are defined, including literature review, methodology development, data collection, and analysis. The proposal seeks to contribute to a better understanding of talent management practices and their impact on organizational success.

Research Proposal Form
Student Name: ______________________ Student ID: ____________
Centre Name: _____________________
Tutor: ________________ Date: ___________________
Unit: ____________________
Proposed Title: _Talent management as a strategic priority
Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities
Title or working title of the research project (in the form of a question, objective or hypothesis)
Talent management as a strategic priority
Research objectives (e.g what is the question you want to answer? What do you want to learn how to
do? What do you want to find out?):
Aim:
To examine the significance of talent management strategies in increasing employee performance. A study
on River Island.
Objectives:
 To enhance the understanding about the talent management in context to business.
 To study the different talent management strategies implemented by River Island to improvise the
performance of employees a workplace.
 To identify the different issues faced by River Island regarding managing the talent at workplace.
 To access various ways implemented through River Island to get over from talent management
issues.
Questions
 What is talent management in context to business?
 What are the different talent management strategies implemented by River Island to improvise the
performance of employees a workplace?
 Which different issues are faced by River Island regarding managing the talent at workplace?

 What are different ways implemented through River Island to get over from talent management
issues?
Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project
Reasons for choosing the project (e.g links to other subjects you are studying, personal interest, future
plans, knowledge/skills you want to improve, why the topic is important):
The talent management is main concern in present business era that requires suitable study to increase
individual skills and knowledge. Present research is based on the significance of talent management
strategies in increasing employee performance. The talent management is related to attracting and retaining
talented employees so they can able to work in significant manner and attaining set business objectives in
significant period of time. Reason behind conducting the present investigation assists in enhancing the
information about the strategies related talent management. This research is mainly conducted in personal
and professional context. In the personal context, information regarding the talent management in detailed
manner and also its related strategies. Other than this, in professional context, research skills and abilities of
learner can be effectively increased for in- depth analysis regarding the issues faced by staff members at
workplace regarding talent management. This will help to an investigator in conduct similar kind of
investigation in the future.
Section Three: Literature sources searched
Use of key literature sources to support your research question, objective or hypothesis:
Understanding about the talent management in context to business
According to the views of Gallardo-Gallardo, Thunnissen and Scullion (2020), it has been executed that
attraction and retaining of talent is a crucial concern for an organisation globally. It has been found that
many organisations are struggling to attract the talent, thus Talent Management is human resource
development strategies for growth and development of employees. It has been executed that talent
management is a process that consists of attracting, identification of hidden skills, exploring, and developing
the skills and retention to achieve strategic sustainable development.
As contrary to this, Scullion and Mullholland (2020), have argued that Talent Management model is helpful
in reducing the attrition rate of an organisation this is because when an organisation is committed to
employee growth and development, this will motivate them and they felt self-incentive. It has been
proposed that Talent Management is not restricted to acquiring high-quality talent by recruiting but to
develop and explore the hidden skills.
Different talent management strategies implemented by River Island to improvise the performance of
employees a workplace
According to the viewpoint of Narayanan, Rajithakumar and Menon (2019), it has been found that Talent
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Management strategies are the plans and steps executed for optimising employee’s performance. The first
step that River Island adopts in its Talent Management strategy is to deliver a detailed job description, it
has been found that a good job description is more helpful in attracting the right candidate. Good job
description will result to acquire the right fit candidate for an organisation culture. Candidate who doesn't
fit in organisation culture will be less happy and less sustainable productive, thus River Island would
access the candidate whether he/she fit in-person organisation culture as this will have an impact upon their
performance. Acquiring the right candidate is not a solo goal of talent management strategy, but to develop
the hidden skills, River Island would plan to deliver a culture of coaching and training for exploring the
hidden talent of the candidate.
As contrary to it, Narayanan, Rajithakumar and Menon (2019), have pointed out that reward and
recognition are the strong sources of employee motivation; River Island has recognised the importance of
this and adopted this strategy of R&R for motivating and appreciating. This can be a great way for an
organisation to present courtesy to employees and express how much River Island cares about its
employees. The last step in Talent Management is cultivating an honest opportunity for growth, River
Island Talent Management has a strategic carrier path, that makes much honest sense to their employees.
Different issues faced by River Island regarding managing the talent at workplace
According to the views of Jain, (2017) there are different issues which are there in managing the
talent management which are associated with the brand River Island. There is whole responsibility on the
human resource management which are there to responsible for each and every activity which are there by
the employee from the recruitment to the all the working time period. HR should need to make effort in
managing the talent in the workplace which is there in the River Island. There are number of issues there
like poor hiring strategies, employee turnover, smart hiring strategies, experience with technology. In
context to River Island there is need to have some of the training related with the latest technology which
can make them able to get talent in such field. In this, there is need to talented employee which are there
from the technical field (Rachel, Pavithra and Imran, 2016). So, there is need to hire some of the technical
specified candidates who can get the use of the latest technology in better way than others. This can help in
getting more benefit in relation to training which takes less time period in learning means less cost in
training. For this, there is need to use the smart hiring strategies which involves the technical round during
the hiring procedure along with this, there is need to hire some of good talent who are having some of the
experience in the technical field.
Various ways implemented through River Island to get over from talent management issues.
According to Okebaram, (2019) there are many of the ways through which River Island can get over
from the talent management issues. Some of them are discussed further.
Full fill the reasonable compensation demands- There is need to full fill the demand of the
employee which is related with the compensation. In this there is need listen the demand of the employee
which is one of the main reason to get conflict with the employee in relation to talent management.
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Unappealing company culture- This is the one which is there need to have the information about
the interest of the employee working conditions. In this, River Island need to change the workplace
environment which is according to the demand. This means younger talent are not there to work on the
working time by just sitting on the desk and work. They need to have some perk, flexible hours etc. in their
work environment. Full filling and adjusting with such demand can help in getting better talent there in the
workplace (Rastgoo, 2016).
Employee retention- There is need to control the employee turnover ratio which is there in the
River island. HR should need to use such strategies which are there to hold their employee for longer period
of time. This can help in getting higher number of employee who are there having experience in the
company. There is high cost for replacing the employee, which is generally the negative connotation there.
Sometimes it good to when poor performer is leaving the company. So, there is need to implement the
strategy to retain the old talent to get better performance with quality work in the company.
REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Rachel, D. L., Pavithra, N. R. and Imran, S. M., 2016. Impact of talent management on organisation culture.
The International Journal of Business & Management. 4(2). p.98.
Rastgoo, P., 2016. The relationship of talent management and organizational development with job
motivation of employees. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis.
64(2). pp.653-662.
Rowe, L. and et. al., 2017. The challenges of managing degree apprentices in the workplace. Journal of
Work-Applied Management.
Serrat, O., 2017. A primer on talent management. In Knowledge Solutions (pp. 385-393). Springer,
Singapore.
Taylor, S., 2018. Resourcing and talent management. Kogan Page Publishers.
Online
BIGGEST TALENT MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES FOR HR. 2017. [online].
https://www.randstad.com/workforce-insights/talent-management/5-biggest-talent-management-challenges-
hr-2017.
Valamis. 2021. What Is Talent Management? Model, Strategy, Process. [online] Available at:
https://www.valamis.com/hub/talent-management.
Section Four: Activities and timescales
Activities to be carried out during the research project
(e.g research, development and analysis of ideas, writing,
data collection, numerical analysis, tutor meetings,
production of final outcome, evaluation, writing the
report):
Activities Time Duration
Aim and objectives
Literature review
How long this will take:
6 days
13 days
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Research Methodology
Data Collection
Data analysis
Conclusion and recommendations
Submission of final report
36 days
27 days
10 days
5 days
1 days
Milestone one: _____Methodology ____________
Target date (set by tutor): ____29-12-2020________________
Milestone two: _________Data Collection ______
Target date (set by tutor): ___02-03-2021___________________
Gantt Chart
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Section Five: Research approach and methodologies
What type of research approach and methodologies are you likely to use and why? What your areas
of research will cover:
Research methodology is defined as strategy through which an investigator maps an approach to problem
solving. This is concerned with obtaining, systematizing and also analysing the collected information and
data. It is complete structure related to research study and methods used to gather data and process to
analyse it significantly. Research onion is considering for doing the research methodology. This model was
developed through Saunders et. al., 2007. It illustrates ways under which various components included in an
investigation could be evaluated to developed final project (Rowe and et. al., 2017). The research onion
consists different layers which are given below:
Research philosophy
The research philosophy is related to set of principles related to stance from which an investigation is to be
conducted. It is concerned with the assumptions, opinions and beliefs which influence ways by which an
investigation is conducted. Interpretivism and pragmatism are two different research philosophies.
Justification: There will be considering the pragmatism and interpretivisim research philosophy. In this,
knowledge is gained by observation consisting measurement. Role of an investigator is limited related to
data collection as well as interpretation in objective manner.
Research approaches
This layer of research onion consists the inductive and deductive two different research approaches.
Deductive research approach begins with particular hypothesis development. Other than this, inductive
research approach begins with observation that an investigator uses to develop new theory.
Justification: Deductive and deductive research approach are using the effective approach to perform the
present investigation. It is based on the qualitative and qunatitative method and provides the specific
information regarding particular subject area (Serrat, 2017).
Research strategies
In present investigation, survey will be considering as one of the effective research strategy. Main objective
of survey is to obtain the sufficient sample that is representative of the population. The benefit of using this
research strategy is that it provides high level of the general capability in order to representations large
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population.
Research choices
Research choices are particular procedure about gathering the information and analyse it for conducting an
investigation. Qualitative and quantitative are two different methods of research.
Justification: In conducting the research, there will be using mixed research method such as qualitative and
qualitative both. The main reason of using quantitative research method is that it provides the actual facts
and figures regarding the particular research topic. On the other hand, qualitative research method provides
the detailed information regarding particular subject area.
Data collection methods
This is concerned with collection of relevant data from authentic sources. It consists primary and secondary
methods of data collection. In primary method, information can be collected through an investigator directly
than previously done. The secondary method consists using existing data.
Justification: There will be using the primary and secondary both data collection method as both are
effective in collecting more data regarding particular subject area. Questionnaire will be using in primary
method because it provides the relevant and new information. This is time saving and also economical in
nature (Taylor, 2018). On the other hand, secondary method will be using in doing the literature review part.
Sampling
It is process that used in the statistical analysis in which predetermined observations are taken from large
population. This is used to sample from large population based on analysis type that is performed. There are
probabilistic and non- probabilistic two different types of sampling which help in choosing the sample size.
Justification: There will be random sampling method using as this is main part of the probabilistic
sampling. Through using this method, researcher will be selecting 40 respondents in the River Island
Branch. The main reason of using this method is that it assures outcomes obtained from sample can be
obtained. It helps in provide the equal chance of being chosen to respondents.
Data analysis
For analysis the data collected from primary method, there will be using the thematic analysis. In this, graph
will be developing as per the themes. There will be interpretation using on the basis of questions mentioned
in questionnaire.
Time horizon
It is related to provide the time limit to completion of research project. There are cross- sectional and
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longitudinal two different time horizons.
Justification: The cross- sectional time horizon will be using because it provides particular time period for
completion of investigation. An investigation is limited to specific time and getting the positive research
outcomes.
Comments and agreement from tutor
Comments (optional):
I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification
and is appropriate.
Agreed: ________________ (name)_______________ Date ______________
Comments and agreement form project proposal checker( IV sampling)
Comments (Optional):
I confirm that the project is appropriate.
Agreed /Disagree: (Name of the IV) Date
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Research Ethics approval form
All students conducting research activity that involves human participants or the use
of data collected form human participants are required to gain ethical approval before
commencing their research. Please answer all relevant questions and note that your
form may be returned if incomplete.
For further support and guidance please see your respective Unit Tutor:
Before completing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed research fully
with your unit tutor. Please complete this form in good time before your research
project is due to commence.
Section 1: Basic details:
Project title: Talent management as a strategic priority
Student name:
Student ID number:
Programme:
College Name:
Intended research start date: 02-12-2020
Intended research end date: 29-04-2021
Section 2 Project summary
Please select all research methods that you plan to use as a part of your
project:
 Interviews Yes No
 Questionnaires Yes No
 Observations Yes No
 Use of personal records Yes No
 Data Analysis Yes No
 Action Research Yes No
 Focus Groups Yes No
 Others (Please specify) :
Section 3: Participants
Please answer the following questions, giving full details where
necessary.
Will your research involve human participants?
Yes
Who are the participants? Tick all that apply:
Ages 12-16: Young people aged: 17-18 Adults: More
than 18
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How will participants be recruited (identified an approached)?
The participants will be recruit by using random sampling method.
Describe the processes you will use to inform participants about what
you are doing:
Through using the email, researcher will inform the participants.
How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written?
How will it be made clear to participants that they may withdraw
consent to participate at any time?
The consent will be obtaining from participants through using email.
Studies involving questionnaires: will participants be given the option of
omitting questions that do not wish to answer?
Yes No
If no please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical
issues arising from this
Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be
asked for their informed consent to be observed.
Yes No
Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e give
them a brief explanation of the study)?
Yes No
Will participants be given information about the findings of your study?
(This could be a brief summary of your findings in general)
Yes No
Section 4: Data Storage and Security
Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in
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compliance with the Data Protection Act (1998)
Yes No
Who will have access to the data and personal information?
The organisation and research will access data and personal information.
During the research:
Where will the data be stored?
The data will be stored in hard disk and personal computer.
Will mobile devices such as USB storage and laptops be used
Yes No
If Yes, please provide further details:
After the research:
Where will the data be stored?
The data will be stored in hard disk and personal computer.
How long will the data and records be kept for and in what format?
The data and records will be kept for long time and it will be in word format.
Will data be kept for use by other researchers? Yes No
Section 5 : Ethical Issues
Are there any particular features of your proposed work, which may
raise ethical concerns? If so, please outline how you will deal with
these:
It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks
that may arise because of your research. Please consider/address all
issues that may apply. Ethical concerns may include, but are not limited
to the following :
 Informed consent.
 Potentially vulnerable participants.
 Sensitive topics
 Risk to participants and /or researchers
 Confidentiality/anonymity
 Disclosures/ limits to confidentiality
 Data storage and security, both during and after the
research (including transfer, sharing, encryption,
protection).
 Reporting
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 Dissemination and use of your findings.
Section 6: Declaration
I have read, understood and will abide by the institution’s
Research and Ethics Policy: Yes No
I have discussed the ethical issues relating to my research with
my Unit Tutor:
Yes No
I confirm that to the best of my knowledge:
The above information is correct, and this is a full description of
the ethical issues that may arise in the course of my research
Name: Date:
Please submit your completed form to your supervisor and also
attach to the Research Proposal when submitting to Turnitin.
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