Abstract: - There is still limited research studying multilevel factors influencing talent management (TM)

practices in general and TM practices in the Vietnamese banking sector, particularly within the Covid pandemic

context. Considering this gap, this article has three research objectives: developing a conceptual framework

As per the suggestion from the interviewees about the need to develop a TM model or guideline to execute TM

practices, this paper also provides a suggested TM model with specific steps and an industry toolkit used for

TM strategic planning and decision-making process based on the proposed framework. The model's steps,

indicating explicit recommendations for bank managers to enhance TM effectiveness, are arranged in

accordance with the process included in the proposed framework's TM flow. Besides, the reflection questions

in the toolkit are helpful for managers to improve their critical thinking about their actual TM flow. The

transformation from the framework to the toolkit can be viewed as how theoretical contribution can lead to

managerial implications. This study contributes to the progress of contemporary TM literature during historical

events in unstable business environments. It can be seen as a contribution to the applications of TM literature in

practice.

Talent management (TM) is one of the topics which

increasingly attract practitioners and scholars and

has been viewed as a remarkable field contributing

pandemic since 2019, leading to acute respiratory

syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Due to

Covid-19's appearance, enterprises need to re-

evaluate business situations, [9]. The crisis has

fundamentally accelerated immense changes across

different industries, including the banking sector,

[10]. Such changes should be considered within the

contextual analysis to enhance efficacy in human

resources (HR) strategic planning in general and in

with a pronounced scarcity of talent, making it one

of the key industries facing significant obstacles in

talent attraction and retention, [12], [13], [14], [15].

significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Banks have been urged to assess their development

influenced by contextual factors with the

consideration of the crisis's impacts for timely and

effective actions, [16]. In order to overcome the

crisis, banks should also search for skilled and

context. Considering this gap, this article aims to

propose a conceptual framework of contextual

challenges for TM practices in the Vietnamese

banking sector, examine the framework's

applicability following the opinions of the

interviewed managers, and suggest some outputs

generated from the framework for the improvement

of TM strategic planning.

study represents a progression in the examination of

interviews with bank managers from different types

of banks. This method helps to gain in-depth

perceptions from the participants who directly

interact with talented employees and have plentiful

perspectives on TM. These four main viewpoints

coexist and have been further developed from

various perspectives to conceptualize and

contextualize TM, [21]. Reviews conducted by [1],

[22], support this.

defined as a newer trend in human resources

management (HRM), mainly referring to the

'collection of typical HRM practices, functions or

activities, [23].

management of employees who exhibit high

potential and/or high performance, comprising a

relatively small proportion of the workforce, [22].

Organizations that adopt this approach tend to

engage in distinct HR activities, such as recruitment,

training, development, and appraisal, targeted at this

select group of talented employees.

proposed in [1], conceptualizes TM as the strategic

economies, enabling the transferability of these

practices.

the movement of personnel across geographic

locations is restricted. It is also harder to find new

and attractive jobs while governments struggle to

protect people from viruses through quarantine

measures and businesses struggle to survive and

sustain economic growth. This shows that a partial

recession in this context does not encourage workers

declining under the Covid-19 storm, it is easy to

explain why these talents have few choices when

applying. Therefore, they have been better adapted

to the changing environment to earn a living.

seen as considerable in this context. However, it

may have changed from active status to adaptive or

proactive status. Geographical mobility has clearly

declined due to the pandemic, but virtual mobility

for business operations has been promoted, [35].

attributes are expected, and how the TM practice is

planned. In [19], the authors emphasized that only

5% of their participants de-fine talent as all

workforces in the organization (comprehensive

approach). The relative similarity of job profiles in

these industries requires organizations to adopt an

equal and comprehensive approach to HR

management, [19]. These companies apply the same

HRM policy to each employee (TM as a collection

of typical HRM practices).

well as focus more on the role of talent, [35], [38].

There is a high demand for employees with specific

technical know-how or sensitivity to technological

advances, [39]. The emphasis is on specific skills

or unclear policies and procedures regarding TM

practices can also hinder managers' ability to

effectively implement TM strategies, [3], [41]. In

[42], the authors suggest that although HR

development practitioners use talent pools for talent

development, their effectiveness may not be certain

as individual differences may not be fully

considered. Further research into individual

differences that may impact success in talent

pipelines is needed, [42].

seekers may prioritize job stability, safety, working

flexibility, and practical benefits over short-term

high salaries, [43].

appropriate approach to evaluate the applicability of

the proposed framework. It is argued that qualitative

research methods enable the researchers to better

enrich the analysis by digging into an in-depth

understanding of the nature of such relations,

especially when the studied topic is unknown or

underdeveloped under social contexts, [45], [46],

[47]. Additionally, using qualitative research

techniques is consistent with the interpretivism

philosophy used in this study.

researchers to be directed by the literature review

and to obtain a thorough grasp of the phenomenon

by listening to the respondents' stories.

It is argued that there is typically no advice on how

to decide on an appropriate sample size in a

qualitative study, [49], [50]. The sample size of the

qualitative survey is not related to the number of

3.2 The Procedure for Conducting

Interviews

The selected banks were selected from the list

(updated in 2020) provided by the State Bank of

Vietnam, which contains all banks in Vietnam.

participate. After that, the proper time and place of

the meeting were confirmed by phone and email.

Each interview lasted roughly 60 minutes and was

recorded with the interviewee's permission.

Respondents from Vietnam filled out the

questionnaire in Vietnamese, while overseas

respondents answered it in English.

regarding the participants' approval, voluntary

participation, anonymity, and confidentiality of

performing or high-potential individuals. As a

result, banks do not see TM as a widespread HRM

practice but instead, as a way to categorize

employees or as a means of succession planning.

strategies, they all acknowledged the significance of

internal workforce development and the need for

long-term HR strategic planning, including TM - a

means of succession planning.

suggested that their banks were creating effective

pipelines for developing high-performing

employees, similar to TM's succession planning, this

initiative was referred to as a focused training

program. This program aimed to ensure a steady

Additionally, the banks had staff planning policies

that provided opportunities for candidates to

participate in the program. These policies were

clearly outlined in the banks' HR policies, which

were signed by the board chair and mentioned in

their annual reports. As per the policy, decisions

regarding staff promotions were made based on

voting results conducted within departments.

Employees eligible for voting were required to be

high performers, as demonstrated by their Key

mentioned that their banks were focused on building

internal talent pools as part of their long-term

strategic plans for the future. HRPR1 stated, "Talent

fresh graduates." This building strategy allowed

bank employees to move up internally through

talent pipelines, which helped them become familiar

systematically and logically for a more effective

decision-making process related to TM.

argued that they expect a more precise and detailed

guideline or a toolkit provided based on the

framework for more straightforward applicability in

practice. Three private bank managers also

expressed their doubt about whether the TM flow

would happen in reality exactly as presented in the

framework. As said by GM2PU2: "The reality is

future empirical studies to investigate further. It is

important to acknowledge that the connection

between an HR strategy and HR practices is more

complex than what is suggested in the TM literature.

Nonetheless, the consistency proposed in the flow of

TM is anticipated to foster a shared understanding

among bank managers regarding talent and TM.

This shared understanding is crucial for their

agreement and dedication to the execution of TM.

Refer to Figure 3 for samples of the most

Fig. 3: Samples of the most considerable

suggestions from the interviewees

managers from the private and foreign banks seem

to be more concerned about the logical TM flow in

employees who are considered talented or high-

performing. These HR strategies align with the