Staffing Effectiveness and Strategic Importance for University Sustainability: A Gap Analysis of Talent Management Practices at a South African University

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly recognise strategic staffing as a critical enabler of institutional performance, yet persistent implementation gaps remain evident, particularly in resource-constrained contexts. This study examines the alignment between perceived staffing effectiveness (current status) and strategic importance at a public university in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Using survey data capturing staff perceptions across five staffing dimensions—staffing levels, compensation competitiveness, workforce diversity, diversity representation in leadership, and prioritisation of critical roles, the study applies Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA) to identify systematic gaps between strategy awareness and execution. Descriptive statistics, paired comparisons, and gap scores reveal consistently higher importance ratings than status ratings across all dimensions, with especially pronounced gaps in compensation competitiveness and leadership diversity. The findings provide empirical support for the argument that while universities demonstrate strategic clarity regarding staffing priorities, they lack the operational capacity to translate these priorities into effective practice. The study contributes to higher education management literature by extending IPA to the analysis of staffing strategy execution and offers actionable insights for institutional leaders seeking to strengthen talent management in the South African higher education sector.