Influence of COVID-19 on Talent Management: Perceptions of HR Specialists in Mauritius

COVID-19 has proved to be a stress test for talent management owing to financial hardships faced by businesses worldwide. Effective management of human capital results in superior performance and sustainable competitive advantage. Yet, many businesses struggle with the implementation of effective talent management programmes. Talent constraint is one of the biggest global corporate challenge. This paper attempts to analyse how HR specialists in Mauritius have dealt with the COVID-19 crisis in regard to talent management. HR specialists from various industries participated in a focus group discussion to understand the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on talent management. This study reveals that during the pandemic, most businesses stopped recruitment and had to lay off employees. Employee engagement was used to motivate and encourage employees. Communicating with employees was essential, and HR managers had to organise for remote work and provide training to employees.