Talent Management Practices and Employee Retention: The Moderating Role of Organizational Commitment in Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between talent management practices (TMP) and employee retention (ER) in Nigerian organizations, with organizational commitment (OC) serving as a moderating variable. Drawing on a cross-sectional survey of 7,740 employees across diverse industry sectors in Nigeria, the study employs ordinary least squares (OLS) regression augmented with moderation analysis. The findings reveal that structured talent management practices — encompassing recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, career development, and compensation — exert a statistically significant positive influence on employee retention. Organizational commitment significantly moderates this relationship, amplifying the positive effect of talent management on retention, particularly when affective commitment levels are high. Control variables — age, salary level, and work experience — also demonstrate meaningful associations with retention outcomes. These results underscore the imperative for Nigerian organizations to embed talent management within an organizational culture that fosters commitment, thereby addressing the country's chronic talent flight problem. The paper contributes to both theoretical frameworks and practical managerial strategies in the African HRM context.