In the business sphere, organizational management is understood as the process that articulates strategy, structure, and people so that daily activities contribute to achieving the organization's objectives. Within this process, job performance, defined as the effectiveness with which the worker fulfills assigned responsibilities and contributes to common goals, depends on their competencies and on the conditions that the organization provides to develop them. In this sense, human talent practices do not operate uniformly, since the context conditions their emergence, meaning, and implementation [1].

Regarding regional evidence, various studies conducted in Latin America have documented the relationship between human talent management and performance. In one Ecuadorian university, with a sample of 163 workers, 3 dimensions significantly associated with organizational performance were identified: recruitment and retention, development, and evaluation and improvement [2]. Likewise, in health services in the region, this relationship has been examined through non-experimental designs [3]. On the other hand, a recent systematic review indicates that human resource management is positively linked to satisfaction, commitment, and performance, although it can also generate adverse effects such as burnout, so that leadership and worker well-being act as mediators of this relationship [4].

From a theoretical perspective, four areas of human talent management are relevant to this study. First, competency-based management in personnel recruitment, whose empirical basis indicates that structured procedures based on job content have greater predictive validity for performance [5]. Second, on-the-job training, whose effectiveness depends on needs assessment, instructional design, and the transfer of what is learned to the job [6]. Third, performance management, in which the frequency of feedback is associated with better individual outcomes [7]. Fourth, motivation, explained by self-determination theory based on the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness [8].

It is important to highlight that a large part of the available evidence comes from quantitative designs that measure associations between variables but provide scarce information on how managers interpret management practices and make decisions about them. Likewise, in the Venezuelan case, productive organizations operate under conditions of high economic instability and within a regulatory framework, the Organic Law on Labor, Workers and Working Women (LOTTT), which specifically regulates labor relations, collective bargaining, and union participation [9]. These conditions confer particularities on personnel entry, training, and retention that are not always captured in management models developed in other contexts.

In relation to the study setting, the company is engaged in food production in Aragua State. Through an exploratory interview with the Human Talent Coordination, it was found that the organization had explicitly defined its mission, vision, and structure, but did not have a document integrating its values, objectives, and strategies. Likewise, it was determined that the company had not conducted a diagnosis of its organizational situation and that the dissemination of the institutional philosophy was limited to entry induction, with no subsequent processes aimed at staff well-being.

Consequently, the absence of an explicit management model affected personnel's decision-making, as they lacked a frame of reference regarding the appropriate procedures in the different situations of organizational dynamics. For the above reasons, the purpose of the study was to unveil the elements that an organizational management model oriented toward strengthening and promoting the job performance of the human talent of said company should consider, based on the interpretation of those who manage it.

First, three categories emerged from the categorization process: competency-based admission policies; staff training and updating; and performance, motivation, and professional growth. Table 1 summarizes the emerging subcategories and the position of each informant.

Table 1. Categories, subcategories, and position of key informants

Note: I1 = general director; I2 = plant manager; I3 = human talent manager. Source: own elaboration.

In general terms, the findings indicate that the main obstacle to performance is located in the weak articulation of existing management instruments and in their unequal appropriation within the organization. In this sense, the divergence among the informants coincides with that described in a qualitative study with 31 participants in Brazilian public universities, in which managers and teams perceived the same human resources practices differently [14]. Consequently, the proposed model puts a common organizational philosophy before the incorporation of new practices, in accordance with the contextual nature of talent management [1].

With respect to staff recruitment, the discrepancy between the prescribed profile and actual hiring has direct implications for performance, because structured procedures based on job content, such as the structured interview, are among the most valid predictors in personnel selection [5]. It is important to note that, in the Venezuelan context, part of recruitment is channeled through agreements with the union organization within the framework of the LOTTT [9]. Consequently, the dimension of competency-based incorporation is formulated as a transparency criterion that also applies to such recruitment, in order to verify the fit between the worker and the position, without replacing what has been agreed upon in collective bargaining.

Similarly, heterogeneous perceptions of training suggest that the existence of plans does not guarantee their effect on performance. Evidence on workplace learning indicates that the effectiveness of training depends on its design, the prior identification of needs, and the conditions that favor the transfer of learning to the position [6]. Therefore, the model proposes a written plan, with defined periodicity and assigned responsibilities, which responds to the absence of procedures identified by I1 and to the quarterly frequency suggested by 2 of the informants.

In relation to performance management, the demand for continuous evaluation and feedback is supported by a field study conducted in various organizations, according to which a higher frequency of feedback is associated with better performance and greater satisfaction, with no evidence of a point of decline in higher frequencies [7]. Likewise, the feedback from multiple sources proposed by I3 allows us to contrast the supervisor's assessment with that of peers and collaborators, which is consistent with the divergence of perceptions found in this study.

With respect to motivation, the non-monetary recognition proposed by I3 is based on self-determination theory, which assigns a central role to the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in intrinsic motivation [8]. Similarly, recognition has been shown to increase the meaning attributed to work and the employee's behavioral involvement [15]. In Latin America, a review of 60 studies places the implementation of the so-called "emotional salary" at an intermediate level and identifies recognition and growth as two of its components [16], which is consistent with the funding of studies described by I2.

On the other hand, the transversal nature attributed to leadership and communication is supported by the accumulated evidence on the effectiveness of transformational leadership [17]. In this sense, in a study with 845 employees in the hotel sector, the effect of this leadership style on performance was mediated in part by the commitment of the worker [18], and in another study its relationship with job satisfaction occurred through the climate of labor relations [19]. Likewise, in a Mexican manufacturing company, a correlation of 0.797 was observed between organizational climate and work performance [20]. These results justify the inclusion of conflict prevention and labor relations in the fourth dimension of the model.

Regarding the limitations, the study relied on 3 management-level informants and therefore does not capture the perspectives of day-to-day payroll personnel or employees, whose interpretations of the same practices could differ [14]. Similarly, the model is a proposal derived from the interpretation of the findings and has not been empirically validated. Therefore, future research should incorporate workers from different levels, submit the model to expert judgment, and evaluate its application using performance indicators.

In summary, the company studied has human talent management components, such as the competency catalog, job profiles, and training plans; however, these components lack explicit integration and are perceived unevenly according to the hierarchical level of the person describing them. Likewise, the gap between what is prescribed and what is practiced is concentrated in personnel entry and in the periodicity of training.

Consequently, the elements that the organizational management model must consider are a documented and disseminated organizational philosophy as a guiding axis; competency-based incorporation with traceable criteria; planned continuous training; performance management based on continuous assessment and feedback; and motivation, recognition, and attention to labor relations. It is important to highlight that leadership and communication operate as cross-cutting components and that the model is adjusted through an annual review cycle with quarterly monitoring. Finally, validation of the model with workers at all levels constitutes the step prior to its application in the company.