THE Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) under the Higher Education Ministry has embarked on an initiative to prioritise talent management with the introduction of a new leadership assessment instrument that incorporates social network analysis (SNA).
The instrument, known as Data Analytics and Social Network Analysis (DASNA), is
designed to provide deeper insights into
the social dynamics and influence of leadership candidates within organisations.
This initiative aims to refine human resource management within higher education institutions to better adapt to a dynamic and global environment, in line with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education), which prioritises talent excellence.
While SNA is increasingly being recognised for its ability to offer additional layers of information on the social relationships and influence of individuals within an organisation, its structured usage is still in its infancy.
Currently, AKEPT and a team of experts from various institutions ,such as Universiti Malaysia Kelanta, Universiti Malaysia Perlis and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, have succeeded in identifying various ways of how interaction between institutional leadership candidates and staff and colleagues can be mapped out.
Such diverse designs allow SNA to shed a light on a variety of information on how candidates are perceived and how they impact their work environment.
Coupled with data analytics, SNA assessments take a new shape, making DASNA more constructive, effective and practical for higher education contexts.
This nuanced understanding is crucial for making informed decisions about leadership selection, especially in the Malaysian higher education ecosystem.
DASNA has undergone an initial test run, involving 134 leadership candidates, and the test run has been instrumental in the primary refinement of the instrument.
From the first phase of testing, several key indicators were identified.
These include, among others, issues of bias, inadequate assessment results due to evaluator complacency, the importance of mapping design and interaction relationships, patterns of organisational harmony and the management of internal relationships
within higher education institutions.
The second phase of DASNA is ongoing, involving further refinement, focusing on data reliability and the integration of a competency-based talent management approach within the instrument design.
The integration is expected to significantly bolster the instrument's relevance in the development and empowerment of institutional leadership candidates and talent groups at higher education institutions.
Once complete, DASNA will be a standardised instrument that will complement other existing instruments, adding valuable evidence to the candidate's fit, acceptance, influence and openness to ensure that the selection of institutional leaders is both accurate and informed.
Ideally, DASNA will ultimately contribute to the sustainability and harmony of the higher education institution ecosystem as a whole.
Associate Professor Dr Noraz-haruddin Shah Abdullah is the deputy director of the Centre for Talent Management, the Higher Education Leadership Academy