Background and Objective: Employee professionalization is an operational necessity and a strategic imperative for safeguarding national interests, enhancing organizational efficiency, and achieving human capital excellence in organizations. The present study aimed to develop a structural model of human capital excellence through employee professionalization policies.
Methodology: This study employed an exploratory mixed-methods approach. In the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 experts and academics and analyzed using thematic analysis in five steps. A total of 130 basic themes, 33 organizing themes, and 11 overarching themes were identified. The validity of the qualitative findings was confirmed by an inter-coder agreement coefficient of 0.712. In the quantitative phase, were used to classify the constructs into levels and develop the structural model.
Findings: The results indicated that the components of “human development factors,” “behavioral and psychological factors,” “structural factors and regulations,” and “cultural and normative factors” served as underlying driving factors. The components of “motivational incentives,” “empowerment development,” “educational strategies,” and “competency assessment system” were identified as linkage factors. In contrast, “specialized human resources,” “professional commitment,” and “professional advancement” were identified as outcomes and consequences of the model.
Conclusion: Achieving employee professionalization in organizations requires strategic attention to antecedent and linkage factors. Accordingly, revising recruitment and promotion systems, institutionalizing meritocracy, strengthening psychological resilience, developing career paths, updating specialized training, reforming performance evaluation systems, designing motivational incentives, and enhancing technical skills can facilitate the purposeful achievement of human capital excellence and strengthen employees’ professional and operational capabilities.