Compensation Management and Talent Attraction in Nigeria’s Information Technology Sector: Evidence from Lagos Tech Hub Companies

This study examines the role of compensation management in talent attraction within Lagos State's burgeoning information technology sector, focusing on startups and scale-up technology companies operating within the Yaba technology hub and its surrounding districts, South West Nigeria. Nigeria's tech talent market is intensely competitive, with local companies vying against global remote work employers for the same pool of skilled engineers, designers, and product managers, making compensation strategy a mission-critical HR function. A professional applied research design was employed, drawing data from 80 HR managers, talent acquisition specialists, and tech professionals through surveys and structured interviews. Total Rewards Theory and the Job Search Theory of Talent Markets provide the conceptual framework. Findings reveal that Nigerian tech companies that offer competitive base salaries augmented by equity ownership, flexible work arrangements, and professional development budgets demonstrate significantly higher offer acceptance rates and lower time-to-fill metrics for specialized roles. Respondents rank equity as the most distinguishing factor between local and foreign remote employers in compensation packages, while remote work flexibility emerges as a non-negotiable benefit for senior technical talent. The study finds that companies with transparent salary bands attract more diverse applicant pools, including candidates from outside Lagos. Recommendations include adoption of equity compensation frameworks legally accessible to private tech companies, hybrid compensation benchmarking against both local and global markets, and total rewards communication strategies aligned with Nigeria's emerging tech talent brand. This study contributes to HR strategy literature in Africa's technology sector. Keywords: compensation management, talent attraction, technology sector, Lagos, total rewards