Purpose - the purpose of this study is to better understand the role of pay satisfaction and employee perception of talent management in business loyalty strategies, which implies considering both economic and non-economic variables in order to achieve organizational success. Design/methodology/approach - results from a survey of 198 workers were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) based on three constructs (confirmatory factor analysis, CFA). The scales used were: employee perception of talent management, pay satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Pay satisfaction acts as a mediating variable in the significant relationship between the perception of talent management and organizational commitment. Findings - the partial mediating model hypothesised was supported by the SEM model, indicating that loyalty strategies require both good talent management and a good compensation system. Research limitations/implications - the article promotes the use of mediating variables as an explanation to better understand the strategies of loyalty in the management of talent, framed within the model of the resource-based view (RBV) theory. Practical implications - the implications are important for practitioners, who normally put every effort into strategies related to economic reinforcement, since the model suggests that they should also strive to correctly apply talent management. Social implications - the study suggests the need to understand better retributive systems with an application of talent management based on improvement and professional development. Originality/value - the originality lies in the article stating that the application of good talent management must be complemented with adequate compensation systems in order to achieve efficient retention strategies for talented employees.