HR And Sustainability – Building Better Enterprises
When it comes to the topic of sustainability, companies that perform well in this area can be easily distinguished from those that fall short in their organizational design features. Those companies that excel when it comes to sustainability have a clear strategy in place that guides their activities with well planned out organizational design and management processes.
Sustainability should not be an add-on of a business. Instead, it should be an integral part of how a company functions. Given the fact that the human resource division of an organization is responsible for the recruitment and management of the workforce, it’s essential that the HR function builds sustainability programs into its own processes and activities.
The Role of HR in Corporate Sustainability
Previously, the role of HR in corporate sustainability programs had not been given much consideration. This has changed and recent studies by the Center of Effective Organizations suggests that HR related sustainable activities have a positive effect on employee allegiance, shareholder value, employee engagement and recruitment and profits. In fact, over 82% of HR executives say that such practices have an affirmative impact on corporate profits.
But, surprisingly only 51% of executives say that sustainability is a chief focus of the HR department in their company. The future is set to change as many companies are now choosing to offload a lot of HR related tasks by using CIPHR HR Software, which frees them up to give sustainability and its role in their HR practices better consideration.
What should the role of HR in corporate sustainability entail?
In order for organizations to really benefit from integrating sustainability into their HR practices, it’s recommended that they incorporate it into all of the processes that HR controls. This does not mean that that all HR actions should be paperless to avoid a negative environmental impact, or that all processes should be solely focused on sustainability. It simply means that organizations should build sustainability practices and procedures into its major HR activities.
For example, when it comes to hiring new employees, the whole process should promote a clear sustainability employer branding. Everything from candidate selection and employee training and appraisals should also have a strong emphasis on sustainability.
By reinforcing this in the minds of employees, organizations will instill the fact that this quality is important and that employees that excel in their sustainability efforts will be rewarded accordingly and positively looked upon.
As previously mentioned, sustainability does not play a factor in the formation of HR practices in most organizations. Nor does it have any influence on how that company controls its day-to-day operations.
But given the fact that sustainability is now playing a much more significant role in corporate functions, it’s only a matter of time until all HR departments incorporate it into their primary duties and the way they carry them out. Building processes with sustainability as one of their core values in a win/win situation for HR as it increases efficiency while promoting a positive brand to clients and fellow companies alike.
About the Author Staff Writer
Our writers come from all over the world, but one thing unites them - their passion for sustainability.