Innovation of human resources; embrace sustainability
23 september 2009
In these hard economic times, staff departments are looking for ways to legitimate their existence within organisations. In a conference organised by the Dutch Association for Personnel Management and Organisational Development
(NVP) last week, I saw Dutch HR managers struggling with innovating their profession. Now, sustainability is becoming the new buzz word within HR. While the day was filled with good intentions, I was not convinced with the innovativeness of it all. There were a lot of HR themes addressed, but none of them were new for me. Themes differed from smart working (“het nieuwe werken”) to good employment practices. And sometimes the word sustainability was thrown in, randomly, to give one a good feeling. My opinion is that strategic HR is closely linked to sustainability as such. It is about employee development, succession planning, remuneration etc. Subjects which are part of the social side of sustainability and important for the future of organisations. Strategic HR is important and should be exercised by all companies. But HR can really add value to sustainability, and in the end to the whole organisation, in another way. Companies are looking for ways to integrate their sustainability policies, KPIs and targets in the organisation in a way that sustainability practices are exercised in all business units. This is where HR comes in. The ultimate form of integrating sustainability in a company is linking it to HR practices: recruitment, performance management, remuneration and training and development. This way, sustainability becomes a subject which is part of employees day to day tasks. Something they are accountable for and should exercise if they want to perform well. In other words, it becomes serious. HR professionals: be aware of the important role you can play in making your organisation more sustainable. You are needed badly, and if your colleagues who are responsible for sustainability, don´t come to you, go and talk to them about how you can work together!
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