In these times of much disturbance on ecological and biological front where the world is moving towards sustainability and Green Practices at all levels. Human Resource Practices are always kept away from the circular economy and sustainability. Although these both were always interrelated and impacting each other indirectly.
Organizations have worked upon and adopted policies which stimulate Green Behaviour. Human Resource Management or Human management is largely associated with a behavior of an economy. It has been largely debated and accepted that Human Resource Management has a major role in creating sustainable organisations.
The transition is taking place in many organizations where the practices are largely affected through the concepts of circular economy as it helps in optimum utilization of resources or gaining more value from the employees and providing better experiences and outputs to the stakeholders. Human Resource Management as a function involves lot of postulates of sustainability in the scope of an organistion. (Vickers, 2005). We all understand that the role of Human Resource has widened throughout the time and there is a need of more innovations in better management with various stakeholders and employees to create HR as a more solution-based function. We understand that to make Human Resource Practices more sustainable, the functions shall work around economic performance, social performance and an environment performance.
- Economic Performance here means that we analyze the appetite of the organisation to be more innovative in terms of its functions and Products.
- Social Performance would mean effectiveness to manage diversity of resources.
- Environment Performance is to introduce functions and processes which are more an environment friendly.
With the changing world, we have understood that how vital is to make an organisation sustainable in nature which is very clear that the function shall be such that it caters the current generation without affecting the resources for future. To develop a more sustainable HRM it is important to bring in more ethical and strategic Human Resource Management. Human Resource Management is a biggest stimulator to bring sustainability in organisation through innovation. In the further section we are going to analyse vital Human Resource Practices bucketed in different section and how they implement sustainability or learning from circular economy in the function.
1. Human Resource Planning: To bring sustainability in organisation through innovation, The practices followed shall be such which makes employees to think, create and reflect. The Employee behavior shall foster the following:
a. High Degree of Creativity
b. Long Term of Focus
c. High Level of cooperative and interdependent behaviour
d. High Degree of risk-taking appetite
e. High tolerance to unpredictability.
2. Talent Acquisition and Retention: With the introduction various technological functions in place there is more suitability and means to maintain the whole cycle of employment from acquisition to retention. The technological solutions with the regular update on the functionality are more sustainable in nature, though there has been numerous debates aroundthe same but still Technological innovations and Artificial Intelligence Systems are more effective in implementing sustainability in the process. The manual procedures are more time taking and also effect the Turn Around Time. While we are doing a Human Resource Planning, keeping the circular economy impacts in mind following are expected;
a. Creating a balanced skill mix in the teams to achieve efficiency.
b. Opportunities for Voluntary team assignments
c. Placing right people at the right job.
3. Talent Development: Talent Development is one of the key function of Human Resource Practices. To make your employees more efficient and effective at the workplace, it is of utmost importance to invest on your employees. As sustainability is a central theme of circular economy, the talent development not only makes employees equipped to match the market trends and need of the economy but also helps in succession planning.
4. Performance Management: Human Resource Management function while focusing on the performance management and performance appraisals, they foster encouragement to take risks, Employees shall themselves demand innovation in the processes, Making the workforce open to generation and adoption of new ideas, Continuous peer evaluation, frequent evaluations and auditing of innovation practices.
5. Reward and Recognition: The practices are evolving and to recognise and reward the employees in context of factors of circular economy and encourage them to more sustainable ideas , the reward and recognition system has to be planned strategically where following shall be covered majorly;
a. Freedom to employees to do research and bring their ideas into the practice
b. No Judgements on the failure of ideas which are put into testing
c. Employees shall form teams as per their own will and ideas; such freedom shall be encouraged
d. The Pay parity shall be taken as utmost serious agenda and bringing pay and pride in action
e. Developing dual career tracks
f. Promoting from within which shall have a consensus to the promotion and equal motivation leading to higher employee quotient factors
g. Recognition and Rewards shall be continuous in nature.
h. Maintaining the balance of team and individual rewards
To bring sustainability in the nature of functioning of Human Resource Practices, the function has to be evolved and bring postulates of social performance in the strategy.
a) The performance Management systems shall be developed more on the basis of equity,
distributive justice, autonomy and respect.
b) Organizations shall ensure they take care of employees both physical and Mental Health at the workplace.
c) One must ensure there is transparency in the systems and respect towards each other.
The organisations as discussed are now adopting Green Human Resource Practices to become more environmentally inclined. Human Resource policies which make the culture of the organisation greener and environment friendly shows their sustainability in the longer run. With the change in times and urgency at our environment due to depletion of natural resources, it is of primary importance to imply environment friendly Human Resource Practices. The result of the same can be seen in the kind of benefits organisations are reaping out of it. There are more attraction of environment friendly consumers and making more in house or national productions which result in cost deuteriations.
The literature and researches shows that to have a successful Environment Management System at place, it is of vital importance that the same shall be supported by strategic Human Resource Management System.
Therefore all the Practices as listed above shall have the environment backing to it. The organisations shall focus on the principles likes:
1. Talent Recruitment and Onboarding: Recruitment of people is done on the basis where
people are environment friendly. On the onboarding organisation may gift a sapling to take care of during their entire tenure with the organisation. They can plant the same as tree in the organisation campus or take along with them as a sign of farewell when they leave the organisation. Environmentally motivated activities can bring major impact to their engagement and relation with organisation.
2. Talent Development: Promote and give more and more trainings on environmentally friendly practices they can conduct in the organisations. The employees can receive environment credits for the same and some reward for the maximum rewards earned.
3. Reward Management: Engage your employees in more environment friendly activities and link the same to performance and reward management.
4. Environmental Team Meets- As an employee engagement activities try to coordinate and arrange more and more environment talks and open interactions so the synergy remains there.