How Your Business Can Benefit From 'People Sustainability'

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2023 / The idea of 'people sustainability' brings together considerations of employee engagement and corporate responsibility. Image: Anamul Rezwan for Pexels

• 'People sustainability' brings together considerations of employee engagement and corporate responsibility.
• A people sustainability strategy can help increase environmental, social and governance metrics, drive business outcomes and improve people's lives.
• It involves upskilling employees, being accountable for supply chains, and taking a people-first approach.

Foto: Accesswire

The past several years have seen a seismic shift in the workplace. The remote work revolution was prompted by COVID, and thanks to technological advances the transition to the home office was almost seamless. But although the tools were there to enable this shift, the policies and approach to people management lagged behind. Business transformation is not just about new tech; it has to be a modified approach that considers technology, process and people.

As the pandemic wore on, inflation, demographic changes and increased regulation put additional pressure on companies to establish new social contracts with their employees, supply chain partners, and communities. When thinking about creating a workforce fit for the future, it helps to consider people sustainability. This is the intersection of employee engagement and corporate responsibility.

Following a people sustainability strategy

Prioritizing people sustainability requires an organization to consider the policies and experiences of people across their entire value chain: employees, contingent workers, suppliers' employees, and people in their communities. A comprehensive people sustainability strategy can help increase overall environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, drive business outcomes and improve people's lives.

Here's how businesses can begin to focus their efforts:

1. Upskilling employees

It's estimated that 85 million jobs globally will be unfilled by 2030 due to skills shortages. By prioritizing and developing people through upskilling and reskilling, organizations can ensure their people are engaged and equipped with the tools they need to grow as business continues to evolve.

But organizations shouldn't limit themselves to only upskilling the people within their workforce. They need to also invest in underrepresented and underserved talent pools to help these groups gain the skills they need to fill open roles across industries. In technology, for example, only 26% of jobs are currently held by women, and people of colour are severely underrepresented.