As the business environment changes, so too must the way in which we lead our employees. In order to ensure that your business is sustainable in the long term, it is important to implement practices that will support employee sustainability. In this blog post, we will explore the top five practices for employee sustainability.
1. Set a clear strategic agenda
Top management must set a clear strategic employee sustainability agenda for the organisation. This agenda should be communicated to all employees so that they are aware of the company’s direction and can align their goals with those of the business. Without a clear strategy, your organization will suffer various negative consequences. One of the most important factors in supporting employee sustainability is to to integrate the topic into daily leadership practises. In order to see positive results like lower sick leave, higher well-being and productivity from your employees, you need to start with leaders.
2. Implement employee sustainability reporting
Sustainability reporting is a way of measuring and communicating the environmental, social, and economic impacts of an organization’s activities. This type of reporting helps to create transparency and accountability within an organization and can help to engage also employees in the company’s sustainability efforts. Measuring results of strategic actions and their impact in employee sustainability area are vital part of sustainability reporting. To be effective, sustainability reporting should be tailored to the strategic needs of the organization and its stakeholders. It should also be based on credible data that is collected and analyzed in a systematic way.
3. Promote diversity, equality, and inclusion
An organization that values diversity, equality, and inclusion is more likely to retain its employees. When employees feel like they are respected and valued for their unique skills and perspectives they are more likely to be engaged in their work. Company DEI values need to be supported by code of conduct as well as tools to identify improper treatment and automated proactive processes to support employee envolvement in the company. Furthermore, studies have shown that businesses with a diverse workforce are more successful overall in achieving business results and beeing more innovative in addition to employee sustainability.
4. Focus on early prevention
It is easier and less expensive to prevent problems from occurring than it is to fix them after they have already arisen. By focusing on early prevention, businesses can save money while also promote a culture of employee sustainability within the workplace. Early prevention strategies may include actions in safety, like regular safety audits or systematic proactive leadership practises to understand the rootcauses of individual obstacles in affecting employee. The amount of data that is collected through, for example, payroll is essential in proactivity, also leaders have important role in identifying changes in employee behaviour and reacting to those early. Leaders in large and complicated businesses may benefit from a digital solution like ours because it enables them to be more proactive.
5. Protect employee data
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was designed to protect the personal data of European Union citizens. GDPR principles are applied to protect the personal data of all employees in EU. GDPR applies to any type of data that could identify an individual, including name, email address, IP address, etc. Organizations that process employee data must take steps to protect it from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, or destruction. Sustainable organisations create protection for their employee data like encryption or physically securing data storage devices and preventing leaders to create registers or save employee data in their own computers.
To create a sustainable workplace, it is important to implement practices that will support employee retention and motivation. The top 5 practices for employee sustainability include setting a clear strategic agenda, implementing sustainability reporting, promoting diversity, equality, and inclusion, focusing on early prevention, and protecting employee data. These are just a few of the many ways in which businesses can promote sustainability within their workforce. If you would like more information on how to enact these principles within your organization, please contact us.
