Every aspect of our lives is undergoing rapid change. In the corporate world, this is evident from how human resources management (HRM) is reinventing itself to manage increasingly open, flat, interactive and differentiated ecosystems in constant flux.
These corporate ecosystems can no longer be managed efficiently by hierarchical authority alone.
As part of this change, HRM has become a strategic arm of businesses, and are not just focused on passive and service-oriented transactional activities, including traditional employee lifecycle management and administrative responsibilities. The broader bandwidth includes data exploitation, HR metrics and automation and organisational and managerial dynamics.
Another area in which HRM finds increased application is corporate social responsibility (CSR). As organisations are seeking to make their CSR activities more value-based and highlight their culture and vision, greater and more direct involvement of employees is required. Given this, the HR department has to drive CSR routines within their organizations.
The HR leadership has the capability to unite employees around the organisation’s culture and broader vision, thereby reinforcing the values the organisation stands for. In this context, the HR department has to rethink its managerial role and work with tools that change behaviour.
HR professionals may build talent strategies around their organisations’ social and environmental commitments that are intrinsic to the brand and reflect the values and beliefs of their people.
Similarly, HR should design CSR initiatives in such a manner that they drive employee engagement. For the employees, these activities unite the organisational value system and the various aspects of their larger life. By encouraging them to take ownership of these initiatives, the HR department can make them co-creators of the CSR value.
Lastly, with a well-embedded CSR agenda, organisations are positioned to drive a better employee value proposition.
(Sandeep Gandhi is CHRO & Head at CSR, Aircel)
