This project develops a set of indicia through a survey of the current academic field. With this in hand, we can work with a client to provide three deliverables:
An overall score of their current sustainable alignment
A weighted or value-oriented score based on the client’s current concerns
A strategic report providing analysis and first-steps
“There is increasing evidence that common good approaches could prove more effective in bridging the current gap between corporate sustainability business practices and their impact… Nevertheless, some uncertainty remains about how these alternative models can be integrated within the current economic system and to what extent this would influence the role and function of HRM.”
(Aust, Matthews, & Muller-Camen, 2020, pg. 6)
Organizations that emphasize social purpose over profit have historically had to strategize with tools, values, and expectations handed down from the for-profit sector. Despite differences in values and culture, such organizations will often deploy measures that were designed for (and are best suited to) the private sector. Throughout BC, a variety of crown corporations, universities, co-ops, and not-for-profits struggle to communicate purpose and manage engagement and retention. While the value of such large-scale organizations in our economy is to further the common good, they often will improvise strategy based on out-of-context tools like the Triple or Quadruple Bottom Line.
Research shows that employee engagement and retention increase when an organization’s HRM is aligned with its broader purpose. This project would develop an alignment analysis specifically for Common Good organizations to advise on the sustainability and engagement of their HRM. It would allow us, as consultants, to analyze policy impacts on employee engagement and sustainable work culture and to offer other key strategic insights to the client. Academic research has increasingly turned toward synthesizing Green, Soft, and Sustainable HRM. Our goal would be to operationalize this knowledge.
