People Sustainability and Environmental Sustainability: a Conversation Starter

You've never heard of People Sustainability?

If you are working in the world of HR Technology / digital HR and you've never heard of "People Sustainability", then congratulations: you obviously have enough work to do to keep you from following buzzwords on Linkedin or Software vendors' latest communication ;-) However, even though it may be a buzzword, the concept is real and relevant.

Just like trees, people need to be treated sustainably

It may not come as a surprise that the latest evidence does - again - show that organisations looking after their people perform better in terms of

• Employee Engagement
• Brand value
• Financial results

But what does People Sustainability really mean? It sounds like a mix of retention, experience management, empowerment and development and that guess is not far off the mark. SAP SuccessFactors, who are at the front line with solutions to help driving People Sustainability identify 6 pillars, which we've all heard of before, but claim most organisations need to drive behavioural change to approach them holistically:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (and Belonging)
• Employee Well-Being
• Trust and transparency
• Health & Safety
• Empowerment & Development
• Purpose

So, the focus on People Sustainability seems a logical step following from Human Experience Management. Whether or not the world needed this new buzzword is a different question. Be that as it may, the concept sound sound and seems to be supported by data.

Is People Sustainability just HXM piggybacking on Environmental Sustainability?

Now, being a bit cynical: if you want to create awareness for any new concept, then connecting it to one of the biggest topics of our time certainly can't hurt. Therefore, if anything, it's surprising that it took so long for "People Sustainability" to become a popular expression for HR Technology vendors or the HR Profession in general. It's easy to put that headline onto picture of happy, relaxed people in a green forest and position in prominently in the workforce section of your annual report. Few people will be able to stop their synapses from imagining a (causal) connection between "People Sustainability" and Environmental Sustainability, when they read the name and see these pictures.

However, is there really a strong connection between the two? And in which direction do cause and effect flow?

The article linked above claims People Sustainability improvements have a positive impact on ESG measures (Environmental, Social and Governance). Given that workforce metrics including employee engagement tend to be part of the "S" in ESG, this is self evident. The question is, whether an investment in workforce sustainability does improve other KPIs of the ESG package as well, most notably for the purpose of this discussion, Environmental Sustainability.

Discussing the link between People Sustainability and the Environment

Personally, I'm invested in both sides. I've been helping organisations to use digital HR to improve employee experience, people development, retention or employer brand for a long time. My interest in conservation and biodiversity has received a big boost during my 2-months-sabbatical in Kenya last year. So, personally, I'm keen on identifying those links and finding ways to drive People Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability and Business Results through digital Transformation in HR. Maybe I'll create my own ideal job by combining all these aspects :-). Is that a pipe dream?

The link to People Sustainability is easier on a global level

On a global level, it's a no-brainer. Without Environmental Sustainability no People Sustainability (and in the extreme case: no people). An investment into the health of our environment does reflect in healthier people.

It's more difficult for a single organisation. Beyond, what regulatory compliance requires: where do business leaders have a clear line of sight from investment in protecting the environment to People Sustainability to business results?

Some ideas for Linking Environmental Investment to Workforce outcomes

My feeling is the biggest driver is through purpose. Employee, who see that their engagement with their employer translates to Environmental benefits, are likely to have an improved sense of purpose.

Another link I could see: building organisational capabilities to drive Environmental Sustainability does offer growth opportunities for employees as well.

I guess there are plenty of these points, some strong, some weak. This is where I'd like to get a discussion going with ideas and tangible examples, but first a quick sojourn into the world of digital HR...

How does People Sustainability relate to SAP SuccessFactors?

As SAP are pushing this concept so strongly, it's a fair question to ask. Are any of their features in the SAP SuccessFactors HXM suite particularly well suited for driving it?

Sure, smart use of workforce data for people analytics can be linked to any of the building blocks of People Sustainability. And there are the obvious candidates like a good Compensation Management solution supporting pay equity and transparency. There is value to be gained from using these options wisely. However, none of those sticks out to me as being People Sustainability's best friend. They all just seem to include it as one of many flavours.

Except for one a set of the latest additions:

• Opportunity Marketplace
• Dynamic Teams
• The upcoming Talent Intelligence Hub strengthening both
• The cross-module capabilities driven by the Whole Self Model

To me, those concepts, whilst they can be used for anything, have "People Sustainability" written all over them as they are designed to drive empowerment growth, transparency, well-being and purpose. In that sense, the timing for pushing our new favourite buzzword seems well chosen.

Over to you: how to link People Sustainability with Environmental Sustainability

I'm fully aware the thoughts in the previous paragraphs are half-baked at best, far from comprehensive, and maybe even wishful thinking. That fully intended. If I had the answer, the headline wouldn't say "conversation starter".

What I'm hoping for is to get a discussion started (hopefully a civil one, which doesn't get personal) in the comment section and maybe - even better - inside your organisations or other forums:

• What are the links between Environmental Sustainability, People Sustainability and Business Results?
• How can organisations, leaders and individual employees use those links to drive sustainability, whilst benefiting the business results?
• Which role has Digital HR Transformation to play in this?

I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts!