Human resource and CSR (Part 1)

It is increasingly being argued that the human resources (HR) function should have a more profound role in the setting and achieving of CSR targets in corporate and non-profit entities because critical components of CSR strategy such as occupational health and safety should take more centre stage in the way CSR is designed and deployed.

Elaine Cohen, in her book on CSR for HR, argues that the HR function is the key partner in embedding CSR and sustainability initiatives in any organisation, as this can be achieved only when a company educates, engages and empowers its entire workforce. 

Karen Higginbottom, in an article published on the Forbes website entitled “Why HR needs to take a lead role in CSR”, also argues that research indicates that HR is very rarely involved in devising CR strategy. 

Corporate responsibility strategy

She went on to argue further that the CIPD’s report on The Role of HR in Corporate Responsibility (CR) surveyed 353 HR professional and 523 middle and senior managers and found that only 13 per cent of business leaders reported that HR was responsible for setting CR strategy. 

When it came to implementing CR strategy, only 26 per cent of business leaders thought that HR was responsible for implementation.  The report revealed that the biggest driver for an organisation’s increased focus on CR was greater pressure from governments or regulators.

In the Forbes article alluded to earlier, Jonny Gifford, Research Advisor to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, also proposes that the HR profession has a three-fold role in CSR as many aspects relate to HR management. “HR needs to make sure people management practices are ethical, and secondly, to embed corporate responsibility, you need to give people the right support and training and HR has a role in the learning and development side of that. The third aspect is embedding ethics into the organisational culture. That’s about being able at board level to ask the challenging questions.” 

Judi Marshall, Programme Director in MA in leadership  for sustainability for Lancaster University Management School, in taking a soft jibe at the marketing function and advocating for a full integration of the HR function into CSR, also notes that CSR should not always be seen as a marketing tool and that the HR function needs to think about leadership, recruitment and reward. She notes that some of the best organisations have taken an interesting HR aspect to this where they look at the work-life balance of CSR.

Role of human capital

The field of CSR has grown considerably over the last couple of years. Many businesses are becoming more active in contributing to society now than used to be the case. CSR issues are now being integrated into all aspects of business operations and explicit commitment to CSR is made in the visions, missions and value statements of an increasing number of companies all over the world. Successful CSR programmes rely on enlightened people management practices. In fact, employee involvement is a critical success factor for CSR performance. This outlines the essential role human capital plays in effectively coordinating CSR strategy. 

Indeed, many scholars have argued that the phenomenon of CSR is nebulous and whose metamorphosis is essentially being influenced by public/society pressure, outcry and agitation demanding that business organisations should undertake more responsibilities beyond their legal requirements. 

In fact, the business world of today is increasingly being characterised by powerful interest groups, green consumers, activist shareholders, non-governmental organisations and governments who continually make urgent demands for social responsibility.   

The role of human capital in organisations is arguably the number one intangible value driver in contemporary times and business leaders are increasingly recognising the strategic role of their human resources or organisational employees in driving and delivering sustainable business strategy. 

Developing the proper nexus or link between CSR and HR can enhance society’s development and provide benefits for the organisation. According to scholars like Sharma and Devi, the following are some specific roles human capital play in CSR strategy.