The Role of People Professionals in Ethical and Sustainable People Practice

The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) is the professional body for those who work in the People Profession – this covers a range of activities and roles including HR, Learning & Development and Organisational Design and Development.  All these roles have a responsibility for developing and supporting ethical and sustainable people practices. The CIPD says our “ability to recognise and resolve ethical dilemmas is fundamental to remaining effective and gaining the trust of key stakeholders”.

Dealing effectively with ethical issues has a positive impact on the organisation and its stakeholders.  Of course, stakeholders are internal and external although the needs of internal stakeholders – employees – are often overlooked.  It is also important to remember that employees are not all the same, and do not all receive the same benefits and treatment.

Some of the ethical issues faced by organisations are in areas where People Professionals can, and should, have a significant influence. 

The High Pay Centre reports that median FTSE 100 CEO pay was £2.69 million in 2020, 86 times the median full-time worker in the UK. This very high CEO pay reflects a wider gap between rich and poor in the UK than in most other European countries.

The gender pay gap continues to be an issue. The value placed on women’s skills and career progression is lower than for men; women take more responsibility for families, more frequent career breaks, and often don’t go back to a full-time job, thus earning less and working fewer hours, resulting in lower pensions and increased poverty in old age. 

Changes such as the rise of zero hours and fixed term contracts mean that larger numbers of employees are not eligible for benefits associated with permanent employment, such as enhanced sick pay, pensions, healthcare, training and learning, career development.

All of these issues impact on the long-term sustainability of our most important organisational asset – our people!

People Professionals have a critical role to play in building and maintaining ethical cultures within organisations, ensuring corporate responsibility is recognised by all and encouraging decision-makers to review the ethical and sustainable dimensions of wider business decisions.  They can build people management systems that support ethical and sustainable behaviours and practices.

BUT…research shows that this is often not reflected in reality as “many business leaders do not consider that HR teams play a central role in CR. This is not just a problem of perception…people professionals often feel they have to compromise their principles to meet current business needs. Following standard ‘best practice’ may not suffice because contexts vary.”

To develop a more ethical and sustainable approach to people practice in your organisation you should:

  1. Reflect on your organisation’s approach to all its employees, its policies, and practices.
  2. Compare this to best practice from organisations such as CIPD and the UN Sustainable Development Goals related to human rights and labour issues.
  3. Use the skills and knowledge of your People Professionals to help you address any issues.