The 5 elements of a good policy for sustainable employability

The 5 elements of a good policy for sustainable employability

Sustainable employability: a hot topic among HR managers and employees. Not surprising, because the economy is picking up, the population is ageing and developments in the workplace follow each other in rapid succession. Right now you need healthy and valuable employees who fit in well with your organization. But how do you make sure they stay healthy and valuable? And what strategy should you follow for this? In this blog I share the 5 elements of a good policy for sustainable employability.

What exactly is sustainable employability?

Opinions differ as to the correct definition of ‘sustainable employability’. A definition that we can identify with is that of the Netherlands Standardisation Institute: “Sustainable employability is the ability of employees to provide added value to an organisation, now and in the future, and to experience added value themselves in the process.” It is about an organisational policy which enables employees to adapt to ever-changing circumstances and to perform different types of work and functions well. Sustainable employability is not only about the health of employees. It’s about the health of the entire organization: think about the recruitment of employees, the outflow and the period in between.

Employees and employers

Sustainable employability is therefore not only about ensuring that the employee is and remains healthy and vital. It is also and above all about being a good employer. In other words: stimulating the development of your employees, offering good terms of employment and ensuring an open culture. It’s about having a heart for your employees, an eye for numbers and knowledge, which enables you to work on the quality of the service or product, on the quality of the leadership and on personal development. So that employees and the organization have sufficient resilience and agility to respond to market developments.

Shared responsibility

HR managers have a lot on their plate, and sustainable employability is often an additional theme. But you are not alone: sustainable employability is a shared responsibility of the employee, the HR department and the entire organisation. After all, the people in your organization are what it’s all about. However, as an HR manager you do have the responsibility to formulate a thorough, inspiring and concrete policy for sustainable employability. A beautiful task!

What characterises a good policy for sustainable employability?

A good policy for sustainable employability consists of a number of elements:

• Clear objectives: make sure your sustainable employability policy is a living part of your total HR policy. For this it is important that you work with clear and defined objectives. Then translate them into the language of the stakeholders. The objectives must appeal to the employees, but also to your HR colleagues, the management team and the works council. In this way, you ensure a broader support base for the policy on sustainable employability.
• Clear responsibilities: Once you’ve formulated concrete and widely supported goals, it’s important to distinguish what you can expect from employees and where the organization’s responsibility begins. When everyone knows where this line is, you are already on the right track.
• Step by step. The specific goals you set are nowhere if you only make them apply to a few specific topics. Ultimately, you want them to be pursued by everyone in the organization and at every level. But don’t get ahead of yourself either. Start with a relatively small component, such as increasing the proportion of healthy food in the canteen. When this part is successful, take the next step. For example, offering a bicycle plan. Tackle each component on a project-by-project basis, making sure it fits into the overarching goals of your policy.
• Role for communications. A policy for sustainable employability with clear objectives that are not then widely communicated is a waste of effort. Involve the communications department in your plans and keep talking to employees! Inform, give concrete guidance and involve employees in the decisions, plans and implementation.
• Appropriate leadership styles. Managers and team leaders have an important role in the implementation of the sustainable employability policy. After all, they have to deal with the employees on a daily basis. In addition, they depend on their employability to achieve organizational goals, and they have a lot of influence (positive and negative). Check therefore whether the style of leadership of managers and team leaders fits well within the policy for sustainable employability, but especially with the employees and the company culture. In doing so, take a look at new leadership styles such as servant leadership.

Sustainably involved employees

When you draw up and implement a good policy for sustainable employability, you create the circumstances in which you make maximum use of the talent present in your organisation, you attract and retain committed and motivated employees and you reduce absenteeism. In this way, even if there is a shortage on the labour market or an economic downturn, you can succeed in attracting and retaining good staff.

Would you like to know more about sustainable employability policy? Download our e-book ‘Wise with grey’. Packed with tips and background information on harnessing the power of older employees.