Aligning Human Resource(s) with Corporate Social Responsibility
Project Associate, Project Management, ONGC Foundation, New Delhi, India
This paper assumes the strategic alignment of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). With this scope of inquiry being the exploitation of HR practices toward an improvement in CSR within the organization, the report begins with an introduction to CSR, taking stock of how it has unfolded from charitable activities into becoming central to business strategy in order to address social, environmental, and economic impacts. Thus, it can be easily realized that in the critical role of HR in integrative activities in CSR into organizational cultures, HR takes a key position in employee engagement and shaping corporate values so that CSR becomes imbibed in recruitment, training, and performance management. A critical overview of the cross-approach of HRM and CSR is rendered through a comprehensive literature review. To do so, key theories such as Stakeholder Theory, Social Contract Theory, and the Triple Bottom Line are considered. The review goes on to emphasize that CSR has a positive relationship with employee engagement and organizational performance, putting forth evidence through empirical studies and theoretical models. This is a qualitative research design, using case studies, interviews, and document analysis, to provide a view into the problems and opportunities associated with the integration of HR and CSR. Findings reveal that the integration of CSR within HR policies motivates employees, optimizes talent attraction and retention, and contributes to and enhances corporate reputation. Challenges included the reallocation of resources, issues of resistance, and a requirement of defined metrics. Some strategic recommendations include increasing HR’s input in CSR strategy development, providing the whole training on CSR to HR, and tightening metrics around the contribution of HR to CSR. The report concludes with aligning HR with CSR leads not only to sustainable organizational growth but also to a good workplace culture and strong relationships with stakeholders. The key findings of the study have been supported with references from some academic sources as well as real-life case studies which would give a comprehensive view of the significance and potentiality of alignment between HR and CSR.