Abstract
The current business environment is volatile and complex. Companies must constantly identify creative and environmentally friendly solutions. The emphasis on employees and workforce agility has become an attribute of sustainable and competitive organizations simultaneously. The purpose of our study is to validate the hypothesis that there is a direct positive relationship between ranking as important top position of human resources in a company and the extent to which specific practices to increase workforce agility were adopted. Our survey is based on an original questionnaire, with a 92% response rate. We focused on large, independent decision-making companies from Western Romania, for which the implementation of sustainable principles is more difficult than for multinationals. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS23 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The results indicate an average extent of the adoption of management practices aiming to increase workforce agility (45%) and a ranking of human resources in first place as the most important resource (31.7%). Using the Pearson Chi-Square Test, the hypothesis was confirmed (significance = 0.026). Our main conclusion is that if managers intend to develop a sustainable and competitive business, they should attribute a strategic role to employees and adopt practices to increase their agility.
Highlights
Over time, organizations have faced various challenges and opportunities
In this study, carried out on large and independent decision-making companies in Romania, the results showed a positioning of human resources at the top of the most important resources of organizations, followed, at a small difference, by financial resources [25]
We aim to bring to the attention of decision-makers the crucial fact that the future of their companies depends on the adequate valorization of human resources, on the need to consider them as strategic partners, and on the execution of the transformation process of their companies in this respect, pointing them towards a large array of best practices to improve the agility of their workforce
Summary
With the approval by United Nations member states of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, in 2015, each organization has a responsibility to contribute “meaningfully and constructively to our common future” [1]. It is essential for companies to exhibit proactive behavior and to intensify their actions to support the achievement of a “sustainable future” [1]. At this time, “the private sector plays a critical role in providing solutions that can contribute to solving these challenges, while generating new business opportunities” [2]. By adopting different measures to support sustainable development, “businesses can reap benefits for themselves and for the markets they depend upon” [2]
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