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Sustainable HRM: From Vision to Action

Sustainable HRM: From Vision to Action

In an era of rapid change, Human Resources plays a crucial role in building a future-proof organization. Sustainable HRM is not just about compliance; it’s about attracting and retaining talent, promoting employee well-being, and ensuring a positive impact on both business outcomes and society.

Because when we set the right priorities, address structural barriers, and collaborate with the right partners — we can build workforces that are not just sustainable, but future-ready.

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''Sustainable HRM is often framed as sustainable employership. But as HR professionals, we can go further — and actively contribute to sustainable entrepreneurship. Let’s steer toward broad prosperity.''


— Heleen Cocu, CHRO Alliander

 

Research report 2025

This report was created to inspire, motivate, and guide the next steps in building a sustainable HR strategy. We'll repeat this research annually to track progress and share evolving insights.

Key Insights from our 2025 Survey

Sustainability is high on the HR agenda. Yet, our research shows there is still no clear-cut definition of sustainable HRM. What are the most important HR themes of 2025?

Three themes stand out from our research:

-  Continuous learning (79%)
-  Healthy workplace (72%)
-  Employee happiness (65%) 

 
Key Insights from our 2025 Survey

Sustainable HRM research for future proof HR and talent management

Sustainable HRM research

This research provides valuable insights into the priorities, challenges, and successes of HR departments in the context of sustainable HRM.
It offers HR decision-makers concrete guidance to strategically embed sustainable HR practices. The study was conducted by ImpactWork, a specialized consultancy and social enterprise committed to building a sustainable and healthy labor market. A total of 188 HR professionals from a variety of sectors were surveyed on their perspectives regarding sustainable HRM. Their responses paint a clear picture of the key themes and strategies organizations are adopting — as well as the obstacles they face in integrating sustainability into their HR policies.
Download the report

Half of organizations have no strategy for sutainable HRM
At a time when employees expect more from their employers and employee wellbeing is crucial for attracting and retaining talent, the results of our latest research are deeply concerning:

50 percent of Dutch organizations have no strategy for essential themes within sustainable HRM.

Attracting talent remains the biggest challenge.
Attracting enough talent is mentioned by 90% of respondents as a top priority. Larger organizations in particular struggle with this, partly due to labor market shortages and changing employee expectations.

Lack of priority and strategy hinders the sustainability of HR.
Despite the urgency, 42% of organizations pay insufficient attention to sustainable HRM, and over half lack a clear strategy for key themes such as employee wellbeing, innovation, and diversity. Organizations with a concrete strategy are demonstrably more satisfied with their progress.

About ImpactWork

ImpactWork is a boutique consultancy and social enterprise, founded to help organisations transition to sustainable ways of working. We believe sustainable work is key to a future-proof society.

Our mission? To support organisations in creating work environments that are not only productive — but also human-centred and resilient. We help you navigate today's and tomorrow’s HR challenges, from labour shortages to technological shifts and changing employee expectations.

Take action Today

Here are three steps to kickstart your sustainable HRM journey:

  • Discuss the findings with your team
  • Dive deeper at www.impactwork.io
  • Invite a speaker on sustainable HR themes

Not sure where to begin? We're here to help.

40%
more skills development in organisations that became a skills-based organisation (source: Udemy)

Ready for the first step? Let's talk!

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Rogier van Hamburg
|
Co-founder ImpactWork
There's many challenges in the world of work, but together we can tackle them. We're here to help you improve your HR strategically and create thriving workplaces. Check our services pages for more information on how we can help, and feel free to reach out!
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The four biggest HR challenges explained briefly.

25%
Of our profit is going to projects that support sustainable work causes. Example: Helping novices to find work.
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Innovation & productivity

Who likes boring work? Traditional HR processes are time-consuming, manual, and prone to inefficiencies. With HR tech and AI solutions, we can automate HR workflows, optimize workforce planning, and make data-driven decisions that save time and boost productivity.

Employee engagement and wellbeing

Increasing engagement and workplace wellbeing can help boost retention and productivity. Happy employees = thriving business!

Attracting and retaining talent in a competitive market

Explore data-driven solutions for increasing employee engagement, reducing employee turnover, and improving recruitment processes - all while fostering a resilient and thriving workplace culture!

Skills development

Skills are the future of work. With us, you can stay ahead and create a talent marketplace, skills-matrix, identify future skill gaps, and more!