ABSTRACT

The readers of this policy will understand how TCS

as an organisation ensures sustainability in its
processes by not only being environment friendly
but being employee friendly as well

SUSTAIBLE HR Guided By -
Dr. Shweta Jha, Associate Professor, Human
Resources, Apeejay School of Management

POLICIES
Prepared By –
A Contemporary Study
Aditya Anand Jha
(29/005)

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 What is Sustainable HR?

Sustainable HRM can be defined as those long term oriented conceptual approaches and
activities aimed at being socially responsible and economically appropriate recruitment and
selection, development, deployment and release of employees. There is a constant struggle with
where we are, where we need to go, what needs to be done now and what needs to be done next,
so sustainable HRM assumes that you are constantly replenishing whatever you are using and
constantly keeping with the times to achieve your strategic objectives. Sustainable HR refers to
social and human outcomes which contribute to the continuation of the organization in the long
term i.e., to a sustainable organization.

In order to achieve sustainability in terms of its HR Policies, an organisation needs to answer the
following questions -

What role do we play in the community?

How are we managing our impact on the environment?
Are we working to create a diverse workforce?
Are we adapting to technological change?
Are we providing the retraining and opportunities that our employees and our business
will need to adjust to an increasingly automated world?
Are we using behavioural finance and other tools to prepare workers for retirement, so
that they invest in a way that will help them achieve their goals?

Need for such Policy?

Shaped by the current turbulent era of macroeconomic forces, inclusive of the technological
challenges of Industry 4.0, and ubiquitous uncertainties, the business environment and its
stakeholders hold high expectations for sustainable organizational practices.  Increasingly,
responsible behaviour towards internal stakeholders comes from within organizations, valuing
employees as a key asset and introducing sustainable human resource management (S-HRM)
practices to motivate their workforce.

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However, it is not only the external pressures that have resulted in sustainability and responsible
behaviour of companies being incorporated into their daily operations as well as strategic
documents. Exponentially, the interest comes from within organizations. In terms of
sustainability, the firms are increasingly focusing on a comprehensive and well-integrated set of
activities built into their business strategies and business plans which may help internal
stakeholders, the local communities or society as a whole. These proactive sustainable and
responsible practices and business strategies adopted by companies go beyond legal
requirements and contribute positively to a satisfied society. The sustainability concept has
penetrated all management functions including strategic management, organizational behaviour,
supply chains and human resources (HR), and has gained attention from both the practitioners
and academia. It is mostly the latter, the HR function, that is critical to achieving success in
implementing sustainability within organizations.

Sustainable management of employees, which are pivotal organizational assets, utilizes the HR
tools and helps to embed the sustainability strategy into organizations. The area of human
resource management naturally reflects developments in society as well as trends in academic
disciplines. The goal of HR management is to provide motivated, qualified and loyal employees;
in addition, sustainable human resource management (S-HRM) is the next logical step after
incorporating sustainability into a company’s processes. Employees are crucial in relation to
organizational development and success. Thus, it is of high importance that these internal
stakeholders are treated ethically, fairly and responsibly.

Sustainable and ethical HR policies and their daily execution as well as their transparent
disclosure is highly important to various stakeholders of a particular company influencing
internal stakeholders, employees, and their overall well-being and satisfaction and the external
actors alike as the transparent S-HRM is positively reflected in brand reputation and image. 

Scope

This policy applies to all current employees including our stakeholders. The employees may be
working full-time, part-time, contractual, permanent and temporary for the company. The

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stakeholders here mean, it extends to the treatment of company’s vendors and suppliers,
contractors, partners, visitors, customers and job applicants.

Areas of coverage

The Sustainable HR Policy will cover the following areas –

1. Well Being of Employees
2. Non-Discriminatory Equality
3. Employee Development
4. External Stakeholder Partnership
5. Employees Long-Term Strategy
6. Employee-Management Relations
7. Environment Sustainability

Policies

Well Being of Employees – Although TCS being an organisation which highly emphasizes
work-life balance however pressure of high performance can cause “BURNOUT”. Thus,
maintaining both mental and physical well-being is crucial at the workplace.

Therefore, at TCS we have launched a “REACH THE HR” programme where every employee
will be assigned their respective HRBP to whom they can reach out anytime between the official
business hours for any kind of issues be it personal or professional which supports all age levels
and creates satisfying and intrinsically valuable environment for our employees.

Non-Discriminatory Equality – The policy will cover the issues pertaining to gender equality,
racial injustice, salary and remuneration differences between men and women, minorities, and
human rights.

At TCS we adopt a strict zero-tolerance policy on any kind of discrimination mentioned above or
infringement of any kind of basic human rights.

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Employee Development - Employee development plays one of the fundamental roles of
sustainable HR management. Often, a competitive advantage of the company lies within shared
knowledge, employee skills and their abilities to grow, innovate or accept technological changes.

At TCS we have special “Extra Mile” programme in addition to the mandatory L&D
programme at the time of induction which focus on keeping the employees up to date with the
various technological advancements going on across the globe. Employees can register
themselves voluntarily, choose their preferred course and learn at their own pace.

External Stakeholder Partnership - Cooperation and efficient communication with

stakeholders are vital. Being active in these areas and reporting on them has the capacity to
positively influence a company’s image and boost good reputation as well as the overall
perception of a brand or organization.

At TCS we mandatorily release a quarterly newsletter which communicates every strategic

decision, advancements, projects completed and projects in queue which is then sent to each and
every stakeholder of the organisation.

Employees Long-Term Strategy - Companies and other business entities taking care of their
key assets, i.e., their employees, exercise in practice the idea of sustainable entrepreneurship.

At TCS we have a “long-term seamless integration of our S-HRM strategy into the overall
business strategy” which focus our attention primarily on a long-term employee strategy
including monitoring labour markets, demographic changes, revising recruitment practices as
well as on the employee agenda concerning employee turnover, age and gender ratio, new hires,
talent management, retention rates, parental leave, levels of outsourcing, etc. 

Employee Management Relations - Employee management relations and the operational

climate perceived by employees has been of growing importance for TCS. Therefore, TCS has
adopted a “NO GRAPEWINE POLICY” which primarily focuses on fostering healthy relations
between the top management and employees by having a proper continuous and periodic
Communication between both the parties with the sole aim of having a “Bottom-Up” and “Top-
to-Bottom” approach.

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Environment Sustainability - Be it the HR department or others, the goal for everybody is the
same: all decisions should be harmless to environment and the environmentally friendly solution
is always preferred. Sometimes, such a decision represents higher costs, but it should never be a
barrier at TCS. Hence, at TCS we have adopted the “3’R” Policy i.e., reducing the usage of paper
as much as possible and using digital means; reusing the same paper if possible (only for
informal purposes); recycling the reused papers after every quarter. Following the above policy
will lead to accumulation of green points (No. of reused papers recycled and amount of digital
means used for daily communication i.e., amount of reduced dependence on papers will be the
primary measures taken into account while calculating the same) and the department with the
highest accumulated points after the end of financial year will be rewarded.

NOTE: - For further clarifications on the above policies or in case of any discrepancy or to
provide any kind of feedback you can reach out to us at “directorhrtcs@gmail.com”

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