/ THE GREEN STANDARD
Sustainable Human Capital: Consider the Stress By Conor Burke
T
HE PARKING INDUSTRY HAS RECOGNIZED the value in implementing sustainable prod-
ucts and equipment in our facilities, however, one branch of sustainability that could be developed further is sustainable human capital. The sustainable human capital approach is paradoxical, because one side requires looking at your teams as the assets that need to be managed in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way, while the other side is prescribing solutions that embrace the holistic approach of seeing the workforce in their entirety as both workers and humans. This is accomplished by inputting the cost-benefit analysis for employees, employee retention, and the work-life balances employees face, and synthesizing the end goal, which is promoting a healthier work environment. The downstream effects of this type of management will help companies become more efficient, save money, and reduce their carbon footprint while also making sure that employers are able to retain more talent. Professional Relationships The parking industry requires operational management skills that encompass a wide array of abilities, that have populations dispersed through large areas with managers in solitude locations working closely with their team. The idea that these managers are easily replaced discounts the working environment they have established with their team and the rapport they have also built with the client on a day-today basis. This presents a problem because many of these professional relationships cannot be fully replicated by a new individual in that role. Building a successful employee retention program and talent pipeline is imperative for reducing and/or mitigating these transitional periods and helping keep healthy and positive work environments for teams that might not feel the corporate culture as easily an in-house staff does. Current estimates of how much it costs to replace employees is anywhere from 50 percent of their salaries for entry level workers to 250 percent of senior level employees. Shifting to a new mindset requires a change in focus, as these sustainable human capital decisions are about the benefit cost analysis and translating out of
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a bottom-line cost element that retention and recruiting currently fall under. Sustainable human capital does not look to reinvent the wheel when looking at a healthier work environment; the main goal is to establish work-life balance into the context of worker productivity and limit the negative effects of internal and external forces. There are two forms of stress that need to be under consideration while looking at sustainable human capital: job-related stress and financial stress.
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