Companies aren’t centering training in their goals, but they need to, report says

As companies move to focus on sustainability in their supply chains amid disruptions, only 12% of nearly 700 of the world’s largest companies have at least one change goal focused on people, according to a study released last week by the World Resources Institute.

Additionally, only 3% have goals related to investing in worker skills, the study said.

The people-centered goals mentioned by WRI vary widely, from better safety training to upskilling programs focused on career development.

“Right now, most large companies are overlooking the needs of the people essential to transforming their supply chains,” Eliot Metzger, WRI’s director of sustainable business and innovation, said in a statement. “This not only undermines companies’ sustainability targets but also the stability of their supply chains and their reputation.”

People are at the core of what changes need to be made for broader sustainability, WRI emphasized. “Unless large companies recognize and address what those suppliers and their workers need, they will struggle to make the changes necessary for cleaner, more resilient supply chains.”

This pattern is reflected in HR concerns more broadly, according to HR Dive’s Identity of HR survey. While organizations struggle to find people with the right skills, training keeps moving lower and lower on the priority list — a particular problem for employers who can’t afford to “buy” such talent in an extremely competitive market.

Employees have also picked up on this trend. The majority of employees responding to an Express Employment Professionals survey from earlier this year said they believe employers are passing over solid candidates because of a lack of desire to train them.