Michael Porter, the renowned Harvard professor and founder of the five forces model that help maximise the benefit of businesses, conducted a “Copernican revolution.” In a study done by the Edelman group, 74% of French employees and 60% of Americans believe that once the crisis is over, the previous model will continue. Michael Porter and David Kramer, founder of the consulting firm FSG, say in an article published last January in the Harvard Business Review, it is time for companies to learn from the crisis and change their management model to better account for their employees and their environment.  He even questions his famous model of maximising value only for the shareholders of a company, and proposes a new system of sharing by better combining the staff, community and environment, thus contributing to creating social value.

 

This of course means incorporating sustainable development into the daily management of a company in order to protect and preserve our natural resources that we use, and reduce our consumption of CO2 when we can. It is especially necessary to become aware of the fact that the most important natural resource of the company is first and foremost its employees, the most important and historic factor in production as defined by economists.  We need to focus our attention on this fact, especially during this period of constant technological change.

 

The skills and competencies of the employee have become a scarce resource that must be protected and renewed. Companies not only create economic value by producing goods and services, but also social value. This shows it is socially responsible which generates a better image and attracts youth and new talents.

 

This is part of a virtuous three-pronged approach: to attract young people and train them, maintain the skills of its workforce to keep them loyal, and finally to re-engage seniors to enable them to play their role as transmitters of values, history, culture, and business of the company.

 

Thus, having sustainable skills plays a major part in creating social value for a company. This can be a paradigm shift for many of them. It is our responsibility, through training, to help them.