The Relationship Between Strategic Human Resource Management Practices and the Employment of Vulnerable Workers: A Two-Wave Study Among Employers.

Purpose: To improve the inclusion of vulnerable workers in the labor market, employer behavior is key. However, little is known about the effectiveness of strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) practices that employers use to employ vulnerable workers. Therefore, this exploratory study investigates the association between strategic HRM practices (based on social legitimacy, economic rationality and employee well-being) and the actual and intended employment of vulnerable workers in the future.

Methods: In total, 438 organizations included in the Netherlands Employers Work Survey participated in a two-wave study with a nine-month follow-up period. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the relationship between strategic HRM practices (T0) with the employment of vulnerable workers (T1) and intentions to hire vulnerable workers (T1), while controlling for organizational size, sector, and employment of vulnerable workers at baseline.

Results: Employers who applied strategic HRM practices based on social legitimacy (e.g., inclusive mission statement or inclusive recruitment) or economic rationality (e.g., making use of reimbursements, trial placements, or subsidies) at T0 were more likely to employ vulnerable workers and to intend to hire additional vulnerable workers at T1. No significant results were found for practices related to employee well-being.

Conclusion: Since different types of strategic HRM practices contribute to the inclusion of vulnerable workers, employers can build on their strategic priorities and strengths to create inclusive HRM approaches. Future research is needed to study whether these strategic HRM domains also relate to sustainable employment of vulnerable workers.