Social Sustainability KPIs in Operations Management: A Gap between the Reactive and the Proactive Stance

Paper in proceeding, 2014

Manufacturing companies increasingly evaluate sustainability outcomes using key performance indicators (KPIs). But when it comes to social sustainability, currently established KPIs do not give appropriate decision support to address future challenges proactively. Upcoming demographic trends point to the challenge of a shortage of qualified labour in the manufacturing industry. To counteract this risk, manufacturing companies must set visions to become attractive and socially sustainable workplaces. This paper identifies a set of characteristics for a socially sustainable and attractive workplace based on previous literature, and proposes that a gap must be bridged between the KPI-oriented approach and creating socially sustainable workplaces.