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International Journal of Innovations & Research Analysis (IJIRA) [ Vol. 6 | No. 1(I) | January - March, 2026 ]

Sustainable HR Practices as a Driver of Employer Branding and Freshers’ Organizational Choice

Ms. Saroj S. Iyengar

Organizations are required to operate sustainably and socially responsibly in today's business environment. Sustainable Human Resource Management (Sustainable HRM), which incorporates economic, social, and ethical factors into HR policies and practices, has emerged in response to this expectation being extended to the field of human resource management. An organization's reputation as an employer is greatly influenced by sustainable HR practices, such as work-life balance, diversity and inclusion, ethical governance, employee wellbeing programs, and chances for ongoing learning. At the same time, in a competitive labor market, employer branding has emerged as a crucial strategic tool for businesses seeking to attract and retain skilled workers. Salary and career progression chances are no longer the only factors influencing recent graduates into the workforce. Rather, people are increasingly assessing companies on their ethical practices, workplace culture, and sustainability ideals. In this regard, sustainable HR practices can improve employer branding and positively impact new hires' decision-making process. Thus, it has become crucial to do research to understand how corporate branding, sustainable HR practices, and the job preferences of recent graduates relate to one another. The goal of the current study is to investigate how sustainable HR practices affect employer branding and how freshmen's perceptions of a business are influenced by employer branding. The study also investigates how employer branding functions as a mediator in the connection between freshmen's choice of organization and sustainable HR practices. A quantitative research approach using a structured questionnaire administered to final-year students and early-career professionals across a variety of academic fields is suggested. To identify meaningful correlations among the variables, the data will be evaluated statistically using methods such as factor analysis, regression analysis, mediation analysis, and reliability testing. It is anticipated that the study's conclusions will provide businesses with important information on how to combine employer branding campaigns with sustainability-focused HR policies to attract and retain the next generation of workers.

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