Aligning HR practices with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A roadmap for Omani organizations
This paper aims to address a critical gap in both sustainable development and human resource management literature by constructing a practical, context-sensitive framework for Omani organizations. It seeks to demonstrate how Human Resource Management can evolve from a support function into a central strategic driver, directly contributing to Oman Vision 2040’s pillars of economic diversification and social sustainability. The primary goal is to provide a clear roadmap for integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into core HR systems. Employing a qualitative, conceptual research design, this study conducts an integrative literature review and theoretical synthesis. It analyses contemporary scholarly works from databases like Web of Science and Scopus, focusing on Sustainable HRM, Common Good HRM, ESG principles, and SDG alignment. The methodology emphasizes theoretical relevance and contextual applicability, synthesizing global advancements and tailoring them to Oman’s unique socio-economic, cultural, and institutional context. This approach facilitates the development of a novel framework, the SDG-HR Alignment Matrix, which is further contextualized using illustrative cases from leading Omani organizations. The central finding is the proposed “SDG-HR Alignment Matrix for Oman,” a comprehensive framework that maps core HR functions—talent acquisition, learning & development, performance management, compensation, and employee relations—to priority SDGs (4, 5, 8, 10). The study identifies context-specific practices, such as transitioning to competency-based “Omanization 2.0,” implementing SDG-linked performance KPIs. These findings illustrate how HR can operationalize sustainability, foster intrapreneurship, and build a future-ready workforce, thereby creating a direct link between micro-level organizational behaviors and macro-level national vision goals. To the best of the author's knowledge, this paper offers the first dedicated framework that aligns HRM with the SDGs in a manner explicitly tailored to the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC states, specifically the Sultanate of Oman. It moves beyond generic Western models by integrating global SHRM theory with local institutional logics, such as Islamic ethics and nationalization policies. The study provides a significant value by bridging theoretical discourse with practical application, offering scholars a context-sensitive research model and providing Omani leaders with a novel, actionable tool to utilize human capital for sustainable national development.