Reframing Employer Engagement: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective

This blog post is based on an article published in Social Policy and Society by Renate Bosman, Hanneke van Heijster, Irmgard Borghouts, and Charissa Freese.

At a time when policy ambitions for an inclusive labour market are higher than ever – reflecting global goals like the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 8 and 10) – a critical question persists: what does it truly mean for employers to be “engaged” in the inclusion of allegedly vulnerable groups? The term employer engagement is increasingly used in the literature on active labour market policies (ALMP), but its actual meaning is as slippery as it is widespread. In a recent scoping review, we examined 63 academic and grey literature documents across social policy, HRM, and rehabilitation studies to unpack this ambiguity. The result? A richer, more nuanced conceptualisation that recognises employer engagement as a multi-stakeholder, multidimensional phenomenon.

A concept in crisis: definitional ambiguity

In recent years, scholars have sounded the alarm over the fragmentation of the employer engagement concept. Some frame it narrowly as participation in ALMP, while others broaden it to include organisational behaviours, ethical stances, or even the everyday attitudes of line managers. This variation might seem trivial, but its implications are not. When definitions diverge, comparisons across studies become tenuous, evaluations suffer from conceptual drift, and policy becomes ungrounded. Due to this ambiguity, questions remain: Who within the organisation is involved? What forms does this involvement take? And how do external actors shape or mediate employer engagement?

A stakeholder-oriented approach

By reviewing the concept of employer engagement through a stakeholder lens, we found four distinct stakeholder groups involved in shaping what employer engagement means and looks like:

1. The organisation as an entity.
2. Human Resource Management (HRM).
3. Line managers.
4. Institutional stakeholders (e.g. employment services).

Stakeholder theory suggests that organisations are not isolated entities but operate within an ecosystem of internal- and external stakeholders, each with differing degrees of power, legitimacy, and urgency. Altogether, these perspectives highlight that employer engagement is not a singular behaviour or static outcome, but a dynamic interplay of motivations, practices, and institutional arrangements.

Inside the organisation: entities, HR, and line managers

The largest body of literature frames employer engagement as something enacted from within the organisation. For some, this means the organisation as a whole making strategic decisions to participate in ALMP. These decisions may stem from a sense of social responsibility, pragmatic calculations (e.g., wage subsidies), or a mix of both. Yet, engagement is not always consistent. Some employers are “relationally engaged” (committed over time), while others are “instrumentally engaged,” dipping in and out of ALMPs as it suits their needs, as shown in previous research on employer engagement.

When diving deeper into employer engagement, we see that HRM emerges as a key internal stakeholder. Here, employer engagement includes inclusive recruitment practices, training initiatives, and workplace policies designed to accommodate diverse needs. However, employer engagement is not just about the implementation of these practices, but also how they are implemented across organisational layers. Studies underscore that top management, HR officers, and co-workers each hold varying degrees of awareness and confidence in hiring from allegedly vulnerable groups.

At the most micro level, line managers are found to be important, particularly in rehabilitation and return-to-work contexts, but also in the execution of organisational policies. Line managers’ attitudes and actions – such as providing workplace adjustments or engaging in vocational rehabilitation – can shape the experience of employees. In this sense, employer engagement becomes personal, relational, and contingent on everyday interactions.

Outside the organisation: institutional stakeholders

While much of the literature focuses on internal stakeholders, a smaller but significant portion of literature highlights the role of external stakeholders in employer engagement. Public employment services, job coaches, and policymakers do not merely encourage engagement; they actively construct it through brokerage, mediation, and support. These actors try to navigate a delicate balance: aligning employer needs, jobseeker rights, and policy imperatives.

Why it matters: implications for research and policy

Clarifying the concept of employer engagement is important for more than theoretical purposes. It has far-reaching implications for how we design, implement, and evaluate inclusive labour market policies. A stakeholder-oriented conceptualisation underscores that:

• Policy interventions must recognise the internal diversity within organisations. Line managers may need different kinds of support than HR professionals.
• Employer engagement is relational, not transactional. Participation in ALMP is only one form of engagement. Long-term, meaningful inclusion demands attention to practices, attitudes, and organisational culture.
• External actors matter. Engagement is often co-produced between employers and institutional stakeholders, requiring relational trust, resource alignment, and sustained dialogue.

For researchers, this means embracing the complexity of employer engagement. For policymakers, it means designing tools that align with the motives and constraints of diverse employer stakeholders.

In conclusion, employer engagement is about more than hiring decisions – it is about the shared responsibility to create fair and inclusive labour markets. By conceptualising employer engagement through a stakeholder lens, we can move towards a better understanding of what it means for employers to truly ‘engage’.

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Reference

Bosman, Renate, Hanneke van Heijster, Irmgard Borghouts, and Charissa Freese. 2025. “A Scoping Review on the Conceptualisation of Employer Engagement in the Employment of Vulnerable Workers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective.” Social Policy and Society: 1–30. doi: 10.1017/S1474746425100870.

About the authors

Renate Bosman is a PhD candidate at Tilburg University, The Netherlands.

Hanneke van Heijster is Researcher at Tilburg University, The Netherlands.

Irmgard Borghouts is Professor HRM & Social Security at Tilburg University, The Netherlands.

Charissa Freese is Professor of Inclusive Employment Relations at Tilburg University, The Netherlands.