To quote George R.R. Martin, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.”
It’s always fun to read; the habit itself helps you gain new perspective on different things. This weekend, how about some light reading on your favorite topic – HR and HR Tech?
We’ve compiled a list of some of the top HR books written by renowned HR leaders in the industry. Some of these leaders have spent decades in the business and their insights can help you overcome your most common daily work challenges while helping you extend your knowledge in the field of Human Resources.
Here are 10 HR books that are a must read for every HR professional:
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HR Disrupted: It’s time for something different by Lucy Adams
HR disrupted is a must read book for anyone new to HR. This book is a testament to the mission of its author Lucy Adams, who aims to help as many companies as possible bring their HR department up to date. Her passion for the greater good led her to create her agency – Disruptive HR. In this book, Lucy mentions how today’s HR may not necessarily share physical space with employees, they may happen to manage them virtually (the current pandemic being the biggest example). This in turn states her mission about how important it is for the companies to bring their departments into the 21st century model. The book also talks about the transparency that’s coming with the digital age and the need to foster trust in employees. It also states how confident, motivated, insightful and humble leaders are required in the company to enable the HR team to be more human.
Read More: How AI Will Empower Employees to Make Better Business Decisions Faster Than Ever Before
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Reinventing the Organization: How Companies Can Deliver Radically Greater Value in Fast-Changing Markets by Arthur Yeung and Dave Ulrich
Arthur Yeung is a Senior Management Advisor at Tencent Group, where he leads and facilitates organizational innovation and leadership development and Dave Ulrich is the Co-founder and President of the RBL group, he has written over 30 books which have helped shape the HR industry. This book is known to be a blueprint for all the entrepreneurs out there who face challenges building teams and an organisation that is responsive to fast-changing markets. The book shares insights on leadership values and goals. This book is based on their in-depth research from leading firms like Alibaba, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Tencent and more. With the insights gained from their research they have explained in an integrated six-step framework on how to build this new type of organisation that can respond effortlessly to the volatile market opportunities. To sum up, this book provides a much-needed roadmap for reinvention if that’s what you’re looking for.
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Hiring For Attitude by Mark Murphy
Mark Murphy is not only the New York Times Bestselling author of leadership books but also the founder and CEO of Leadership IQ, a training and research firm. Mark believes that most organizations have an incorrect approach towards hiring. Their hiring criteria should not only be to look for people with the right technical skills but also those with the right attitude. This is the perfect read for people responsible for talent acquisition. In this book, Murphy demonstrates how by using tests and sample interview questions you can identify the characteristics of the person having the right attitude using case studies from companies such as Southwest Airlines and The Four Seasons. Apart from Hiring For Attitude, Mark is also the New York Times Bestselling author of other leadership books like Hundred Percenters, Hiring for Attitude, and HARD Goals.
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Predictive HR Analytics: Mastering the HR Metric by Kirsten & Martin Edwards
The author Martin Edwards is a Reader of HRM and Organizational Psychology at King’s Business School, King’s College London. He teaches HR analytics to MSc students and has delivered HR analytics workshops to FTSE-100 companies. Kirsten Edwards is the HR Lead for Advanced Analytics and Data Science at Rio Tinto and has over 20 years’ of international experience in analytics, HR and management consulting.
About the book: HR metrics measurements are used to determine the value and effectiveness of HR initiatives. It is a vital source of information to any organisation with which they can ascertain the pattern in which their company performs and based on that allows them make the right decisions. Assuming not every HR person knows how to use this information to its full potential, Predictive HR Analytics provides a detailed framework for people to better understand the analytics and techniques required to carry out and interpret the HR data and in turn develop the strategies that can work best for their organization.
Read More: HR Tech Tools That Can Enable An Easier Remote Hiring Process
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It’s the Manager by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter
The authors of It’s the Manager – Jim Clifton is chairman and CEO of Gallup, he is also the best-selling author of Born to Build and The Coming Jobs War. Jim Harter, PhD, is a chief scientist for Gallup. It is rightly said that having a great boss is more important than having a perfect job.
The book “It’s the Manager” is based on 52 findings from Gallup’s largest study on the future of work. The book focuses on the importance of the organizations to adapt to the constantly evolving environment, may it be the new technologies like AI, or the new trends like gig workers and remote work. According to research, the people who should be leading these changes are your managers, not the traditional managers with the command and rule style but mentors who can motivate the employees, make them overcome their weaknesses and develop their strengths. The book emphasizes on the face that the future of work is a perfect work – life balance which can be achieved only when you have a manager who can maximize your potential and in turn help each individual contribute to the overall goal of the organisation.
Read More: HR Tech Leaders You Should Read About, Today!
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Hello Gen Z: Engaging the Generation of Post-Millennials by Claire Madden
Claire Madden, in her book Hello Gen Z: Engaging the Generation of Post-Millennials, has brilliantly captured how the interesting minds of the younger generation work and what motivates them. The book states the importance of understanding these minds and how to engage with them, as the generation has been referred to a generation of hyper-connected, agile and adaptive, digital savvy employees, consumers and emerging leaders. This book is a recommendation to all the companies who are ready to unlock the full potential of their gen Z workforce.
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Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead by Lazlo Bock
Laszlo Bock is the author of “WORK RULES! Insights from Inside Google to Transform How You Live and Lead”, the book when released was among the top 15 business books of the year. Laszlo is also the CEO and Co-founder of Humu. Laszlo in the past has served as a SVP of People Operations in Google. During his tenure at Google, the company received titles like the best company to work for. Laszlo’s book Work Rules revolves around the belief that you can choose the type of organisation you want to create. Laszlo has sighted a lot of examples of how Google does things differently, be it experimenting with a change by first using the word temporary ahead of it or measuring the managers against the result you want. Laszlo’s vision seems to be inspiring the leaders of the other organisation to be able to adapt a few ideas that have worked best for Google during his tenure.
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I Am HR: 5 Strategic Ways to Break Stereotypes and Reclaim HR by Laurie Ruettimann
Laurie is a former HR leader turned writer. She is also the creator of two websites The Cynical Girl and Punk Rock HR that have been named top 100 websites for women by Forbes. Coming to the book, as the name suggests, I am HR is all about breaking stereotypes and changing the perception about HR which as stated in the book is perceived as Old, Slow, Dowdy, Bloated, Bureaucratic, run by middle-aged women who like cats. A survey in the book reveals that some companies still feel that their HR department cannot make full use of talent and HR analytics. The animosity of the employees or the companies towards their HR worried her and encouraged her to start writing and find answers. Laurie believes that in every company people ought to like their HR and the ideal HR will be one who is committed to their job and willing to change all sorts of perceptions that come with this job. This book is a must read if you are willing reclaim your position as the ideal HR.
Read More: Is Remote Work Here To Stay?
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The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired by Lou Adler
The Author of this book- Lou Adler is also the CEO and founder of The Adler Group. His book Hiring and Getting Hired is one of the best reads for any hiring managers/talent acquisition people out there. The book provides a holistic overview of the various facets of recruiting. Lou’s insights are refreshing. His take on recruiting people for “after year 1” instead of recruiting “for day 1” will strike a chord with many recruitment managers and will make them rethink their current hiring processes. In the past, Lou has also authored Hire With Your Head which was also listed as Amazon top-10 best-seller.
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Retention Is the New Recruiting: Strategies for Keeping the People You Hire by Jim Stroud
Jim Stroud is currently the VP of Marketing at Proactive Talent. His book, Retention Is the New Recruiting: Strategies for Keeping the People You Hire talks about how the real ROI of any company is to retain their valuable employees, than to keep hiring new ones. Losing key employees can have a lot of adverse effect on the morale of the existing employees, the brand image of the company, will incur costs like separation cost and recruiting cost, and eventually will also show its impact on the bottom line. The book, with the help of some case studies on retention strategies, guides you to make some amendments in your employment practices to be able to reduce the turnover and increase the productivity.