Human resources (HR) professionals and enthusiasts that want to understand their field better should take the time to go through this blog that briefly discusses the 30 best HR books every HR enthusiast should read once in their lifetime.
Education has always been about absorbing knowledge and reaching new frontiers of the mind. Over the past few decades, more and more importance has been given to pieces of paper called certificates. Somewhere along the way, the true keepers of knowledge, libraries, and books themselves took second place.
There are still some avid readers. However, in an increasingly noise-filled world, it is the need of the hour to develop insights into what great minds have thought before us, and form well-rounded opinions and a clearer understanding.
This list is not compiled in order of the number of copies that have been sold or by reviews. However, after thorough research, these are among the best HR books available today. They stand out either because they convey a unique message or because industry experts have recommended them.
The book gives readers a clear and easily accessible framework to understand and use HR analytics at quite an advanced level. It takes readers through examples of predictive models that allow them, in turn, to develop impactful HR strategies.
Although advanced analytics do not get used as much, this book reveals why they should be and how to use analytics effectively. It uses simple terms to convey how to conduct various analyses and interpret the results.
By Brian E. Becker, Mark A. Huselid, and Dave Ulrich
By Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank, and Mike Ulrich
This HR book deals with the skills and abilities that an HR professional should have. HR enthusiasts have various important jobs, among the most crucial of these jobs are building capability in employees, working hand-in-hand with technology, leading change, and innovating. More often than not, these roles end up conflicting with each other on some level.
Another key function, which could be considered HR’s highest function, is to balance what is best for the employee on one side while maintaining the organization's interest.
By Gary Dessler
Gary Dessler has worked in various capacities during his career. He is currently a consultant and a professor at Florida International University, Miami. Industry experts consider this book as an HR bible. The 16th version of this HR book on management got released with several updates. This book marks the need for a strong foundation in HR management concepts and tactics that will enable professionals and those taking courses to excel at their jobs. Moreover, the information is conveyed in a relatively easy manner.
Human Resource Management is filled with material that can be used to execute day-on-day HR functions. The following are the five major parts of the book:
By Dave Ulrich, David Kryscynski, Wayne Brockbank, and Mike Ulrich
By Kirs Wayne Cascio and John Boudreau
The book takes on a very structured tact on solving commonly faced issues in HR. It gives a base to its solutions with well-thought-out data.
While this HR book is technical, a layman can also comprehend it. It is quite a valuable book, despite not being acclaimed as a thrill-packed read. The book discusses a few case studies that dive into details that organizations face every day. It not only presents the issue but also offers tools to allow the impact of solutions to be measured.
The well-known “Wall of Boudreau” talks about a barrier that businesses need to transcend in this book.
By Lazlo Bock
This book is filled with meaningful insights into an organization’s development. The key takeaway from this book is that the more data and analysis get done through scientific approaches, the more visible the difference in management. Moreover, the book talks about how vital the human part of management is to the whole process.
The book is considered a key driver in changing the way humans are managed as resources.
By Lucy Adams
The book revolves around the need for HR to reset its compass. To focus on a radically different direction to engage, support, and, as a result, manage employees.
The force behind the content of this path-breaking HR book lies not in making slight changes to the existing system but instead taking on an entirely new, never-done-before perspective to approaching human resource management (HRM)—a much-needed shift in focus from how employees get viewed as resources optimizing humans in a professional environment.
Humans do not get treated as though they are still in school and realize the value they bring to the organization and treat them. Hence, HR professionals may end up learning that they do certain things that they shouldn’t.
By Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
By Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall
As the title suggests, the authors selected nine myths about work, leveraged their knowledge of science, and combined them to debunk these myths systematically.
The book goes against practices and mindsets that have become commonplace. Instead, it outlines misconceptions about human potential, well-rounded employees, the importance of work-life balance, leadership, and feedback. It focuses on how the result is the defining factor.
By Steve Browne
The book angles how HR can be as a profession to bring about real change in the work environment and redefine that change. It also asks professionals to push the boundaries to their understanding of how to improve organizations and people.
By Dale Carnegie
Despite the book being released in 1936, it remains as relevant as ever—numerous people who have found fame hail this book as crucial to their success.
The book provides six great ways to make yourself likable and twelve methods that can get used to aligning others’ thoughts with your own in addition to nine different ways of guiding people to change without creating a sense of resentment.
By Rhodes Perry
The book examines practical strategies that can be used to create the right kind of culture at the workplace. Some of them are derived from stories, and others rely on case studies.
By Daniel Kahneman
Kahneman explores the two systems that drive the way people think about varying phases of decision-making. He examines the gamut of fast and slow thinking throughout his book, which makes for an exciting read about the extraordinary powers of the human mind. Moreover, he reveals various philosophies that bridge the gap between fast and slow thinking, each a sizable influence on core human behaviors.
By Amy C. Edmondson
Edmondson talks about a topic that does not get the attention it deserves. The book encourages businesses to create a culture that overlooks minor slip-ups and human errors. The guidance provided allows an organization’s human capital to be human. It advocates taking pressure off employees to fit in and go along but rather create an atmosphere for people to speak freely.
The book reveals that minor mistakes or temporary acts that stem from a lapse in judgment being given more importance than they deserve could dampen a good employee’s enthusiasm for the role.
By Karen Beaven
Karen Beaven covers topics that you would expect in a book with such a title. This HR book holds tremendous value to any professional, especially so for HR management enthusiasts. She also delves further into the human aspect of it as regards personal well-being impacting performance. It highlights the importance of professionals taking the time and effort to maintain a clear plan for self-care.
One section is devoted to understanding oneself, and the others cover the business, industry, and profession.
This book goes to great lengths to explain how data can create solutions. Various examples pinpoint areas wherein analytics can get used and how the data can derive the most impact.
Once the reader has identified which category their company falls under, they can use this book on HR analytics as a practical guide for moving from stage to stage to develop solutions.
By Dipak Kumar Bhattacharyya
With HR analytics becoming increasingly integrated into the workflow, understanding analytics has become vital to any HR enthusiast.
By Jac Fitz-Enz
By John W. Boudreau and Peter M. Ramstad
Boudreau and Ramstad depict a clever interplay between various factors that influence the performance of the workforce and the HR that manages them. Then, the duo takes the idea a step further, thus giving HR professionals methods to optimize the value of talent and move away from traditional HR practices; it could potentially allow the HR department to sharpen its competitive edge.
By Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem
With a precise focus on the effective management of human capital, this book by Mitchel and Gamlem is an eye-opener for those looking to ramp up their HR practice. Besides citing various contextual examples to improve their talent strategy, the book presents multiple avenues to hone existing skills and make the most of a workforce. In short, the book depicts the core of an organization being its employees and HR as the guiding force behind organizational development.
By Gene Pease
Through predictive analytics, this book by Pease highlights the importance of people data for effective HR strategy. With the evolution of an organization, its people are fundamental to continued success and the best results. Pease delves into the basic principles behind driving a high-performance work environment by analyzing the various metrics of people's data. For an organization, its people are valuable, and HR plays a vital role in assessing, analyzing, and interpreting the growth of various departments at different phases.
By John W. Boudreau and Ravin Jesuthasan
In this edition, Boudreau and Jesuthasan establish a poignant view of HR transformation based on result-oriented metrics. Besides addressing the importance of a sustainable plan, the authors dive into various factors of workforce productivity. The focus is HR leadership and how top organizations leverage evidence-based change to chart the course of their company and its workforce. Barring the many facets of evidence-based change, the book talks about refining and improving human capital investments for increased efficiency and output through strategic evaluation.
By Ramesh Soundararajan and Kuldeep Singh
By Deborah DeWolfe
DeWolfe engages the readers with the importance of modernizing HR operations. As the name suggests, this book appends digitalization and technology as the driving force of value-based HR efforts. Besides streamlining various processes, technology is fundamental to staying competitive and achieving favorable results in today’s age. The author develops in-depth insights into modern HR operations and centers workforce up-skilling as a core HR duty in technology-driven environments.
By Brian E. Becker, Mark A. Huselid, and Richard W Beatty
Co-written by three brilliant authors, this book emphasizes critical decisions resulting from effective HRM. The book explores the various implications of a poorly executed strategy and invites readers on a strategic path to managing result-driven workflows. From every level of an organizational hierarchy, HR plays a vital role in retaining and nurturing critical assets. The importance of an HR’s role in executing various company functions is fascinating to understand and apply.
By Adam Gibson
By David Lahey
An expert on the matter, the author David Lahey describes an analytical approach to talent acquisition and retention. He positions human analytics as a critical indicator of human capital value. The author runs through various mishaps and errors in the HR processes that can be avoided through careful planning before execution. The HR department is responsible for allocating and maintaining a company’s resources, enriched using the various techniques explained by Lahey.
By Lance A. Berger & Dorothy R. Berger
In this book, considered bible in the HR profession, the Bergers immerse themselves in unearthing sustainable solutions to common problems faced by HR. With the intent to improve its workforce, HR experts adhere to various planning techniques and tools to gain a competitive advantage. However, the only way to assure continued success for an organization is to create a sustainable talent strategy. Therefore, the book is thoughtfully combined with various effective ways to nurture and develop the right people to lead your organization.
By Michael Bungay Stanier
The last HR book on our list is a definitive guide to improve workforce productivity and endorse creative thinking as the core of organizational performance. Stanier’s book advocates utilizing time productively rather than being “busy”. This book deals with powerful ideas to immediately transform your work and the work environment in the simplest sense. As the title would suggest, the book attributes immense value to one’s work and places sincere efforts at the core of human capital development.