HR books

Human resources specialists must continuously expand their skills and knowledge. We have compiled a list of the seven best books every HR specialist should read. Over the past few years, significant changes have occurred in the HR industry. Subsequently, new terms and strategies began to emerge (e.g., Inbound Recruiting, Recruitment Marketing, Social Recruiting, and Data-Driven Recruiting). 

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Since the HR industry has been changing rapidly, HR managers need to learn many new things. Best way to start — read the most famous books for HRM professionals. We have compiled a list of the seven best books on human resources every HR specialist should read. You don’t need to surf the net and read tons of reviews. We have done all this stuff for you.

It is never too late to learn something new and to discover new opportunities. 

Ok, here we go. Enjoy.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable  

by Patrick Lencioni

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Source: discitus.com/product/five-dysfunctions-of-a-team-patrick-lencioni/

Patric Lencioni is an American best-selling author, consultant, speaker, and director of The Table Group, a company dedicated to helping organizations become healthy. In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni offers a leadership fable that is as entertaining and instructive as his last books about teamwork, leadership, team training, and management. This book deals with the CEO of a big company that is facing a severe leadership crisis. The company has big problems, and it is on the verge of collapse.

Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions that underpin why teams, even the best ones, often struggle. He suggests using a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these issues and build a reliable and effective team. If you're interested in books about human resource management, this book provides valuable insights into team dynamics and offers practical solutions for improving team performance.

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The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

by Michael Bungay Stanier

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Source: primeast.com/book-review-the-coaching-habit-say-less-ask-more-box-of-crayons-press-2016/

Michael Bungay Stanier is an author of several books and a founder of Box of crayons, a company that helps organizations do less good work and more great work. In The Coaching Habit coaching becomes a regular part of your day. Managers and their teams can work less but have more impact. Michael Bungay Stanier has long-standing experience training more than 10 000 managers from all over the world.

In The Coaching Habit, he reveals how to unlock your employees' potential. He unpacks seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how to develop coaching methods that produce outstanding results by saying less and asking more. If you're looking for insightful HR management books, this book provides valuable guidance on effective coaching techniques and strategies.

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Who: The A Method for Hiring 

by Geoff Smart and Randy Street

Who: The A Method for Hiring
Source: https://www.businessmagazinegainesville.com/book-review-method-hiring/

In this book, Geoff Smart and Randy Street present a solution to the problem that is called “unsuccessful hiring”. The price for the average hiring mistake is $1.5 million or more a year and countless wasted time. Geoff Smart and Randy Street tell about A method that will help prevent “unsuccessful hiring”. This method is based on more than 1,300 hours of interviews with more than 20 billionaires and 300 CEOs.

In Who: The A Method for Hiring you will find simple, easy-to-follow steps that will put the right people in place for optimal success.

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HR on Purpose: Developing Deliberate People Passion  

by Steve Browne

HR on Purpose: Developing Deliberate People Passion
Source: linkedin.com/in/john-trey-barrett-iii-239820123/

Steve Browne is a skilled writer, speaker, and thought leader in HR. His career is dedicated to helping build and connect the global HR community. In his book, HR on Purpose: Developing Deliberate People Passion, Steve Browne shares real-life examples, encouraging HR managers to rethink their approach to what they do.

The author says: “When you go into a grocery store, you are drawn to the things that are placed to catch your eye. Companies intentionally pay for better shelf space so that you will look at their brands in the hope that you’re more likely to buy their goods. We have to do this in HR. We have to get in the line of sight of our employees and make our goods attractive and accessible.”

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The Essential HR Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional 

by Sharon Armstrong and Barbara Mitchell

The Essential HR Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional
Source: amazon.com/Essential-HR-Handbook-Resource-Professional/dp/1564149900

Barbara Mitchell and Sharon Armstrong are sophisticated authors and consultants in the HR industry. The 10th edition, The Essential HR Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional, covers a couple of popular HR topics. This book is full of useful ideas and insights, checklists, tools, and tips that every HR manager can benefit from.

This human resource book teaches how to effectively manage new hires from their first day, manage a multi-generational workforce, and provide equitable pay, benefits, and total rewards strategies. All information is sharp, clear, and structured. If you're seeking comprehensive insights into human resource management, this book is valuable.

Authors say: “In order to survive in today’s world of work, managers have to be lifelong learners. They have to be open not only learning new things, but also incorporating those things in their everyday approach to work.”

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HR Disrupted: It's time for something different 

by Lucy Adams

HR Disrupted: It's time for something different
Source: amazon.com/HR-Disrupted-time-something-different/dp/1910056502

Lucy Adams was an HR director at the BBC during its hardest time. She was responsible for all aspects of employee relations, onboarding, rewarding, training, and development. She specializes in helping HR professionals see creative and effective ways of engaging employees.

Nowadays, disruption is a hot trending topic, and it’s all about doing things differently. This book describes three key points in using a disruptive approach in the HR industry. Here are they: 

  1. How to get everyone on board with all the changes so that you don’t alienate people you’re trying to help. 
  2. Understanding that not everything needs to be changed. You should identify specific areas that can and should be approved. 
  3. The idea is to change things for better results, not to create one more issue.

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The Big Book of HR, Revised and Updated Edition 

by Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem

The Big Book of HR, Revised and Updated Edition
Source: amazon.com/Big-Book-HR-Revised-Updated/dp/1632650894

This book is a sort of guide to the difficult but exciting HR world. One of the most challenging parts of any leader’s job is managing people. Nowadays, the HR profession grows dynamic and changes rapidly. The Big Book of HR, Revised and Updated Edition provides HR managers with the most important and useful information they need to know to become a real HR professional.

This book teaches to choose the right people for a particular position. It describes situations that every HR can face and what actions he should take to resolve them successfully.

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