13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everything begins (and often ends) with HR, August 6, 2009
This review is from: HR Transformation: Building Human Resources From the Outside In (Hardcover)
I have read and reviewed all of the other books that Dave Ulrich has authored or co-authored and consider this one to be his most informative and most valuable thus far. Written in collaboration with Justin Allen, Wayne Brockbank, Jon Younger, and Mark Nyman, Ulrich and his RBL associates offer what they characterize as "a handbook for HR transformation" in which they synthesize and summarize everything they have learned about it. Specifically, what a transformation is and what it requires; what it isn't; what works, what doesn't, and why; how to plan it; how to mobilize the resources needed (especially people); how to launch it; how to measure progress throughout the transformation initiatives; and how to apply the lessons learned to sustain a constant refinement of what HR is and does to increase its impact and value.
Here is a brief excerpt from the Introduction: "Simply stated, we propose that the biggest challenge for HR professionals today is to help their respective organizations succeed." Obviously, to accomplish this worthy objective, the authors correctly assert that there are certain factors that must be present. Here are three:
1. It is imperative that the HR professionals themselves recognize the authenticity of this challenge and not only accept but embrace it as a unique opportunity for their own development but also for what the transformation will enable their organization to accomplish.
2. It is even more important that senior managers recognize the need for the transformation and commit to its completion whatever resources that may require. They must also be patient. Change initiatives worthy of the name are messy, complicated, unpredictable, and sometimes stalled temporarily. The change agents need and deserve senior management's full support.
3. There must be a game plan for the transformation process and I think the one that the authors provide in this book is eminently worthy of careful consideration because it is cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective. What I like about it is that it combines some of the best features of Six Sigma and Lean methodologies without limiting the options of those who select it. In fact, the authors provide invaluable advice with regard to how to modify the four-phase model to ensure that it fully accommodates the needs, interest, and objectives of the given organization.
Readers will especially appreciate the authors' skillful use of various reader-friendly devices that include "Tools," "Tables," "Figures," and dozens of checklists that facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review of key points. In the Appendix (all by itself worth far more than the cost of the book), the authors provide (Pages 217-222) an inventory of all the tools that have been inserted throughout their narrative.
After they carefully identify all of the components of HR transformation, credit Ulrich and his collaborators with focusing almost entirely on how to complete one successful. They are clearly diehard, world-class pragmatists. For example, they explain
1. Why to initiate an HR transformation
2. What its probable outcomes will be if successfully completed
3. How to redesign the HR department
4. How to upgrade HR professionals
5. How to share accountability for the transformation
6. How to make it happen
In Part II, "Tales from the Trenches: Transformation Case Studies," they provide case study overviews of four companies (Flextronics, Pfizer, Intel, and Takeda) and suggest what lessons can be learned from each company's HR transformation initiatives. Presumably the authors agree with me that it would be a fool's errand to attempt to adopt all of the material in their book. It remains for each reader to determine (preferably in consultation with associates) which strategies and tactics as well as which people, timetable, and metrics would be most appropriate to their organization's needs, interests, objectives and resources.
In an uncommonly informative Introduction, the authors assert, "Our point is that HR professionals often focus entirely in the function of HR rather than externally on what customers and investors need HR to deliver. If HR professionals are to truly serve as business partners, then their goals must be the goals of the business. Transforming HR professionals into business partners isn't an end in and of itself; it's the means to a strategic, business-oriented end." Those decision-makers who have that specific objective would be well-advised to absorb and digest the material in this book. I commend Dave Ulrich, Justin Allen, Wayne Brockbank, Jon Younger, and Mark Nyman on a brilliant achievement. Bravo!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
HR Transformation - New Thinking in HR, September 27, 2009
This review is from: HR Transformation: Building Human Resources From the Outside In (Hardcover)
Time and again, we have the world of HR being revisited - in the hope that we discover something new. That the effectiveness of HR is not going to be co-related to the HR Leader in that organization or that transactional focus is IT! Jokes apart, this book does raise the bar and the level of insight it provides to us.
It is very specific, and helpful in terms of ensuring that HR is linked, derived from and responsive to the business it serves. One has to be a careful reader, as one could miss a gem like' Simply stated, we propose that the biggest challenge for HR professionals today is to help their respective organizations succeed' Or the fact that a HR function needs to be able to answer the following questions "Who are we? What do we deliver? And, why do we do it?" - for it to have any hopes of survival or earn the basic modicum of credibility in today's business context.
I'm particularly thrilled that the authors dedicate a little bit to what they call - "Contribution" - as a part of what drives the understanding of talent (Talent = Competence x commitment x Contribution). It's about helping employees find meaning in the organization where they spend most of their waking time - in the context that the same meaning used to be provided by family, neighbourhoods, hobby groups and religious affiliations.
As a practicising HR Professional, I get some inspiration as to what a really comprehensive HR function would look like. As well as the extremely useful multi-media tools provided.
What leaves me a little cold, is I wonder if the context is truly global. Whether the recommendations and approach will work in a world where the dominance of historical markets is starting to shift. Where we sit today, is on the cusp - where perhaps the meaning of an organization will change - especially to employees (both volume/value wise) who will become the key users of what's dished out by management/hr.
Or to be a skeptic - how much of the new HR proposed is really a bit of smart wordplay - required to be contemporary and earn/maintain credibility with the smartest business leaders?
Even with that sense of slight disappointment, it's worth a read, especially for the chapters upfront, where the authors have some powerful ideas, communicated very well. If one reads those and asks oneself - what am I doing to get this done in my role - is enough value to justify a read. And, as the authors themselves, say - take this as a recipe - but make the dish your own.
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