Human Resource Champions

The author argues that the roles of human resource professionals must be redefined to meet the competitive challenges organizations face today and into the future. He provides a framework that identifies four distinct roles of human resource professionals: strategic player, administrative expert, employee champion, and change agent. He includes many examples to demonstrate that human resource professionals must operate in all four areas simultaneously in order to contribute fully. He urges a shift of these professionals' mentality from "what I do" to "what I deliver" and makes specific recommendations for how individuals in human resources can partner with line managers to make organizations more competitive.

The international best seller Human Resource Champions helped set the HR agenda for the 1990s and enabled HR professionals to become strategic partners in their organizations. But earning a seat at the executive table was only the beginning. Today's HR leaders must also bring substantial value to that table. Drawing on their 16-year study of over 29,000 HR professionals and line managers, leading HR experts Dave Ulrich and Wayne Brockbank propose The HR Value Proposition. The authors argue that HR value creation requires a deep understanding of external business realities and how key stakeholders both inside and outside the company define value. Ulrich and Brockbank provide practical tools and worksheets for leveraging this knowledge to create HR practices, build organizational capabilities, design HR strategy, and marshal resources that create value for customers, investors, executives, and employees. Written by the field's premier trailblazers, this book charts the path HR professionals must take to help lead their organizations into the future. Ulrich is a professor at the University of Michigan School of Business and the author of 12 books and more than 100 articles on the subject of human resources. Brockbank is a clinical professor of business at the University of Michigan School of Business, the author of award-winning papers on HR strategy, and an adviser to top global organizations.

These articles show human resource professionals how to play a vital, new role in an organization's success. The book's editor, Dave Ulrich, is a guru of HR management whose work should take the profession to a new level of respectability and effectiveness.

This digital collection, curated by Harvard Business Review, includes three important books by experts in the human resources field—The HR Scorecard, The HR Value Proposition, and Human Resource Champions. Learn how individuals in human resources can partner with line managers to make organizations more competitive, how HR impacts business performance, and how HR leaders can bring substantial value to internal and external stakeholders.

#1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Dave Ulrich offers HR professionals a new line of defense in the corporate “war for talent.” Destined to be a classic in the field, this game-changing book from HR visionary Dave Ulrich tackles one of the greatest challenges in Human Resources today: the talent wars. As companies grow increasingly and aggressively competitive in hiring and nurturing individual employees, this book offers a refreshing, revolutionary alternative. By creating dynamic systems that leverage talent throughout the organization, you can create a unified whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. In the long run, that’s what gives your company the competitive edge it needs. Based on the research findings of the latest round of Ulrich’s legendary HR Competency Survey, this groundbreaking book is sure to spark debate, shatter myths, and inspire real change throughout the HR community. Filled with fact-based insights and field-tested strategies, it proves that your organization’s success lies, not in the talent you have, but what you do with the talent once you have it. This book shows you how to build capabilities, strengthen systems, and empower human capital—for longer lasting success.

“This definitive work on HR competencies provides ideas and tools that help HR professionals develop their career and make their organization effective.” —Edward E. Lawler III, Professor, University of Southern California “This book is a crucial blueprint of what it takes to succeed. A must have for every HR professional.” —Lynda Gratton, Professor, London Business School “One single concept changed the HR world forever: ‘HR business partner’. Through consistent cycles of research and practical application, Dave and his team have produced and update the most comprehensive set of HR competencies ever.” —Horacio Quiros, President, World Federation of People Management Associations "Packed with facts, evidence, and prescriptive advice. It is about being a business leader first, and an HR professional second.” —Randy MacDonald, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, IBM Corporation "The concepts and competencies presented in this book provide HR leaders with new insights." —Gina Qiao, Senior Vice President, HR Lenovo “Powerful, relevant and timely! Defines "new HR" in a pragmatic way. This book is a must for leaders and HR folks who seek to create sustainable competitive advantage.” —Satish Pradhan, Chief, Group Human Resources, Tata Sons Limited “You can’t argue with the data! This book is a definitive and practical guide to learning the HR competencies for success.” —John Lynch, Senior Vice President, HR, General Electric “A must read for any HR executive. This research-based competency model is particularly compelling because it is informed by the perspective of non-HR executives and stakeholders.” —Sue Meisinger, Distinguished speaker and author, former CEO of SHRM "Read this book for a unique long-term perspective on where HR competencies have brought us and must take us in future." —John Boudreau, Professor, University of Southern California and Research Director, Center for Effective Organizations

In a marketplace fueled by intangible assets, anything less than optimal workforce success can threaten a firm's survival. Yet, in most organizations, employee performance is both poorly managed and underutilized. The Workforce Scorecard argues that current management and human resources practices hinder employees' ability to contribute to strategic goals. To maximize the power of their workforce, organizations must meet three challenges: view their workforce in terms of contribution rather than cost; replace benchmarking metrics with measures that differentiate levels of strategic impact; and make line managers and HR professionals jointly responsible for executing workforce initiatives. Building on the proven model outlined in their best-selling book The HR Scorecard, Mark Huselid, Brian Becker, and co-author Richard Beatty show how to create a Workforce Scorecard that identifies and measures the behaviors, competencies, mind-set, and culture required for workforce success and reveals how each dimension impacts the bottom line. Practical and timely, The Workforce Scorecard offers crucial lessons for leveraging human capital to achieve strategic success.

The journey of HR -- The state of the HR profession -- Credible activist -- Culture & change steward -- Talent manager/organization designer -- Strategy architect -- Operational executor -- Business ally -- Building an HR department -- Summary and implications.