If you're looking to grow into an HR manager role, you can get there quicker by reading the best HR books to gain some valuable experience. Here are the ten best books for HR professionals that can help you advance your people skills.
Listed below are some of the best books for HR and business leaders on workplace culture, talent management and navigating the modern workplace.
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Reinventing HR
From Harvard Review - Written By Seven Authors
If you're looking for the best HR books for beginners, then your first stop should be this collection of 10 articles on how HR leaders can overhaul their organizations from top to bottom. These articles have been specially handpicked from hundreds of Havard Business Review articles. They contain the best and most inspiring information for HR professionals intent on moving with the times.
You'll gain a wealth of information from reading this practical guide, including how to stay innovative and competitive in an ever-evolving workforce market. More specifically, this must-read book talks about reinventing performance management, creating effective workplaces, implementing diversity programs, dealing with an aging workforce, and more.
If you don't have time to read multiple books, this collection of articles can show you how to build and maintain high-performing teams and get a competitive advantage by hiring the right people.
HR from the Outside In
By Dave Ulrich
Dave Urich has authored some of the best HR books on the market, and this one doesn't disappoint. The book focuses on six competencies HR professionals must focus on developing to keep up with the dizzying changes happening on the HR scene.
According to the book, HR professionals must be able to adapt themselves as needed to suit the following roles: Strategic Positioner, Credible Activist, Capability Builder, Technology Proponent, HR Integrator, and HR Innovator. Dave Ulrich has done plenty of research to support their work, and these six competencies are phenomenal roles you adopt to add more value to your organization.
Financial Intelligence for HR Professionals
By Karen Berman, Joe Knight, John Case
HR professionals are not only required to work on their People strategy, but they also need to know how to handle financial data efficiently. Otherwise, it's impossible to make wise financial decisions and allocate the organization's budget efficiently. The good news is, if you're not comfortable dealing with financial data, this comprehensive guide explains everything you need to know about numbers to strengthen your role as the HR expert in your workplace.
The book will help you decode your company's income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet and extract the financials you need to develop the best human capital strategy and have a positive impact on your workplace. If you want to avoid legal pitfalls and stay on the safe side of the law, this book guarantees long-lasting success.
Human Resource Selection
by Robert Gatewood, Hubert S. Feild, Murray Barrick
As the title suggests, Human Resource selection explores the knowledge and tools HR professionals can use to implement successful selection programs. The book is crammed with examples, the latest research, and court findings from the HR field. You will learn about the instruments you can use to source the best applicants, as well as the legal implications of different approaches when implementing selection programs.
This easy-to-read book gives you practical strategies on how to choose the best type of talent for business success. In other words, how to hire the best type of people to crush your business goals.
Applied Psychology in Human Resource Management
by Wayne F Cascio, Herman Aguinis
When you deal daily with people, there's every reason to find out what makes people tick. The author provides HR professionals with the tools and methods needed to confront human resource issues head-on. If you want to find out how to build a great company culture, this book shows you how to do this by using personal psychology theories.
In this analytics book, you'll learn how to improve business performance by incorporating some methods from applied psychology. As a result, you can expect a better employee experience and employee performance.
Standout HR: Transform Your Company's Human Resources
by Vero Vanmiddelem
According to the book's full title, you can expect to revolutionize your organization's HR and deliver business results that are on the next level. The book covers all the basics, including what you need to know about the HR model and the best way to build your HR model. The book also teaches you how to effectively launch your HR roadmap for success, complete with a comprehensive case study, so you know exactly which pathway to take.
By giving examples of successful organizations and their HR departments, the author shows you how to improve employee satisfaction, all the while creating a more productive workforce and an inclusive organization.
Work Rules! Insights from Inside Google
By Laszlo Bock
This book is often recommended as one of the best HR books for HR managers. It makes it into the top list of best HR books because it's got solid practical advice from a former Google employee. The author takes us through every stage of his journey and provides plenty of real-world examples that are sure to resonate with most HR professionals.
The book is a wonderful read because it also gives you insight into Google's work culture, which can be useful if you have ever wondered which people strategies the giant tech company uses. This is a comprehensive resource on scaling an organizational strategy.
HR On Purpose: Developing Deliberate People Passion
By Steve Browne
The title says it all. As an HR professional, your role is to motivate the people in your company. An engaged workforce is key to organizational success, and it all starts with the way you interact with people as well as the policies and procedures you choose to implement. However, dealing with people has never been an easy process. You need expert insight to find ways to prioritize the most precious resources at your disposal.
This in-depth guide shows you how to effectively reduce employee turnover by communicating effectively. You can learn how to create a high-performance culture, all the while leading with emotional intelligence.
The Big Book of HR
By Barbara Mitchell, Cornelia Gamlem
The big book of HR offers big rewards for HR professionals willing to make the time investment to dive into its pages. It talks authoritatively about managing people and covers topics like recruiting top talent and boosting employee engagement and retention rate. These are the challenging topics that HR professionals deal with every day, and this book offers some of the best answers to help you solve these problems.
If you want to create a healthy workplace culture that fosters employee growth, this essential guide is an excellent starting point for human resource professionals.
Full Stack Recruiter: The Modern Recruiter's Guide
By Jan Tegze
This is one of the best HR reference books for recruiters that want to revamp and accelerate their careers. It's truly one of the best HR books because it contains practical advice for both beginners and experienced recruiters. Overall, this book contains the A-Z of sourcing and recruitment. The book is split into two sections, and the first section looks at how you can source the best candidates for your organization efficiently and effectively.
The next part explores all the insider recruitment strategies used by successful recruiters to get to the top. All the information is coming from a seasoned and talented recruiter with first-hand experience that's distilled into the shortest format possible for your convenience and benefit.
Wrapping up
Whether you want to get create inclusive workplaces, get insights on human psychology or crush your business objectives, these human resource books are an excellent starting point.
And while we can't replace a business coach or develop a business strategy for you, Unrubble can help with one thing - managing your workforce. With our employee time tracking, scheduling, timesheets and more.
