Product Description

From the “#1 Management Educator & Guru”-BusinessWeek

“The authors have presented us with an accessible, readable, and practical illustration of a clear path for successful strategy execution in a complex environment.”
-Majed Al Romaithi, Executive Director, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

“HR can only transform organizations if it transforms HR. This book shows us how. HR Transformation would have been important in the past-it is critical now! We are entering a new world. HR Transformation can help our organizations thrive in the midst of uncertainty.”
-Marshall Goldsmith, author of the Wall Street Journal bestsellers What Got You Here Won't Get You There and Succession: Are You Ready?

“Ulrich and his colleagues talk tough and provide a detailed blueprint for how those of us in the field can use our own tools to do a “720-degree” evaluation of ourselves. We cannot contribute to the success of our organizations until we upgrade ourselves.”
-Linda A. Hill, Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

“Based on groundbreaking research with hundreds of companies and thousands of executives, HR Transformation provides compelling theory and practical tools to create alignment between strategy, systems, and people. This important book should be read carefully by leadership teams everywhere.”
-Mark Huselid, Professor of HR Strategy, Rutgers University, Co-author of The HR Scorecard, The Workforce Scorecard, and The Differentiated Workforce

Turn to the front matter for more than thirty rousing endorsements of HR Transformation.

INCLUDES CASE STUDIES FROM Intel, Pfizer, Takeda, Flextronics

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62695 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780071638708
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Dave Ulrich is an author, speaker, management coach, and consultant.
Wayne Brockbank is a Clinical Professor of Business of the Strategic Human Resource Planning Program at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
Jon Younger career has been a mix of consulting, executive management and HR leadership.
Justin Allen is the Managing Director of The RBL Institute and a consultant with the firm.
Mark Nyman is a Principal with The RBL Group.

Customer Reviews

Everything begins (and often ends) with HR

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!

A Gem from The RBL Group
A great book for Human Resources leaders. HR leaders can get caught up in the sturm and drang of day-to-day demands and not take the time and effort to think about methodically upgrading the function, much less actually do it. The RBL Group provides a very helpful guide to achieving that goal. The book is relentless in tying HR activity to business outcomes, with an emphasis on measuring the outputs of HR in sensible ways. There is a healthy mix of ideas and practical implementation suggestions here. The authors are not overly prescriptive; they advise the reader in the beginning of the book that the approach they offer should be adapted, not adopted. The book also has an interesting feature in that it provides links to the RBL web site which has both further explanation of the key concepts and tools for implementing the transformation. Highly recommended to any HR leader who wants to step up to the challenge of taking their organization to the next level. This is also a great tool for General Managers who want to engage their HR leaders in upgrading the function.

HR Transformation - RBL
This book is all "Business" - Direct and to the point addressing HR to
Business from a well researched and thorough perspective of
'out-side-in'. Read next to Ulrich's and Brockbank's "HR Value
Proposition", it is evident the authors continue to advanced business
via HR in meaningful and value adding contexts - - Without a doubt a
must-read for individuals at all levels of a progressive organization.
It covers the key issues that organizations must undertake in order to
transform their HR functions in ways that add greater value to business
results. It organizes their well-researched and tested concepts into a
step by step process that is eminently doable. It is like having the
"HR Meisters" in your own office. We have been building on their ideas
for years. We will continue to do so utilizing this current
contribution to the HR field.

D. Weatherford, Abu Dhabi U.A.E.