Cezanne Software Newsletter

Strategic HR

Building the Capability to Deliver
Peter Reilly and Tony Williams

HR has sought to reposition itself as a strategic contributor to organizations. To facilitate this, it has restructured, bringing in shared services, business partners and centres of expertise, simplifying, automating and rationalising processes, and devolving some activities to managers, whilst outsourcing others. HR has yet to give sufficient attention to the capability of the function to deliver against the added value promise.

This book looks at the developments that have brought HR to its present position. It sets out a vision of where HR might be headed, including a definition of its role and activities. It identifies a number of challenges that HR will have to face if it is to be effective. These include not just skills, but problems with structures and relationships with stakeholders, be they line managers or employees.

The authors also highlight ways of monitoring HR performance and of demonstrating its value. It all adds up to an authoritative reference guide for all HR directors seeking to define their role and future aims, for those new to the function on the challenges they will face, and for senior executives on what they should expect the added value to be from their HR function.

Reviews
'A wealth of insight and experience for others to learn from and to adapt to their own organisations'.
Mike Watts, Director of HR Transformation for the UK Civil Service
'There are surprisingly few books about the HR function itself, rather than its policies, set in a UK context. Of those, there are very few good ones - and this book is definitely one of them.'
Duncan Brown, Assistant Director-General CIPD in People Management Magazine

'This is a comprehensive and reflective volume that should prove to be a valuable information source for teachers, students and practitioners within the HR field.' Economic Outlook and Business Review.

Contents
Foreword; Introduction. Part I The Story So Far: The changing nature of HR; The HR function now. Part II Where Next for HR?: New role; New content; New relationships; New structures and roles; New skills; New technology; New approach to monitoring and evaluation. Part III Impediments to Success…and Some Solutions: The challenge of positioning; Solution to positioning challenges; Challenges with the operating model: structures and roles; Challenges of capability; Capability solutions. Conclusion; References; Index.

About the Authors
Peter Reilly is Director of Consultancy at the Institute for Employment Studies. Prior to joining the Institute he spent many years with Shell as an HR manager in the UK and overseas. He is the author of Flexibility at Work, published by Gower.

Tony Williams is the Director of HR, Wealth Management at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. He was previously responsible for implementing a fully integrated shared services model following the successful acquisition and integration of NatWest in 2000.

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