“This is an important and valuable guide to anyone who is serious about people management. Well-rooted in research evidence, it offers a very practical framework for HR leaders and their line colleagues committed to creating and sustaining value through people.”
—Geoff Armstrong, President, World Federation of Personnel Management Associations
“Replete with sound practical insights, examples, and a wealth of references, The HR Value Proposition will propel HR into a meaningful role with investors and customers while enhancing its deliverables to its key internal stakeholders. Many thought leaders for the HR community will have to refine and reinterpret their work in the light of these seminal concepts.”
—Visty Banaji, Executive Director, Group Corporate Affairs, Godrej Industries Limited
“Ulrich and Brockbank compellingly demonstrate the need for HR’s leadership in creating excellence in the nonfinancial sectors of an organization, and they provide the tools to make that happen and help ensure that all stakeholders achieve success.”
—Judy Bardwick, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, and author of In Praise of Good Business
“Ulrich and Brockbank look at the organization from the outside in—from the customer/consumer back—and provide insight on how HR can add wealth-creating value to a firm. The ideas in this book are brain food for executives. Read it! Better yet, do it!”
—Richard W. Beatty, Professor of Human Resource Management, Rutgers University, and coauthor of The Workforce Scorecard
“Not only does The HR Value Proposition provide a useful framework and set of tools for the HR professional on how to add value to an organization, it makes clear that value is determined by the true needs of the key stakeholders of the business (customers, employees, shareholders) and not just what the HR professional believes is important.”
—Ken Carrig, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, SYSCO Corporation
“Ulrich and Brockbank push HR professionals out of the ‘comfort zone’ by inviting HR to become part of business execution. The HR Value Proposition takes us from broad concepts to the tactics that will enable HR professionals to deliver greater value to their business.”
—Joan M. Crockett, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Allstate Insurance Company
“Many of us work on the pieces of the puzzle. Ulrich and Brockbank put the pieces together. And that’s what sets this book apart. They’ve assembled the whole picture, which is nothing short of a comprehensive and doable action plan to transform our field.”
—Lee Dyer, Professor of Human Resource Studies, Cornell University
“If you want to be more effective and have a greater impact as an HR professional, this is the book for you. Clear. Complete. Step by step. Research-backed and experience-tested formulas for adding value. It’s HR Champions and Results-Based Leadership together in one great book. You aren’t really in the game without what’s in this book.”
—Robert W. Eichinger, CEO, Lominger Limited, Inc.
“A practical guide that examines the value HR professionals can add by providing a framework and tools that can demonstrate their effectiveness to the business and shareholders. The focus on external practices and trends, aligning HR strategy and initiatives to those of the business, and being a strategic business partner are behaviors I expect of my team every day. ”
—Ursula Fairbairn, Executive Vice President of HR and Quality, American Express
“The HR Value Proposition highlights the possibilities for HR to drive critical strategic business initiatives within organizations. Ulrich and Brockbank provide key insights and perspectives that will ensure HR maximizes its potential to become a vital resource to business.”
—Janet Fiola, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Medtronic, Inc.
“Two distinguished HR scholars have given the profession exactly what it has needed—a detailed map for transforming HR from an administration expense center to a value-adding, central business function. It goes beyond why HR needs to move up to how to move it to the strategic level.”
—Jac Fitz-enz, author of The ROI of Human Capital
“The authors ask ‘what is left after transactional HR has been automated, centralized, eliminated, or outsourced?’ Marshaling decades of research and a vast array of experience, Ulrich and Brockbank show that HR can indeed add value in a way that is measurable and linked to the goals of the business. An essential part of the manager’s tool kit, The HR Value Proposition is destined to become a classic.”
—Lynda Gratton, Associate Professor of Management Practice, London Business School, and author of Living Strategy
“A must-read for both line management and HR. This book reflects the finest road map for the strategic development of a human capital plan I have ever read. Numerous diagnostic tools and illustrations will assist those who aspire to optimize organizational capabilities. Those who read The HR Value Proposition will gain a competitive edge.”
—Mike Hager, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Freddie Mac
“This book not only shows the optimum vision for HR to aspire to but it also gives a road map of how to get there with step-by-step directions. I suggest that all HR practitioners read this book.”
—Thomas Hammer, Group Head of Human Resources, UBS
“Exceptionally framed, forward-thinking, and thought-provoking. Any HR professionals reading The HR Value Proposition, regardless of industry and geography, will understand how to increase their organizations’ competence, connect what they do to what matters most (shareholder value!), and be inspired to turn leading HR concepts into action in their own practices.”
—Bob Hargadon, Vice President, U.S. Human Resources, Boston Scientific
“Today’s environment demands that HR create and deliver value for all of its constituents—shareowners, a company’s clients, line leaders, and employees. The authors provide ideas that should be useful to any serious HR professional. Most importantly, they have laid out a blueprint that can (and should) be put into practice.”
—Tom Helfrich, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, KeyCorp
“The HR Value Proposition reminds us of Peter Drucker’s sage words that people are a prime resource for organizations. In this action-oriented book, the authors offer the leaders of the future—whether from the public, private, or social sectors—a blueprint for unleashing the economic and intellectual potential of HR professionals.”
—Frances Hesselbein, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Leader to Leader Institute
“The HR Value Proposition identifies critical HR linkages to organizational effectiveness and, with great clarity, provides the HR constructs necessary for organizational success. It successfully captures the elements of HR’s influence on value and then offers important and needed perspective on the professional HR competencies necessary to create value.”
—R. Kenneth Hutchinson, Vice President of Human Resources, University of Missouri System
“Using the methods found in The HR Value Proposition, HR professionals at BAE Systems are growing considerably in stature and influence within our business and are recognized to be adding real value in our drive toward a high-performance culture.”
—Alastair Imrie, Group HR Director, BAE Systems plc
“Ulrich and Brockbank’s new book, The HR Value Proposition, integrates their ideas and knowledge into a blueprint for action that HR professionals as well as line managers should use to create value for their companies.”
—Michael P. Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, The Williams Companies, Inc.
“The HR Value Proposition is the authoritative statement showing how HR can and must contribute to organizational performance. Based on impeccable evidence, careful analysis, and insights only real pioneers in the field can provide, this book makes the case for HR’s real business impact and then shows us how to achieve it.”
—William Joyce, Professor of Strategy and Organizational
Theory, Dartmouth College, and author of What Really Works:
The 4+2 Formula for Sustained Business Success
“The HR Value Proposition provides a conceptual framework and tools for creating value from HR that will be extremely useful for organizations seeking to create value for stakeholders by effectively managing their human capital.”
—K. V. Kamath, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank
“This extensive compendium of proven techniques represents the single most integrated and practical blueprint for adding value to HR professionals at all levels. The authors’ passion for and understanding of HR resonates in every chapter.”
—Arnold Kanarick, Chief Human Resources Officer, Bear Stearns & Co. Inc.
“Rich in valuable insight, the main strength of The HR Value Proposition is that its authors have constantly been ‘out there’ and have developed, tested, and proved their ideas in some of the most esteemed organizations in the corporate world.”
—Steve Kerr, Chief Learning Officer and Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
“Terrific insights, information, what-to-do’s, and how-to-do’s. A great resource for HR executives!”
—Ed Lawler, Distinguished Professor of Business, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
“The HR Value Proposition defines the current and future role of HR; gives great, practical guidance on implementation; and provides real-world practical tactics that will challenge and grow your thinking as a leader in the HR function. It will be required reading for HR leaders at Texas Instruments.”
—Steve Leven, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Human Resources, Texas Instruments
“The key to success is getting HR to be an integral part of the business. The HR Value Proposition is full of powerful and useful ideas that will be of great help to those who have been struggling to determine what to expect from their HR function.”
—Tony McCarthy, Group Director for People and Organisational Development, Royal Mail
“The authors clearly articulate that HR can deliver value to the enterprise. The challenge is whether HR professionals are up to it. This is a practical view of what it will take—it challenges the norm and demands change within HR.”
—Randy MacDonald, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, IBM
“The challenge for HR today is to match the expectations that the business has for it. This book, based on the biggest database of its kind, outlines which practices and competencies make a difference to the business, and which don’t. It is a great contribution to HR and leaders everywhere who are looking to increase the capability of their organizations. This book sets the standards and the agenda for the next decade.”
—Paul McKinnon, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Dell
“This book challenges the boundaries of HR with an eye always on the value being created. By anchoring the aspirations of the profession to measurement of HR’s value to customers, shareholders, investors, and employees, Ulrich and Brockbank ensure focus in application.”
—Jo Mithen, CEO, Australian Human Resources Institute
“This book is a must for HR managers and CEOs who want their HR teams to make a strong contribution to the share price and development of their companies. It is certainly a very good inspiration for our people strategies at Nokia. The authors describe good and practical approaches that can be applied in real life.”
—Hallstein Moerk, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Nokia
“I am a firm believer that the primary deliverable of the HR function is applying organizational capability to opportunity to create performance. Ulrich and Brockbank give access to the entire logic stream of what HR needs to do and thus make this a must-read for the twenty-first-century HR professional.”
—Chris Moorhouse, Vice President for HR, BP
“The HR Value Proposition could not arrive at a more opportune time for me and my colleagues at Lafarge North America. I wish we had had your book a few years ago when we began an HR transformation that has been targeted at redefining the HR operating model and its value proposition.”
—Jim Nealis, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Lafarge North America
“The book is a great value not only for HR but for business heads as well. Its innate simplicity, clarity, and ‘easy-to-relate’ writing style keeps you hooked. And it not only tells you the ‘what’, but also shows the ‘how-to’ in crafting and implementing a HR agenda for sustained success in the marketplace. Immensely useful.”
—Rakesh Pandey, CEO, Kaya Skin Care Limited
“Integrating the many complex issues that HR professionals grapple with on a daily basis, this book provides a wealth of practical resources and tools that will help HR leaders raise the level of HR’s business impact, no matter what the current level is.”
—Denise Peppard, Senior Vice President, HR, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
“Packed with frameworks, tools, and approaches of immense practical value. The authors have given the world of business and HR a handle to grab the future and impact the way the people side of the equation can be most powerfully leveraged.”
—Satish Pradhan, Executive Vice President, Group HR, Tata Sons Ltd
“The HR Value Proposition demonstrates that a strong HR function can truly add value. Skilled and compassionate HR professionals can and should understand the needs of their business and its various constituencies and contribute unique expertise to achieving results. This book will show them how.”
—Fran Rodgers, Chair, WFD, Inc.
“Ulrich and Brockbank once again demonstrate why they are among the clearest thinkers about HR practices today. While many so-called thought leaders keep advocating that HR ‘gain a seat at the table,’ these two shout ‘forget about sitting anywhere; stand up, get out there, and help create real value.’ Here they provide a road map for practical, results-based solutions.”
—Anthony J. Rucci, Executive Vice President and President of Strategic Corporate Resources, Cardinal Health
“Ulrich and Brockbank have done it again! Packed with theory and proven practices, The HR Value Proposition provides a powerful framework that HR leaders can use to organize the HR function around value-added agendas. They continue to add to the body of knowledge and the tool kits of the HR profession and its leaders.”
—Libby Sartain, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, and Chief People Yahoo at Yahoo!, Inc., and coauthor of HR from the Heart
“This book shows how to unlock the full value of people capability to deliver business results. It provides a rich combination of strategic and operational insights and is energizing in its focus on action, impact, outputs, and practical guidance. A required read for HR professionals worldwide with some particular pointers for HR leaders.”
—Valerie Scoular, Group HR Director, Barclays Bank
“Packed with real-world examples and fresh insights, The HR Value Proposition offers readers a powerful framework for building a world-class HR organization that creates true and lasting value for stakeholders of all kinds.”
—David Shadovitz, Editor, Human Resource Executive magazine
“Over the past decade, the evolution of our HR function at Unilever has been much guided by the unique insights developed by Ulrich and Brockbank. This immensely readable book is compulsory reading for anyone who seeks to make a difference through HR.”
—André R. van Heemstra, Personnel Director, Unilever
“Ulrich and Brockbank bring together their depth of insight and wealth of experience to provide HR professionals with the tools they need to become strategic players in their organizations.”
—Patrick M. Wright, Professor of Human Resource Studies, Cornell University