Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem

Book Selection

Packed with relevant forms, and tips on rewarding and retaining top employees, deciding when – and whom – to hire, and managing both internal conflicts and rewards, The Big Book of HR is a veritable bible for human resources professionals at companies of any size.

The Big Book of HR

The Complete Guide to Selecting, Engaging, and Retaining the Best Talent

Interview with Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem

Authors Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem provide a useful handbook for HR professionals that offers easy-to-use templates and advice, tips, and tricks for managing organizations of any size.

twsm What types of forms are included, and what makes them particularly effective?

bm&cg The Big Book of HR provides templates, checklists, and sample forms that can easily be adapted to any organization without starting from scratch. A number of checklists provide guidance to managers and HR professionals on issues such as preventing workplace discrimination and retaliation, and things to consider before taking adverse employment action. There are also guidelines for selecting brokers and service partners, developing a statement of work, and developing interview questions including exit interview questions.

twsm What is the most common challenge faced today, and how does your book address it?

bm&cg There’s nothing more important than having the right people in the right jobs, so attracting and retaining top talent is a huge challenge. A strategic approach to hiring is critical, starting with the organization's strategic objectives and determining if new hires are needed, or if retraining is required for current employees. Then it’s where to find the right people and how to attract them. Once you get them, how do you assimilate them into your culture and help them succeed? How do you engage them? HR professionals must help their organizations do all of these things in a cost-effective manner and navigate the increasingly difficult legal landscape. •

Alastair Dryburgh Everything You Know About Business Is Wrong

[Headline Business Plus, 224 pp., £13.99] Alastair Dryburgh reveals the fallacy of tried-but-not-necessarily-true axioms and suspect strategies that govern business, from cavemanera assumptions like “Familiarity is security” and a present-day obsession with magical thinking, to incentive schemes that reward poor performance.

Shawn Smith and Rebecca Mazin

The HR Answer Book: An Indispensable Guide for Managers and Human Resources Professionals [AMACOM, 272 pp., $24.95] A comprehensive guide to the many changes HR pros have witnessed in recent years – from the economy and job market to developments in law and technology -- "The HR Answer Book" explores these recent developments and addresses more than 200 questions of concern to every employer.

Alan Collins

Your HR Goldmine: How to Turn Your Human Resources Know-How Into a Lucrative Second Income & Make A Difference in People's Lives... Without Leaving Your HR Day Job [SuccessinHR.com Publishing, 210 pp., $29.97] Author Alan Collins reveals the secrets to “cash in” on your existing human resources knowledge. With ease and simplicity, Collins explains the most effective way to capitalize on your expertise and present yourself as the HR guru you know you are – without leaving your day job.

Robert Lussier and John Hendon

Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development [Sage Publications, 588 pp., $99.95] A comprehensive textbook, this manual espouses a three-prong approach, focusing on not only traditional strategies, but also cutting-edge trends and modern challenges facing new talent as they join the human resources workforce. A must-have resource for aspiring HR managers.

Thomas H. Davenport & Brook Manville

Judgement Calls: 12 Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams That Got Them Right [Harvard Business Review Press, 288 pp., $30] Most business decisions are made by a leader teetering high at the top of the corporate ladder. But Davenport and Manville argue that integral decisionmaking should not be left to individuals or closely-knit teams, but instead draw upon collective wisdom of an informed, creative group of employees.