In an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, achieving sustainable competitive advantage has never been more important, or more difficult. However, the key challenge for CEOs, senior executives and HR professionals is how to unlock the potential of their people, building a culture that allows employees to perform to the best of their abilities and effectively attract, acquire, engage, retain and develop the staff needed for sustainable business success.
Building an Outstanding Workforce is a must-have guide for all professionals looking to leverage the potential of their people and maximise value for all stakeholders. With practical guidance, expert advice and real-life case studies from companies including Alibaba, Barclays Banking Group, Tata and Quantas , Building an Outstanding Workforce covers all the key issues including how to tailor people management to address the motivations of different generations, the impact of emergent technology on the workforce, the shift in the skills employees now need to learn and develop and how to handle the new challenges of remote and flexible working and the gig economy.
There is also essential coverage of strategic workforce planning, people risk, people analytics, human capital reporting, the employer brand and employee value proposition and the benefits of embracing diversity and inclusion, wellbeing and other aspects of corporate and social responsibility. It presents a new people-focused framework for people management that redefines the structure, roles and responsibilities of human resource management and addresses the problems of role ambiguity and conflict associated with HR to deliver people management that everyone needs and deserves.
Industry Reviews
"Takes us on a comprehensive and engaging journey through what it takes to run a successful organization when the surrounding context is changing fast. The narrative combines deep insight from experienced business leaders, consultants and academics together with case studies from a range of employers. An essential guide for all current and aspiring leaders of people." * Chris Cummings, Chief Executive, The Investment Association *
"Wow! Building an Outstanding Workforce does an incredibly thorough and thoughtful job of defining the workforce of the future. This book is a treasure because it summarizes so much information in useful ways, but then goes beyond to offer creative options for the workforce of the future. A neo-classic." * Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and Partner, The RBL Group *
"A tour de force of the workplace psychology literature as it applies to the problems and issues in business at the moment." * Professor Sir Cary Cooper, CBE, The 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at the ALLIANCE Manchester Business School *
"An excellent synthesis of the broad evidence base for what drives effective people management. A great resource for Human Resources professionals and for anyone in the world of work." * Rupert McNeil, Government Chief People Officer (United Kingdom) *
"Despite a vast body of evidence on how to unlock human potential, most companies still struggle with basic talent management issues. This book digests some of the key insights from this field to provide a practical guide for leaders interested in building a high-performing organization." * Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Professor of Business Psychology, UCL and Columbia University *
"A deeply insightful book on the building blocks of people management that truly drive company performance. It offers a new framework for people management that hands back the responsibility for creating an outstanding workforce to the leadership of the company. Exactly where it belongs. This is a powerful book for leaders and people professionals." * Hein J M Knaapen, Chief HR Officer, ING Bank *
"Businesses that are able to acquire an inspire top talent are able to do extraordinary things, winning and growing market share on a sustainable and profitable basis. Building an Outstanding Workforce delivers the evidence base that demonstrates the importance of the thoughtful leadership which is required to achieve this." * Symon Drake-Brockman, Chief Executive, Pemberton Asset Management Group *
"As we accelerate into the realities of the fourth industrial revolution, this book distils important research, concepts and aspects of organizational & economic transformation, technology and the future of work into an excellent series of frameworks for understanding the impacts, the scenarios that could evolve and guidance for how to navigate them. A truly excellent and comprehensive business companion for those that need to know the big picture now!" * Graham Kellen, Chief Digital Officer, Schroders Asset Management *
"Building an Outstanding Workforce has comprehensively captured various aspects of people management in different cultural contexts. A must-read for any leader who is deeply committed towards raising the bar on people management." * Nupur Singh Mallick, CHRO, Tata Group *
"Takes an impressively broad yet comprehensive view of people management and workforce building across multiple academic fields and practical professional roles. The rich experience of the authors allows them to insightfully investigate issues and cases across different cultural and social contexts. As such this book will be very useful for business leaders, senior organizational development professionals and researchers in China, Asia and beyond." * Ming Guo, Managing Director, EAL Consulting Shanghai *
"An accessible, concise, impressive book that covers a critical business area. This is a resource I would recommend to all those who believe tomorrow's workforce is the key to commercial success and who want an overview of the subject presented with clarity, focus and purpose." * Baroness Virginia Bottomley, Chair, Board Practice, Odgers Berndtson *
"Creating the skills and capabilities of the future is absolutely critical to surviving and thriving in this digitally disrupted world. Building an Outstanding Workforce provides a roadmap for HR and Learning professionals to enable and accelerate transformations." * Bill Pelster, Former Chief Learning Officer, Deloitte and creator of Deloitte University *
"If you want to create a higher performance work culture, while treating people with dignity, respect and developing your talent, this book is for you." * Jonathan Passmore, Professor of Coaching & Behavioural Change and Director of Henley Centre for Coaching & Behavioural Change, Henley Business School *
"A giant of a business book. Brilliantly researched and supported with great case studies, it provides an-depth analysis of how and why traditional approaches to organizational design need to change. Drawing on the latest business psychology insights and applying them in reality, this book delivers on its ambitious agenda." * Lucy Adams, CEO of Disruptive HR and author of 'HR Disrupted' and 'The HR Change Toolkit' *
"Weaves together the perfect tapestry of current workforce research, classical business theory, technology advances, and the role of human nature and the brain. This highly useful book proves that when it comes to designing a future-proof 21st century organization, the more things change, the more they stay the same. A leader must-read." * Alexandra Levit, Author of Humanity Works *
"In Building an Outstanding Workforce, the title speaks for itself because the book is a comprehensive guide to help readers do just that. A must-read for any business professional!" * Jacob Morgan, Author of The Future of Work and Founder of the Future of Work University *
"This book is engaging, comprehensive and will prove relevant to those interested in the aetiology of behaviours and people management per se. A well needed source indeed." * Dr Michelle Hunter-Hill, Senior Lecturer, Human Resource Management and International Business, University of Roehampton Business School *
"A thoughtful and engaging book that will appeal to both business leaders and managers and those aspiring to these positions. It is structured clearly and provides an informative insight into achieving organisational objectives through a better understanding of people at both the individual and group level." * Laurie J. Mullins, Author of Organisational Behaviour in the Workplace 12th ed. *
