Over the past 30 years, a damaging pattern has emerged in Human Resources - a department at odds with real business needs.

In the 70s, while business was driving hard for the bottom line, HR was focused on the employee and providing the best possible work environment. Similarly, the recent financial crises have left businesses increasingly looking for innovation, efficiency, differentiation and employee engagement as a source of competitive advantage. Meanwhile, HR has moved on to focus on strategy and big data: this is the HR paradox.

In this book, the authors argue that we now appear to have a generation of HR professionals that have been romanced by “being strategic” and as a result have taken their eye off what gave their profession a reason for existing in the first place – an understanding of people and how they work at work.

This book considers the impact of the HR Paradox on the profession and on its reputation. It considers some of the key disciplines (recruitment, change management, performance management, motivation and reward, people development), reflecting on whether current tools and techniques used are fit for purpose, and making recommendations for improvement.