Human Capital Trends

We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing . R.D. Laing It is clear that the arena of Human Capital is vast and that no single book can hope to do justice to the challenges and issues involved in human capital development. In selecting the topics for this book, we were guided by the needs of senior HR practitioners and other leaders across South Africa. The need for HR capacity building at all...
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We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing . R.D. Laing It is clear that the arena of Human Capital is vast and that no single book can hope to do justice to the challenges and issues involved in human capital development. In selecting the topics for this book, we were guided by the needs of senior HR practitioners and other leaders across South Africa. The need for HR capacity building at all levels is still significant. However, there are few books aimed at where the greatest need lies - with HR and line Executives who together are crafting the people strategies that will determine the future success of their organisations. Hence the book has been divided into four sections: The first is a review of broader context, with key chapters on educational policy, job creation and global trends. This is followed by the second section which covers aligning the HR strategy to the business strategy, identified as a key need by all HR and line executives. The third section provides fresh perspectives on the critical human capital issues of workforce planning, performance management, skills training, leadership development, coaching, building sustainable organizations, talent and succession management, and employee engagement. The fourth section is focused on the role of HR as a profession and deals with the key principles around the professionalization of HR, HR metrics and building HR capacity. Topics were selected based on the HR Survey 2010 conducted by Knowledge Resources of 400 HR practitioners and line executives representing both small and large organisations, in which the top ten priorities (out of a possible 52) for the HR fraternity were listed as: 1. Creating a High Performance Culture/climate 2. Customer Service 3. Leadership and Management Development (up from 7th position in 2009) 4. Performance Management 5. Skills Development 6. Change management 7. Employee engagement 8. HR Services 9. Focus on corporate values and ethics (up substantially in the ranking from 26th in 2009) 10. Crafting and implementing HR strategy We trust that this book will provide clear guidelines and case studies for best practice but also some fresh perspectives on the strategic capabilities that today s HR Director must build. As Gandhi said, You must be the change you wish to see in the world . HR has a significant contribution to make in building a sustainable future for organizations and for the broader society."