How to Use This Book

The Big Book of HR has 30 chapters and is organized into five sections. For the most part, each chapter deals with one topic or one function, and contains easy-to-follow text, lots of examples, tips, and sidebars to give you as much information as possible. The Appendix is filled with additional resources to help you design your own forms or processes.

Section One: Selecting and Assimilating New Employees (Chapters 1–12)

In this section, we discuss how you get started to determine what kind of employees and what number of employees your organization will need to meet your strategic goals and objectives. We look at the legal issues around the rights of employees before discussing the recruiting process, including where to find candidates, how to interview and select the best applicant, how to make a job offer, and then how to assimilate the new hires successfully into your organization.

Section Two: Employee Engagement and Retention (Chapters 13–16)

In this section, we explore the critical areas of how to engage your employees so that they are as productive as possible and, then, how to retain them for your organization. Both of these functions have major impact on your bottom line. We look at the issue of workplace flexibility and the role this plays in the retention process, and also give you information on how to craft rewards and recognition programs that will work for your organization.

Section Three: Total Rewards (Chapters 17–21)

In this section, we look at the legal issues around compensation, and introduce you to compensation and how critical it is to have a well-designed system that will work for your organization. We lead you through the steps to developing a compensation structure and then discuss the increasingly complex, but critical, area of employee benefits.

Section Four: Employee Development (Chapters 22–26)

In this section, we look at how critical it is to provide development opportunities for your employees and work through the process of determining what development is needed in your organization. We then look at the many ways to provide development, including training and mentoring, and also at the very positive impact that coaching can have in your employee development strategy. We discuss performance management strategy, including the appraisal process, the feedback process, and how to have the critical conversations so necessary to move employees toward reaching their full potential.

Section Five: Employee Relations (Chapters 27–30)

In this section, we look at the areas of employee and labor relations, risk management, conflict resolution, and ending the employment relationship. Each of these topics has huge impact in the lifecycle of employment.

Appendix: Additional Resources

This section has templates, charts, forms, and more to help your organization manage your human resources processes and maximize productivity.