The profession of HR requires constant learning and growth. While HR professionals mostly learn through experience, they can benefit significantly by preparing in advance rather than waiting for the opportunity to learn. Human Resource as a professional field keeps evolving with new ideas, methods, and practices. Books on HR are the perfect source material for these. Reading books for HR professionals can contribute to the professional growth of HR professionals and reflect on their work.

If you are looking to increase your knowledge and understanding of the field, add the following books for HR professionals to your TBR pile today:

Work Rules! by Lazlo Bock

It is no secret that Google’s work culture and environment are exemplary in the corporate world. If you want to learn the secrets of how Google achieved the loyalty and happiness of all of its employees, you must read Work Rules! by the company’s ex-VP of People Operations. The book contains the practices Bock adopted during his years at Google to manage the company’s employees, motivating them to perform their best and providing them with an environment that supported efficiency. This book is a must-read for any HR professional focused on employee and company growth.

High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil

High Growth Handbook is one of the best books for HR professionals who want to discover recruitment success secrets. Written by Elad Gil, one of the most prominent people responsible for the success of Twitter, Square, and Airbnb, the book serves as a guide to turning any start-up into a major corporation. Gil has also included interviews with numerous Silicon Valley leaders in the book to provide maximum insight and information on finding and maintaining the right talent.

The Heart of Business by Hubert Joy

Joy, the former chairman and CEO of Best Buy, provides an alternative notion to the corporate culture in his best-selling book. He inspires organizations to treat their employees as stakeholders and develop HR strategies that benefit the employees as much as the investors. In the book, Joy also offers several methods of uniting, inspiring, motivating, and appreciating employees in ways that produce long-lasting positive results.

The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

Coyle’s New York Times best-selling guide is one of the best books for HR professionals. It results from years of research and compiles several real-life examples of HR practices by different companies. He analyzes each example and story and explains what worked and why it worked. He also shares his thoughts and opinions on things that didn’t work and possible reasons for their failure. The book also contains many tips and methods for building successful teams.

Unleashing the Power of Diversity by Bjorn Z. Ekelund

This is one of those books for HR professionals also written by an HR professional. Ekelund is the chairman of one of the most successful HR management companies, Human Factors. In this book, he has compiled his learnings from his years of experience managing diverse people successfully under the same roof. If you are passionate about diversity and inclusivity at the workplace, you must add to your TBR pile.

 

As an HR professional, don’t wait for difficult circumstances to learn how to navigate them. Experience is undoubtedly the best teacher, but you might find books that help you prepare for every situation kinder.