The Praeger Handbook of Human Resource Management

Book excerpt: The two-volume Praeger Handbook of Human Resource Management is an indispensable resource for anyone with a question relating to workplace practice or policy. Volume One contains information organized by HR task or topic: Recruitment and selection, employee development, performance management, compensation and benefits administration, and employment law. Volume Two covers organizational issues like leadership and HR strategy, organizational development, change management, and general HR issues and workplace policy. Written by experts of all stripes, including HR professors, HR consultants, and practicing HR managers, this is the one-stop, preeminent source for all things HR. Anyone with personnel duties—whether VP for Human Resources or office manager—will find actionable answers to all their questions quickly. Personnel management is a critical business function. Make a mistake in, say, firing an employee, and soon you may find yourself on the phone with a lawyer. This handbook will help readers avoid personnel potholes and snares. Volume one of this set tells—among dozens of other topics—how to hire well, train employees, evaluate and develop workers, fire legally, set compensation, and abide by federal and state employment laws. Volume two rises above the trees for a look at the forest: leadership development, succession planning, managing change and conflict, creating emergency response plans, managing teams, forecasting employment trends, measuring results, and acquiring HR credentials. In addition, volume two will help companies develop workplace policies on everything from suitable dress to disciplinary procedures to work life balance. Entries in each category are short and to the point-from 500 to 1,000 words. Sprinkled throughout are longer, overview/theory pieces on subjects like performance management, selection, training, and HR Strategy. And the set will contain an extensive bibliography, resource section, and checklists on topics like hiring, safety, termination, training, and more. The Best Places to Work for are also the most profitable and the most fun. This handbook helps lay the foundation for building a rewarding, inspiring, and productive workplace, where people come to work each day with smiles on their faces.