booksThere are a few books we have run across that are excellent foundations in transforming HR into a strategic business function using Analytics.
  • The HR Value Proposition by Dave Ulrich and Wayne Brockbank
    A milestone book for HR professionals that led the way to HR beginning to transform itself into a strategic organizational function.  Start here if you have not read it already.
  • Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
    While this book may not sound directly related to HR or Analytics, it covers a lot of the risks of relying too heavily on Analytics and the natural bias of the human brain and psychology in decision-making.  A critical read for all Analytics professionals.
  • The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail- But Some Don’t by Nate Silver
    Like the above, this is a good book on the potential failures of statistics in any type of analysis.  It also highlights a common fact that self proclaimed experts in prediction are very often incorrect in their predictions.  An invaluable word of warning about predictive statistics from a guy who successfully predicted the 2008 election outcome in 49 of the 50 states.
  • The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
    An oldie but a goodie – cutting edge stuff in 1776, but still covers the beginnings of modern economic theory that still apply in large part to the global labor economy.  In Human Capital Management Analytics, an understanding of  global labor market economic theory is an invaluable strategic perspective to have… if you have a lot of spare time on your hands and like to curl up with a good economics book.

If you are looking for a start in the application of Analytics to HR, see our Intro to Analytics post here:

Human Resources Analytics Primer

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