Retooling HR: Using Proven Business Tools to Make Better Decisions About Talent

HR professionals have made major strides toward becoming strategic partners. But they need to do more - by generating value through savvy decisions about talent. HR leaders typically assume that, to make such decisions, they must develop sophisticated analytical tools from scratch. Even then, the resulting tools often fail to engage their peers.

In Retooling HR, John Boudreau shows how HR leaders can break this cycle - by adapting powerful analytical tools already used by other functions to the unique challenges of talent management.

Drawing on his research and examples from companies including Google, Disney, IBM, and Microsoft, Boudreau explains six proven business tools leaders already use. And he shows how HR can apply these tools to talent management. Examples include:

· Using engineering tolerances to find pivot points that job descriptions miss

· Using inventory and supply-chain analytics to ensure a ready supply of the right talent

· Applying logistics tools to optimize succession planning and leadership development

· Adapting consumer research tools to find untapped value in total rewards

Retooling HR builds on Boudreau's bestselling book Beyond HR, which traces HR's evolution as a decision science. For HR professionals seeking to sharpen their decision-making prowess, this provocative new book blazes an innovative new path.

John Boudreau is Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and the Research Director at USC's Center for Effective Organizations. He has published more than sixty books and articles and consults to clients in a wide range of industries.