Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resources

As usual, Ulrich and company have written a well researched book that offers a very comprehensive instruction regarding the vast range of skills and actions to operate effectively in HR. I really liked the suggestions that matched up with the skills they proposed. In total, this is an excellent resource for HR professionals to draw upon in self-evaluating, but also plotting a course for development. It has a few key flaws though that I had trouble with. The first one being that they have suggested that the next step in HR's evolution is "customer centric." While no one would argue with the attractiveness of the notion, it's a bit of an academic point of view. For real practitioners who are adding value both tactically and strategically, the real next step in HR's evolution is to work cross-functionally at the organizational level on a company-wide basis delivering human capital initiatives. There is still a long way to go for the HR community to accomplish this.