T
THE LAST WORD
Change the Workplace, Change the World:
The HR (R)Evolution
Alan Watkins and Nick Dalton, Routledge
I
f you think this book has an
ambitious title, you’d be right: the
authors really do believe that HR
leaders can and should shape a
better world. Their starting point is
the crossroads at which we find
ourselves: as we navigate the fourth
industrial revolution, will we regress
to the harshest days of earlier
industrial change, or can we evolve
to embrace new thinking that will
lead to “abundance, equalit y,
inclusivity and prosperity for all”? It’s
a call for a focus on social, rather than
financial, capital, with effective
people management at work
fundamental to a brave new future
– and HR leaders leading the charge.
The core of the book introduces the
Seven Great Waves (or P-waves) of
change, tracking the development
of HR from the paternalism of the late
nineteenth century (HR 1.0) to the
leading edge of HR 5.0 today, which
focuses on purpose and mutuality. It
also looks ahead to two more waves
of the future, with HR embracing
ever-greater complexity and looking
beyond workplaces to the planet
more generally. It’s an intelligent and
seductive thesis, on established
models of values-based evolution
which challenge the (still) dominant,
profit-based HR 4.0, urging HR to step
up and surf those waves as key
actors for radical change.
The 4 Day Week:
How the Flexible Work Revolution Can Increase
Productivity, Profitability and Wellbeing, and
Create a Sustainable Future
Andrew Barnes, Piatkus
E
piphanies come in all shapes
and sizes. Andrew Barnes
experienced his reading an
ar ticle highlighting the poor
productivity of full-time workers in
the UK and Canada. This was the
starting point for his 100-80-100 rule,
where his staff receive full-time
wages for working 80% of the time
— provided they deliver 100% of
agreed productivity. The concept of
a four-day week, or other flexible
regimes, has gained traction in
recent years, and this book offers a
100 // Future Talent
fascinating case study and blueprint.
An eight-week trial, overseen by
academic data analysts, provided
Barnes with evidence to support his
hunch that the five-day week is no
longer fit for purpose. For him, the
key is to view productivity in terms
other than the number of hours
employees spend at work , a
discredited measure. He advocates
a new way of working which involves
staff in bottom-up, data-driven
change. For his organisation, it has
meant better productivity and
engagement. Barnes admits his
model may not be right for everyone,
and that it needs trust, commitment
and focus, but it’s food for thought
for anyone questioning the conflation
of productivity with presenteeism.