The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World reviewed

By Simon Cocking review of The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World by Alan Watkins, Nick Dalton. Available from Amazon here.

Many observers have suggested that capitalism is fast destroying our planet, concentrating power in a few big companies. Excessive short-termism, leveraged debt, digitisation, and disruption are the new normal. We stand at a critical juncture where the two paths ahead could lead to very different futures.

One route could take us back to the harshest days of the early Industrial Revolution and the Great Depression. The other could lead to a world of abundance, equality, inclusivity, and prosperity for all. Which future awaits us will largely be determined by business, and HR (Human Resources) in particular.

Books on HR tend to focus on HR practices and potential interventions, but they rarely look at the profession, how it evolved, and how and why those people practices were created. The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World describes the “Seven Great Waves” of change and explains how each wave impacted business. It explains how some companies are stuck in the past and how HR can break the deadlock if it understands what the future holds.

This book is meant for senior business leaders or anyone currently working in HR who are grappling with the paradoxes of business today. It’s for leaders who recognise that people issues are the central challenge of our time. Whether we embrace the waves yet to come will determine whether we survive or regress, whether we flourish or flounder. The future is in our hands.

The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World reviewed

We enjoyed this book. It gives a good big picture view of how the working world has evolved and changed over the last few centuries. It was quite refreshing to have concepts phrased in a historical context, while putting into perspective the changing needs and desires of those in the workplace. The authors, Alan Watkins, and Nick Dalton have created a concept which includes seven waves of HR, in this book named HR1 to HR7.

They begin with the concept of Paternalism, in many ways better than what existed before this, pre 1920. Overlapping with HR2, the Power Wave, 1890 to 1945. Then the Process Wave, 1935 – 1985, followed by the Profit Wave, 1980 – 2010. HR 5.0, is dated as 2005 to 2025. With then two interesting phases as they attempt to describe and anticpate what will come. HR 6.0 they name the Paradox wave, to run from 2020 to 2040, and then, hopefully the Planet Wave, 2030 and beyond.

With the current Covid-19 issues it is all the more apt to be looking at what work is, how it is managed, and how it might play out as we move forwards. In this context this book is therefore a smart, thought provoking and insightful book to read right now. Here’s hoping the Planet Wave comes sooner too.

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