Table of Contents

Part 1: What’s Wrong with HR?

Chapter 1: HR is Dead (Long Live HR)

Chapter 2: How I Got Here

Part 2: The Way HR Should Be: The EACH Model

Chapter 3: Employees as Adults

Chapter 4: Employees as Consumers

Chapter 5: Employees as Human Beings

Part 3: Reinventing HR

Chapter 6: Recruitment

Chapter 7: Induction

Chapter 8: Employment Rules and Policies

Chapter 9: Managing Performance

Chapter 10: Reward

Chapter 11: Training and Development

Chapter 12: Talent Management

Chapter 13: Leadership Development

Chapter 14: Employee Engagement and Communications

Part 4: Making It Happen

Chapter 15: Turning Old HR into New HR

Chapter 16: The HR Team of the Future

About the Author

About the Author

Lucy Adams is on a mission to help organisations bring their human resources departments into the 21st century. Through her agency, Disruptive HR, she aims to provoke the HR community into creating new ways to support businesses in today’s complex and ambiguous world. In doing so she challenges leaders and HR professionals to learn from sources as varied as management theory, consumer organisations, marketing, neuroscience, and the latest thinking on motivation and reward. She also addresses how businesses can deal with public scrutiny, and advises them on leadership and change.

Lucy was HR director at the BBC during one of its most turbulent periods. Responsible for all aspects of employee relations, reward, training, and development, she also reduced the corporation’s management by over 30%. In her five-year tenure Lucy witnessed four director generals come and go, oversaw the move to the Salford site, and coped with numerous and very public crises, including executive payoffs and the Savile scandal.

Prior to working at the BBC Lucy was group HR director at Serco, the government services organisation; this came after a period working for the law firm Eversheds.

Along with her business partner, Lucy runs workshops and consults on many topics within the HR arena. She specialises in helping HR and other business professionals to step back from their old assumptions about motivating people and to see more creative and effective ways of engaging employees.

Reviews

Amazon review: 'Insightful book which has helped me challenge long held assumptions that I held about HR and myself. More importantly, it has also pointed a way to take new ideas forward.'
*Amazon reviewer*

Amazon quote: 'Such a refreshing read. Lucy challenges so many of the assumptions we have about the way we 'do' HR and offers some great alternative ways of working, thinking and being. Lucy is a credible and believable figurehead for the movement she has inspired. Just read it, you won't regret it!'
*Amazon reviewer*

Amazon review: 'Thank goodness I am not alone in thinking HR doesn’t need to be the way it is. Unfortunately company’s are so focused on share price they are not free to abandon outmoded appraisal systems or employee engagement surveys.' 'As a newcomer to HR, this book has opened my eyes to what HR is now and what it could be in the future. The writing within the book is excellent, very refreshing and I especially like the way Lucy has put the recap sections in. The book is easy to read and very hard to put down. Excellent reading for any HR professional!!' 'A great read and an opportunity to challenge the thinking of HR. This will suit some organisations better than others, however there is definitely something in there for everyone. Anyone new to HR would benefit from reading it early in their career so they are aware that there are options to HR approach.' 'A brilliant book, thought provoking and credible. This will really help me influence the Board and CEO as we continue our People journey. Lucy's style is refreshing and authentic and rooted in experience - a brilliant read.'
*Amazon reviewer*

Amazon reviews:

'Fantastic, practical read!'

'Fantastic read and very useful insights. Thanks.' N Flower

'Useful, engaging and thought provoking read.' LaBreese

'Excellent read. Lots of take away tips that I'll certainly be putting into practice.' Mark Cook

'Hurrah! For too many years a business' HR function, whilst pivotal to operations, has long been chastised as archaic and burdensome. Lucy has hit the nail on the head with the need for something new and not a moment too soon! This is a great read but better still it's all about action - getting my business ready for the future and innovating, not just in client delivery but from the inside out.'

'At last a view of HR policies and procedures which makes sense. Love the concept of 'EACH'. Truly inspirational and thought provoking.' Sheila Hollis

'A brilliant book, thought provoking and credible. This will really help me influence the Board and CEO as we continue our People journey. Lucy's style is refreshing and authentic and rooted in experience - a brilliant read.'

'Wonderful, inspiring book! A must purchase.' Miss Ruth Bradshaw

'It's an accessible book that's easy to follow and after highlighting current issues, gives great tips on challenging HR that I know I would love to see implemented in my work place. The 'EACH' model is just a brilliant concept. 2017 will definitely be the year I view human resources differently. Great book, and huge well done to the author, Lucy.'

'A must read to help with today's constant need for HR transformation programmes!'

'This book is incredibly relevant in today's fast-paced work environment where the expectations and needs of employees are constantly changing and more complex than ever to satisfy. Lucy is spot on in her analysis on how to disrupt and change the way companies are handling appraisals. I'd highly recommend anyone in an HR function or who is a business owner to read this book.'

'At last! A modern and innovative slant on how HR should add value in the modern age. Buy it and learn. Inspirational.'

'Thoroughly enjoyable and highly thought provoking read.'

'Inspired writing from Lucy Adams, not just her ideas and extremely useful tips for people management but also a book that shows true integrity and positive thinking.' Petra

'As an MD of an SME and before that a history of working in the public sector, I have long felt that approaches to HR have been counter-intuitive- i.e. Surely the purpose of HR (as a function) is to aid the development and leadership of your people. So rarely does it achieve that in my experience. Maybe that's because there hasn't been a good enough approach or strategy to guide the industry to respond to current times. Well Lucy's approach provides the answer and I think the book may become the holy grail for those that want a genuine and current approach to getting the most out of THE most important resource within any business or workplace.'

'Fantastic read - practical, refreshing and inspiring!'

'An excellent book! A must have read for anyone running a business or in HR.'

'This very readable book provides an excellent breakdown of where many businesses are right now in their relationships with employees and it suggests what needs to change for HR professionals and business leaders, both in the way we think about and treat our people to help them make the most of themselves and thus help their companies succeed in an ever changing (VUCA) world. Lucy Adams is a well respected Senior leader within the UK HR community and she combines her own experience (e.g. as former HRD for the BBC) and research as a consultant to present credible and pragmatic advice about how to rethink/refresh the value HR can provide. She writes with empathy, at the same time pulling no punches about some of the changes she believes we need to make. Common sense and down to earth - at the same time an inspiring read. Highly recommended!' Frank M

'Such a refreshing read. Lucy challenges so many of the assumptions we have about the way we 'do' HR and offers some great alternative ways of working, thinking and being. Lucy is a credible and believable figurehead for the movement she has inspired. Just read it, you won't regret it!' Mrs Lucy Cleveley

'Lucy Adams has made a courageous effort to "re-humanize" Human Resources. Over many years companies have progressively been treating employees as assets without a heart; actually we have "de-humanized" HR and it is about time to change this. Lucy is on the forefront of a movement that will be unstoppable in a few years from now and I recommend everybody in HR to take her lessons to heart. Disrupting is HR is not easy and as it is new, no one will have all the answers yet, but Lucy is doing a great job pulling together what can already be done today.'

'Just finished reading this book and found it to be an excellent read. Engaging, personal but also incredibly relevant to working in HR. I love the challenge to our current ways of working and excellent examples and suggestions on ways to change. I feel reenergised about the future of Hr after reading Lucy's excellent book.' Mrs B

'Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A fresh perspective and review on all HR activities. After reading this I've looked at things differently and have become more business focused. The book's also very entertaining at different points! Lucy Adams has a really engaging (didn't want to use this over-used HR word) way of writing that will appeal to everyone.'

'Insightful book which has helped me challenge long held assumptions that I held about HR and myself. More importantly, it has also pointed a way to take new ideas forward.' Rob Travers

'An easy and light read with great insights that develop a fresh and balanced approach to HR. Many of Lucy's observations strike a chord and I can relate to so sat very well with me. A good read for new professionals as well as older seasoned like myself, it gives in some places a light hearted approach but also some really good tools and techniques to reflect on. Overall an enjoyable book.' Mrs S Steen

'Very easy to read and work through, with some real lightbulb moments throughout. It's definitely made me think more about my responses to situations.' S Hunter

'A great read and I'd recommend it to anyone in the world of HR...or for managers looking to introduce simple and effective HR practices.
After 15 years in HR this book helped me to challenge my thinking and start to introduce some forward thinking practices! It's also easy to read and dip in and out of - I'm not a passionate reader of long, theoretical books, so this one kept my attention and I had finished it within a week!'

'This is a must read for senior managers and People professionals (sorry I hate the word HR). Its easy to read, well researched and gives lots of practical tip and examples. HR is dead long live Culture.' Richard R

'Amazing book ! Well written Lucy , you spelt out the challenges and steps to solve so well.'

'As a HR Professional for the best part of a decade, I must admit I have experienced cognitive dissonance with various fads/best practices in HR; the things we do, for the sake of doing. This book provided me with clarity of thought. A fantastic book, well research, it advocates a different way of doing things. The points were made with real impact. The book is very readable and I devoured it in a weekend. If you work HR or in the Leadership space, this book is highly recommended.' L A Choudhury

'Totally inspirational book. Can't rate highly enough and have gained so many new ideas from it.'

'This is a superbly written book about so much more than the re-shaping of HR and our engagement with everyone around us. Reflecting on her own experiences with both humour and empathy, Lucy perfectly captures the mood of frustration around current practices. Delivering a practical approach without wandering into a prescriptive model, she offers inspiring alternatives to embedded methodology.
As you read HR Disrupted, you realise this is a book about leadership, teams, motivation, culture, working psychology and behaviour and sits as both peer and companion to authors such as Simon Sinek, Seth Godin and Daniel Pink.'

'A no nonsense approach to how we need to revisit the role of HR . Great research and thought provoking chapters . I could see some of my clients running a mile !!' Sarah Hamilton-Gill

'As an HR professional this book has really inspired me to try and take a different approach. Would definitely recommend' DLB78

'Really enjoying this book so far. Lucy Adams is honest about her motivations for wanting to reinvigorate and change her beloved HR and it strikes a chord with me. This is a short, easy to read, accessible and practical book not just for HR people but for anyone who wants to get the best from their people in business. I'd recommend it.' Ms S E Green

'Lucy, this is a great read. Drains up across the HR employee lifecycle, in an engaging way, with experience and humility nicely balanced.' 8vhearts

'Easy read, practical advice, very thought provoking. Good examples used to demonstrate points, good reference material - very enjoyable read.'

'This book is superbly written and extremely thought provoking. At a time when HR is in the spotlight within all organisations the author manages to capture all the issues that the profession currently faces and provides interesting ways to fix the issues.' J S

'I loved this book, its so refreshing to see someone with a new outlook on HR. It focuses on the people and treating our employees like adults i feel like HR has become stuck in a rut and Lucy is trying to bring us out of it. Cant wait to try some of her ideas in my own business.'

'It gives you a lot of food for thought around all the main HR issues. The approach is very fresh and very realistic the same time.

I would definitely recommend this book to every HR professional or Business thinking professional.' Yiannisola


'A really accessible book with loads of food for thought. Read it along with 2 colleagues & it's sparked lots of discussion between us - although it's not always possible to put everything into practice it's easy to see how small steps can make positive change. I particularly like the links with marketing & the need to think of our employees as customers throughout their time with us.' Fiona Chatham

'Well written and thought provoking - a must for anyone in HR or surrounds. Lucy Adams tells it as it is and speaks from her heart. Not only does she hit the nail on the head but also has a way forward to the known dilemmas. A refreshing approach to old paradoxes of the function. Her book is the beginning of a new era!' Gert A

'Great book.' Mr C J Nelson

'As an employee engagement enthusiast, volunteer for Engage for Success, and Positive Psychology Masters student, imagine my weariness at working with organisations that don’t quite ‘get it’ about engagement - it’s just treating people as human beings after all - and my relief, delight, and surprise when I read this book. At last! A totally relatable book, easy and concise to read, drawing together what it means to be an employee and how treating ‘them’ as humans can make a huge difference to the experience of being an employee, and in so doing, to the positive improvement of the efficiency and performance of the team or even company. You can dip in and out of this book, and yet I found everything I read somehow sticks in my head and I can remember it easily when I need to. We aren’t talking complex theories here! Just a powerful summary of the practical tips and concepts you can pick up and use straight away to start getting the best out of your people. Not as some sort of value-for-money transactional process, but as an inspired piece of leading humans in a way they love to be treated and led. Go for it!!' K Brassington

'Well written and thought provoking - a must for anyone in HR or surrounds. Lucy Adams tells it as it is and speaks from her heart. Not only does she hit the nail on the head but also has a way forward to the known dilemmas. A refreshing approach to old paradoxes of the function. Her book is the beginning of a new era!'

"Lucy Adams comes to this with a wealth of experience, and she offers a fresh perspective and tangible solutions--well worth reading!"

"Fantastic book! As an HR Professional early in my career this is so eye opening! I highly recommend it for any HR practitioner!"

"From my experience Lucy Adams is an inspirational leader in real life and her book is the next best thing to unlocking traditional thinking about what HR is and how it drives culture and success in the workplace. Lucy is always ready to challenge conventional thinking and for anyone interested in how the right people strategy can fundamentally define an organization this book is essential reading."