My decades of working in HR and observation of many HR departments led me to conclude that:

it means something different to every organisation; HR’s current activities are extremely broad in scope and many HR departments are engaged on doing things that add little or no value in real terms.

Everyone has an opinion on HR and HR people, but those opinions aren't always fully accurate. In this book I've attempted to define what I call ‘the true mission of HR’, distilling from the tangle of activities that comprise it at present and aligning it instead more closely with the business and its aims.

I have quoted extensively from sources where I agree with their way of looking at things and dealing with them.

If I can help some HR colleagues whack through the weeds that are choking the garden of our profession, then mission accomplished.

If I appear at times over-critical of the function, this is not intentional, but we really need face up to things as they are, or we’ll never change them for the better!