20 HR Books You Should Read in 2024

HR is a dynamic field that combines principles from several disciplines for its practice. There’s always something new to discover and explore in HR, sometimes to the point of being overwhelming.

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way. For one, you can use HR books to acquire highly advanced information on specific parts of the field.

But which book should you read if you want to enrich your knowledge of your industry? In this article, we will talk about the best HR books of all time for improving your HR knowledge.

The Top 20 HR Books in 2024

1. The HR Answer Book: An Indispensable Guide for Managers by Shawn Smith and Rebecca Mazin

The HR Answer Book is the ultimate all-around manual for HR managers. 

This book answers the most common questions that one might have about HR practice in a detailed yet practical manner. You can read it cover-to-cover for general knowledge, but it’s also written as a reference book that you can consult again and again when you encounter a similar problem.

Since a big part of HR involves sensitive topics, this book also gives balanced advice regarding difficult issues, such as workplace sexual harassment and more.

However, keep in mind that this book was made mainly for US readers. While the principles and approaches mentioned are universal, the legalities may not apply to a UK audience.

2. Bring Your Human to Work by Erica Keswin

The title alone of Bring Your Human to Work is a clever play on its central idea: that we should bring our ‘humanity’ to our workplace.

Oftentimes, the office is seen as a place where numbers reign – nothing’s more important than the number of hours logged, how well your KPIs measure, and other related stats.

However, Bring Your Human to Work argues that we should not forget the human side of things, urging managers to take a more humanistic approach to HR. Some examples include forming genuine relationships and creating a better environment through multiple “human” techniques and strategies.

The book also explores many examples and case studies so that even beginner HR professionals will get a clear picture of each point being made.

3. Work Rules! Insights from Inside Google by Laszlo Bock

Often praised as a revolutionary book for the field of HR, Work Rules! is a summary of the expertise of Laszlo Bock, the head of People Operations at Google and the pioneer of many successful Google initiatives.

The book presents scientifically-backed concepts and strategies for improving the way that your human resources operate.

From employee motivation to hiring and recruitment, you will surely gain plenty of insights into how a billion-dollar company operates.

That said, if you’re not a fan of Google as a company, you may notice the not-so-subtle fanaticism – Bock obviously sees Google as the ideal company and isn’t shy about letting readers know.

4. The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth by Amy C. Edmondson

This book focuses on creating a natural, psychologically healthy environment for your employees to thrive.

Amy Edmonson argues that modern organisations need to be modified along a different route: psychology.

A healthy workplace is where employees are not suppressed in the name of “rules” or “fitting in.” Instead, employees are encouraged to be their best selves in a psychologically safe environment.

This book examines the argument for psychological safety in the workplace and then delves into how to bring this concept to life with several strategies. The end result is empowered, motivated, and highly creative employees that succeed regardless of the field they’re in.

5. Belonging at Work: Everyday Actions You Can Take to Cultivate an Inclusive Organization by Rhodes Perry

Diversity and inclusion are two of the most important focuses of HR in today’s job markets.

Rhodes Perry argues that the root of all productivity and creativity in the office is a strong sense of belonging. People won’t perform unless they feel part of something great and are valued as an individual.

Thus, this book outlines actionable advice on how you can craft an inclusive company from the ground up.

6. HR on Purpose: Developing Deliberate People Passion by Steve Browne

The author of HR on Purpose is someone who has already walked the talk – 30 years’ worth of it, in fact.

Steve Browne’s central idea in this book is that HR is about people. HR can be a difficult job, he says, since most people will view HR professionals in a bad light whether they’re high or low on the ladder.

And yet, this book convinces you to do good work anyway. You can do that by focusing on how you view and treat the people you work with on a day-to-day basis instead of how they treat you.

Steve Browne’s over-the-top enthusiasm and positivity radiate from his narrative, which might not suit some readers who prefer a more serious approach to the topic. Nevertheless, HR on Purpose remains an excellent read for any HR professional.

7. Talent Makers: How the Best Organizations Win Through Structured and Inclusive Hiring by Daniel Chait

Daniel Chait makes the case that well-designed and structured hiring is the best way to acquire the best people for your company.

This book is a blueprint that you can adapt to your own company’s needs, and each chapter contains actionable advice. The comprehensive and experience-backed hiring framework sets you up to compete for the best talent, build winning teams, and diversify your organisation.

If you want to focus on your talent acquisition game, then Talent Makers is the best HR read for you.

8. The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, Is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Data centricity is a concept that is being steadily adopted by organisations around the world. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic contends that these principles should be applied to HR.

In The Talent Delusion, he argues that even the largest companies worldwide rely on their hiring manager’s intuitions to make their hires – a method that is rendered obsolete by modern technology.

This book will teach you how to fill the gap between data-centric principles and real-life issues, with a core focus on HR problem-solving using hard data.

9. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Daniel Kahneman’s well-loved classic is a best-seller for one main reason: its groundbreaking attempt to categorise and scientifically explain the various shortcuts in the human brain.

If you want to be a good HR decision-maker, then you should be able to make judgments clear of any bias or logical errors. However, these fallacies pervade our everyday lives, and it’s up to the attentive HR manager to recognise when it creeps into their practice.

Reading Daniel Kahneman’s in-depth volume of the way the mind works is the key to understanding unconscious errors so that we don’t let them get in the way of our decisions.

10. Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together, and Others Don't by Simon Sinek

Often touted as one of the best leadership books in the modern era, this book on how organisations should lead with a higher goal in mind is a classic read for anyone aspiring to be a leader.

In Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek, who also wrote the best-selling book Start With Why, reiterates the need for companies with an environment conducive to growth. He says that leadership is a way of life, not an occupation, and provides different strategies for developing one’s skills as a leader.

With all its nuggets of wisdom, Leaders Eat Last is an interesting read about what leadership truly is and how you can develop it within yourself.

11. Just Work: Get Sh*t Done, Fast & Fair by Kim Scott

Just Work makes the central argument that organisations are constantly underutilising important groups of people and overvaluing others. Not only is this practice unjust, but it also negatively affects business.

This book is Kim Scott’s solution to make your workplace more equitable and more productive than ever.

In this book, she details personal experiences during her own career that led to various insights – one of which is that a workplace should not judge anyone’s beliefs.

If you’re interested in implementing practical DEI strategies, Just Work might be the right HR book for you.

12. Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall

Ashley Goodall and Marcus Buckingham’s book is a controversial counter of some of the most common management beliefs.

The nine “lies” refer to different aspects of company culture, goal-setting, planning, employee strength, performance ratings, potential, work-life balance, and leadership definition.

If you want to expand your perspective and see the current gaps in our solutions for common organisational problems, Nine Lies About Work is certainly a book to consider.

13. Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott

From the author of Just Work comes Radical Candor, a book that talks about the optimal attitude of a good manager.

Radical Candor puts managers on a spectrum between overly aggressive and too empathetic. According to the book, being on either extreme of the spectrum is detrimental for anyone involved. Instead, it advocates finding the sweet spot between the two types of leadership.

14. The Practical Guide to HR Analytics: Using Data to Inform, Transform, and Empower HR Decisions by Rachael Johnson-Murray

Data analytics is still not at the core of many industries, but according to the authors of the book The Practical Guide to HR Analytics, it should be.

In that sense, this book delivers practical guidance about everything you need to know when using analytics for HR.

Despite reading like a textbook, it does offer a comprehensive process on how HR offices can use data analytics to solve everyday issues.

15. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

In studying the industry, we shouldn’t neglect the fact that mutual respect and work relationships are at the core of what makes HR work.

For this topic, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is a seminal book exploring the area of human interaction and relationships. It offers timeless advice on interacting with other people, especially in a formal corporate setting.

16. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

This is a book specifically addressing the challenges of working as a woman and a parent.

It argues that women have the capacity not just for highly-productive work, but also for leadership and high-level decisions – even while faced with the considerable burdens of parenthood.

This book has generated plenty of intrigues, but it’s a call to action for more women to become leaders and decision-makers.

17. Fully Staffed: The Definitive Guide to Finding & Keeping Great Employees by Eric Chester

Fully Staffed talks about every part of recruitment, including enhancing your employer brand, job advertising, and refining your process to attract highly motivated individuals who will stick with you for a long time.

If you want research-backed insights on optimising your system and creating a more efficient and effective recruitment process, then Fully Staffed is for you.

18. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins

Good to Great is a fascinating deep dive into successful companies and the things they do that make them successful.

Jim Collins and his research team have reportedly conducted tons of data-gathering to prepare for this book, and it shows with the details they reveal on every page.

If you want to know more about successful companies and their HR processes, this book is a great start.

19. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit is a powerful book on how habits shape lives, not just of individuals but also of organisations.

Since HR decision-makers are tasked with shaping a healthy and productive culture for their company, it pays to learn about the vast role that habits play in the health of the collective mind. The book is also presented with applicable anecdotes, which helps make the lessons stick even better.

20. The Big Book of HR by Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem

The Big Book of HR is one of the best resources for people who want to enhance their knowledge about the HR industry.

It provides a comprehensive overview of both major and minor topics in HR. Recruitment, compensation and benefits, employee development, and more are not just merely discussed – they’re also linked to real-world case studies. It even includes links to resources for additional reading and ends with discussion questions for better recall.

If you’re looking to improve your higher-level HR knowledge, The Big Book of HR won’t let you down.

Reading the Best HR Books in 2024

In the highly dynamic world of modern-day HR, it’s critical to continuously add and refine what we know about our industry.

Reading books is a part of that. Whether you’re reading books exclusively about HR and management or books about psychology and social interaction, all of this valuable information can help you grow and become better, not just as an HR professional, but also as a person in general.