Coming soon · Book Profile
Investing in People Financial Impact of Human Resource Initiatives (2nd Edition)
A decision-science approach to human resource measurement that shows leaders how to estimate the financial impact of HR initiatives and make better, evidence-based investments in talent.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Investing in People reframes human resource measurement from an exercise in cost accounting into a rigorous decision science on par with finance and marketing. Drawing on decades of research in psychology, economics, accounting, and finance, Cascio and Boudreau provide logical frameworks, analytical tools, and concrete formulas for valuing investments in absenteeism reduction, employee retention, health and wellness, employee attitudes and engagement, work-life programs, staffing and selection, job performance, and training and development. The book's organizing principle is the LAMP framework (Logic, Analytics, Measures, Process) and the talentship decision science of efficiency, effectiveness, and impact. Rather than spreading investments evenly across the workforce in a 'peanut-butter' fashion, the authors show readers how to identify pivotal talent pools where improvements in quality, quantity, and cost create the biggest strategic difference. With worked examples, software references, and guidance on communicating results to skeptical decision makers, the book equips HR and non-HR leaders alike to make smarter, more strategic decisions about people.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- An HR leader, executive, or consultant who wants to demonstrate the financial value of investments in people and make smarter, more strategic talent decisions.
- The problem
- HR programs and talent decisions are evaluated with limited measures or faulty logic, leaving leaders unable to show their financial impact. The reader feels skeptical scrutiny from operating executives and frustrated that 'soft' HR issues are dismissed as unmeasurable.
- The plan
- Adopt a decision-science mindset (talentship: efficiency, effectiveness, impact) toward HR measurement.
- Apply the LAMP framework—get the Logic, Analytics, Measures, and Process right—for each talent domain.
- Use the provided formulas and software to estimate costs and benefits of absence, turnover, health, attitudes, work-life, staffing, performance, and training.
- Identify pivotal talent pools where investments create the biggest strategic difference.
- Adjust estimates for economic factors and risk, then communicate results in language decision makers already use.
- The payoff
- Talent investments are targeted where they matter most and justified with evidence rather than belief. · HR earns credibility and a strategic seat at the table by speaking the language of finance and the business. · The organization builds sustainable competitive advantage through better, evidence-based decisions about people.
See our guide
- Compensation Analyst →
- Compensation Analyst →
- Compensation Analyst →
- Compensation Analyst →
- Do Human Resources And People Management Well →
- HR Business Partner →
- HR Business Partner →
- HR Business Partner →
- HR Business Partner →
- HR Director →
- HR Director →
- HR Director →
- HR Generalist →
- HR Generalist →
- HR Generalist →
- Learning & Development Specialist →
- Learning & Development Specialist →
- Learning & Development Specialist →
- Learning & Development Specialist →
- Study People And Organizations With Scientific Rigor →
- Build A People Analytics Practice →
- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
Related profiles we’ve built
Additional reading
- Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock Potential in Yourself and Your Organization · Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
This is the authors' previous book, which provides a deep dive into the ITC framework that is presented as a key tool in Chapter 6 and used by the fledgling DDOs in Chapter 7.
- In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life · Robert Kegan
This book lays out the foundational theory of adult development and mental complexity that underpins the entire DDO concept, explaining the 'adaptive gap' that DDOs are designed to address.
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success · Carol Dweck
The book explicitly references Dweck's work, contrasting the 'fixed mindset' (prevalent in ordinary organizations) with the 'growth mindset' that is fundamental to a DDO's culture.
- Organizational Culture and Leadership · Edgar H. Schein
Mentioned in the book, Schein's work provides a foundational understanding of organizational culture, which is the primary medium through which DDOs operate.
- The Functions of the Executive · Chester Barnard (1938)
Chapter 10 identifies this book as providing the seminal concept of 'willingness to contribute to the cooperative system,' which forms the theoretical foundation for the modern construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB).
- The Psychology of Careers · Donald E. Super (1957)
Chapter 3 cites this as a foundational work that established the concept of career stages, a model that has profoundly influenced career development theory and research for decades.
- Decision-making in the employment interview · E. C. Webster (1964)
Chapter 6 highlights this as the key report from the influential McGill University studies, which revealed the cognitive biases inherent in unstructured interviews and shifted the focus of research toward understanding the interviewer's decision process.
- Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures · Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Multiple chapters (e.g., 13, 15) refer to this document and the related AERA/APA/NCME 'Standards' as the authoritative professional guidelines that define best practices and core concepts, like the modern unitarian view of validity, for the entire field of personnel selection.
- Managing Human Assets · Beer, M. et al. (1984)
This is a seminal book that introduced the 'Harvard framework' of HRM, emphasizing a multi-stakeholder approach that considers the interests of employees, not just shareholders. It provides a foundational 'soft' HRM perspective.
- Strategic Human Resource Management · Fombrun, C. J., Tichy, N. M. and Devanna, M. A. (1984)
This book introduced the 'Michigan framework,' which advocated for a 'hard' HRM approach focused on tightly matching HR strategy to the business strategy (vertical fit). It is a foundational text for the strategic alignment concept.