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Podcast Episode 4: Evidence-Based HR with Rob Briner

6th June 2019

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3 min read

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Stop jumping straight to solutions. We should always start with the problem.

In this episode of The HR Uprising Podcast, enhanced by the sound effects of Tower Bridge (!) Lucinda talks to Prof. Rob Briner, a world-leading expert on evidence-based management. He explains how the evidence-based approach can help HR professionals make more informed decisions about the route of organisational problems and selecting more appropriate solutions. The key mistake that many of us make is not spending enough time first, trying to understand what the problem is.

They go on to discuss various different topics including how HR could be more scientific in their approach, how to measure engagement and what the most effective evidence-practice might be. Discover more when you tune in.

Key Takeaways

There are different ways and sources of evidence, you can use a structured approach, and you can take a different attitude, find out how.
The evidence-based approach must start by identifying the problem.
How can HR & OD learn to be more scientific in their approach:
- Start with the problem itself.
- If you’re looking for resources for scientific evidence, some institutions make databases available to their members for free. It can be challenging to judge the quality. Look for systematic reviews.
  - Meta-analysis – quantitative; pulls the result from similar studies
How can academia and business work better together to improve evidence-based focus
The value of engagement surveys depends on the purpose
Lucinda asks Rob about his view on the Worst HR Fad and Which activities are most evidence-based, tune in to hear his response.

Best Moments

“Everybody uses evidence.”
“Just because someone thinks people don’t have the right skillsl, it doesn’t mean they do, or they don’t.”
“Let’s find out what the problem is first.”
“In the end, you have to show those things you’re measuring are actually important.”
“If you don’t feel stuck, you’re not doing it.”

Valuable Resources

https://www.cebma.org/wp-content/uploads/Briner-Barends-The-Role-of-Scientific-Findings-in-Evidence-Based-HR.pdf
CIPD
http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/five-things-hr-should-start-doing
http://scienceforwork.com/blog/rob-briner-cebma/ – Science for Work about evidence-based practice

You can access additional free HR Resources via the Actus Software website link below. Lucinda Carney is the founder and CEO of Actus Software: https://actus.co.uk/free-performance-management-resources/

View The Full Transcript

About The Guest

Prof. Rob Briner is Professor of Organizational Psychology in the School of Business and Management. His interests involve reciprocal relationships between work conditions, psychological wellbeing and behaviours. He was also a founding member, Vice-Chair and now Scientific Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa). And recently, he was awarded the ‘Most Influential HR Thinker’ by the British HR Magazine.

Twitter @Rob_Briner

About The Host

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“When we look up, we rise up but when it comes to being evidence based this may well be about looking down and all around too!”