4 Evaluating SHRM: why bother and does it really happen in practice?* With Denise Skinner

1. 4 Evaluating SHRM: why bother and does it really happen in practice?* With Denise Skinner Learning Outcomes By the end of this chapter you should be able to: explain the importance and contribution of evaluation to strategic human resource management; identify the range of different purposes an evaluation can serve; assess the barriers to evaluation and their causes; identify the various stakeholders in any evaluation and their need both to contribute and to receive feedback; assess the choices to be made in respect of the evaluation process and make suitably informed decisions; outline a range of strategies and data collection techniques involving both primary and secondary data, which may be used to evaluate strategic human resource management; identify the complexity of issues associated with feeding back the findings of evaluations. * This chapter was co-authored with Denise Skinner

2. Figure 4.1Mapping the evaluating SHRM territory: a summary diagram of the chapter content

3. Figure 4.2The purpose and focus of different evaluation approaches Source: Adapted from Thornhill et al. (2000)

4. Figure 4.3 A typical evaluation Source: Adapted from Thornhill et al. (2000)

5. Figure 4.4 The action research spiral Source: Saunders et al. (2007). Reproduced with permission

6. Figure 1 Halcrow Group Limited structure Source: Halcrow (2004a)