So, October is almost done. And it looks like the quality of contents on the blogs I follow just keeps getting more interesting with time! So, here are a few posts that I recommend as Essential Reading:

• A good, though-provoking discussion is happening at the Inflexion Point blog. The post mulls about the future of HR and whether “doing nothing” is an option for HR.

• We have all heard about HR needing to develop strong business orientation. Prasad Kurian from Bangalore (my favorite city) writes an interesting piece titled “Paradox of Business Orientation of HR.”

• Cathy Missildine-Martin discusses Change Management and wonders if it should really be called Strategy Implementation.  I tend to agree with her.

• Finally, SystematicHR is one of the blogs that I really like a lot. It carries a a guest post titled “Normative Data for Employee Surveys – Worth the Spend?” The post highlights a number of points why benchmarking may not be effective when it comes to employee survey data. I do not agree in entirety with all the points, but it makes for an interesting read. I feel that though benchmarking may not be the “holy grail” to get all the answers, it does serve a purpose by putting data into perspective and helping in target-setting.