International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 2016, Vol 1 No 2: 5-6
doi: 10.22324/ijhrdppr.1.112

Editorial

I’d like to cover three points in this editorial. Firstly, welcome to this, the second issue, of the new Journal. A glance through the contents page reveals its international credentials and I am delighted to welcome contributors from Australia, the USA, Ireland, the UAE, Greece, Poland and the UK. The themes are wide ranging, spanning research, practice and policy. The Editorial Board, together with a growing network of reviewers, have been keen to encourage contributors, whatever the type of article, to address implications for practice; the classic ‘so what’ question. This is still work in progress but I believe we are moving in the right direction. Catherine Lombardozzi addresses self-directed learning; Caitriona Hughes and Corina Sheerin report on their work looking at mentoring for females working in investment banking and Ruth Leggett and Joanne James explore the benefits of coach development … for the coach. Each offers a pertinent contribution on such key HRD practices. Steven Hodge, Erica Smith and Llandis Barratt-Pugh report on their search for a model of Learning & Development practice arising out of their work with the Australian Institute of Training & Development, whilst Alaa Garad contributes the first of a two-part article linking Investors in People with Business Excellence and its application to organisations in the United Arab Emirates. The financial crash of 2008 still seems to occupy many a newspaper column and hence Fotios Mitsakis and Eleni Aravapoulou’s research on its impact on HRD in two Greek banks offers an important insight. I note also our new HRD Forum section. This includes an interview with David Fairhurst, Chief People Officer for McDonald’s; one of the best known global organizations. I hope this is the first of many such contributions to the journal, giving real voice and legitimacy to the realities of HRD practice. It is followed by Paul Turner and Wojciech Zytkowiak raising some timely questions about one of the current ‘hot topics’ in HRD — HRD Analytics.

The Journal’s progress over the course of the year began with successful launches at both the IFTDO Conference in March and the UFHRD Conference in June and generated considerable interest in the Journal. Some of this initial interest has been translated into contributions to the Journal and hopefully there are more to come from both these sources. With Issue 2 now published we have met our initial target for year 1 and feel there is a momentum slowly building. Whilst an over generalisation it is probably the case that the IFTDO Conference is more practitioner oriented and the UFHRD more research oriented. The challenge remains one of encouraging HRD practitioners and policy makers to contribute to the Journal; HRD professionals who are engaged in interesting initiatives in their organisations (and nations) and which deserve a wider audience. I know that there is a lot going on — one only has to look at the level and range of contributions to IFTDOs global awards (see also page 111 and www http://www.iftdo.net/global-hrd-awards)as testimony here. But to gain the engagement of practitioners to write a reflective account of practice remains a ‘tough nut’ to be cracked. I am in no doubt this hurdle has to be addressed and welcome thoughts, ideas, outlines, proposals which can help us achieve this important goal. Two other developments of note are:

The Journal has become a member of CrossRef enabling the allocation of Digital Object Identifiers (DOI links) to each published item; an important early stage quality standard in the development of the Journal and
Gillian Lonergan, from the UK’s Co-operative Heritage Trust, and whose technical expertise in bringing Issue 1 to fruition was invaluable, has been appointed Associate Editor (Production).

My final point follows closely from the brief report above on progress through 2016. If I had a pound or a dollar for every time I’ve wondered if are we getting it right; doubting at times my own sanity in taking on the role of Editor, I would be a wealthy man. Some readers may recall my alarm following Paul Turner’s key note at the UFHRD Conference in Manchester. Paul’s research, with leading ‘Footsie’ listed organisations, has begun to question if key stakeholders in such organisations actually engage with the term “Human Resource Development”. Had we missed a trick in making “HRD” the focus of the Journal? Perhaps we should have opted for ‘people development’ or something similar? Feedback thus far, whilst somewhat thin on the ground, does not suggest so. And, importantly, it has tended to focus on content and coverage rather than choice of title! Nonetheless, the completion of Volume 1 does offer a timely opportunity to take stock as we begin to look ahead to 2017 and Volume 2. To this end I refer you to the final page in the HRD Forum Section with a request for some feedback on progress to date. We contemplated a survey type set of questions but in the end decided to leave it open. Remember the time when people used to send postcards when on holiday? Food great but weather awful! The local markets are amazing … biggest tomatoes I’ve ever seen! In other words, just tell us what you think!

Dr Rick Holden, Editor in Chief

Editorial

Editorial

Journal 1, Number 2