This, the twelfth edition of the Personnel Manager’s Yearbook, includes an additional 1,000 major companies and organizations, bringing the total number of entries to 9,000. The directory has seven main sections covering, for example, company information, survey of salaries, personnel activities and costs, services and statistical information. The foreword by Mary Chapman, chief executive, Investors in People UK, is both informative and interesting. The section on major UK companies and organizations contains information on practically all the large companies and organizations in the UK with more than 125 employees. The minimum information for all entries consists of company name, address, telephone number and the name of the chief executive. The majority of the entries are compiled from information supplied by the companies listed and in some cases extra data have been received from other sources. The information is clearly displayed, easy to locate, with the company or organization in bold type. The directory has developed the section on suppliers and services to include a section on remuneration and benefits consultants. It also has introduced a books section, listing leading publications in the field of human resources.
The directory provides the personnel and training profession with a “network” of opportunities between colleagues working in similar fields and across all types of industry. It includes 25,000 named personnel contacts as well as as 6,000 suppliers of services for recruitment consultants and training professionals.
The statistical information section includes two important surveys of pay and conditions across the personnel sector, while stating that salary administration “is an art not a science”; it is a useful guide. The APAC survey gives an insight into personnel activites and costs. Clearly written and well displayed, it is supported by the use of graphs. The “Advisers and Suppliers of Services” has 21 sections which include recruitment consultants and agencies; training; catering legal services and corporate child care.
Overall, the reviewer considers the directory would be suitable for business and commerical libraries generally and a key tool to those involved in the field of human resource and training.
