Abstract

It is notable that while numerous professional competencies are expected for HRD, including the likes of instruction design, learning technologies, and coaching (see Arneson, Rothwell, & Naughton, 2013), HRD professionals seldom display, collect or assess evidence of such competence. No surprise that Russ-Eft et al., (2014: 7) recently called out ‘HRD ability’ as a HRD deficiency, noting ‘accountability and evaluation continue to be of concern’. In this editorial we make the case for evidence-based HRD (EBHRD) as a means for HRD practitioners to demonstrate their professional competencies and enhance stakeholder support. Evidence-based HRD (EBHRD) is a process of decision making which is grounded in the best available scientific evidence and business information and informed by critical thinking and evaluation (Rousseau & Barends, 2011). With this focus our arguments align with those of the HR professional body, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD): ‘future people professionals will need to have the competency and desire to explore different sources of information to inform their decisions, and to help evidence decisions for key stakeholders’ (2017: 32). The essence of our argument is that engaging with EBHRD helps HRD practitioners enhance their credibility, trustworthiness and professionalism in the eyes of key stakeholders.