"Foreword The theme of this book is increasing human resource (HR) excellence through the use of Six Sigma processes and approaches, and it could not be more relevant in today's business climate. The intense competition that firms face requires them to reduce waste and to maximize their quality, efficiency, and rate of continuous improvement. Six Sigma is a well- established business process that contributes to each of these goals. Top firms like Toyota and GE have relied on Six Sigma as an important element in building their performance cultures. Although Six Sigma is not new to business, these processes have only been infrequently applied to the HR function. Cost reduction and control processes can be especially impactful in the area of people management simply because employee costs are themselves so high (the cost of labor can reach as high as 60% of all corporate variable costs). A lack of Six Sigma principles and tools in people management is also surprising because