HR Business Partner roles come in all shapes and sizes, just like the people who fill them. Sometimes, the HRBP is a senior HR leader. Other times, the HRBP is an HR Generalist with a couple years of experience. Either way, the title is reflective of the evolving face of HR and the efforts to break away from the past in order to better serve the organizations of the future.
The following is the Constable HR vision of an HR Business Partner and it's what our Clients see reflected in our work.
- Be an even-handed Employee advocate: Look out for Employees and stand up for them when necessary and appropriate. Employees may spend most of their waking hours at work, but they are also spouses, parents, friends, siblings, homeowners, volunteers and little league coaches. If someone unexpectedly blows up in a meeting, the cause probably isn't a personality flaw that no one has seen before. Asking about what else is going on could give the opportunity to coach the Employee through a tougher issue or to help him or her recover from a public misstep.
- Unfortunately, HRBPs may also have to be the ones who deliver difficult feedback or some sort of disciplinary action, but those conversations are also times to help the Employee learn and to ensure that he or she is being treated fairly and consistently with other similar situations.
- Understand the business: Be able to discuss products, the organization's culture, target markets, key Customers, and competitors. When HRBPs understand the business, they can also more effectively develop HR initiatives, processes and programs that make sense and anticipate future needs.
- Payroll is usually one of the largest expenses on the balance sheet and that often falls squarely in HR. Headcount projections, training costs, and turnover all hit the bottom line too. HRBPs need to understand that relationship and their role in it. This helps with all kinds of activities, including building the business case for that new, desperately needed HRIS and knowing when to propose it.
- Hold the confidence of the organization and its people: When Employees have something difficult to discuss, they want to know that they can talk to someone who isn't going to share that information with the rest of the organization. The same goes for other leaders when big organizational changes are being planned, such as a new succession planning system or opening a new location.
- Know your stuff and admit when you don't: As in every other profession, HRBPs need to stay up-to-date in their field - new legislation, trends in areas like recruiting and development, and other events that impact how HR needs to approach their work. It's never a good idea to guess your way through an Employee Relations question.
- HRBPs can actually gain credibility by confessing that they need to do some research before giving a confident answer, and then following-through with that information in a timely manner.
- Model the behavior you want to see in the organization: It isn't enough to just enforce the policies and hold people accountable. HRBPs also need to embody the desired organizational culture, especially when it's most difficult. This doesn't mean disingenuously toeing the company line. It means staying calm and reasonable when a situation gets out of hand. It means showing others how to drive a conversation forward while respecting all viewpoints. It also means using those skills from the training programs - conflict resolution, effective presentations, creating an inclusive workplace, and so many more.
Fair or not, earned or not, HR sometimes has a image problem that creates obstacles to doing the best work. The good news is that as a profession, HR has been evolving and continues to evolve to be the true Business Partners we are capable of being. In fact, many organizations have achieved this new image of HR and are reaping the rewards. Gone are the days of personnel transactions that exist in a bubble of compliance.
Human Resources Professionals are ready, willing, and able to do the work, and many are already doing the work, that becomes a competitive advantage for their organizations.