HR Business Partnering

& Competencies
required for a Strategic HR Business Partner
Atif Rahman

HR Business partnering
Definition History Benefits HR Business partners competencies Definition Six competencies Six roles and their separate categories

HR Business Partnering
The term itself is often used as a way of describing a method of organising the HR Functions. HR Business Partners works with the business to add real strategic value by understanding the business, having insight into peoples challenges and the ability to make effective links between two. They start the process by building relationships with all the key stakeholders in the Management team and get under the skin of the Business.

CIPD defines it as:

HR Business Partner enables HR to get closer to the business, to help the organisation make the most of its people and to implement its strategy. The aim therefore is to use HR and People Management more strategically, making real contributions to Organisational Success.

HISTORY:

Human Resources Champions was published In 1997 by Mr. Dave Ulrich of University of Michigan in which it was addressed that instead of what HR did, practitioners should focus on what HR could deliver for businesses - that is focus on outcomes.
The four outcomes he thought most important for HR were: 1. Strategy Execution, 2. Administrative Efficiency, 3. Employee Contribution and 4. Capacity for Change. CURRENTLY most large Organisations have either already gone down this route or are looking at implementing it and the smaller ones are doing it to varying degrees.

BENEFITS: For Organisations: It allows resources to be focused on real business need, rather than those prioritised by HR. It enables people to provide a competitive edge for the business, focusing on their Talents and Abilities. It provides better use of the People Resources overall and takes on less of a policing role, so that the focus is on helping managers to take and implement pragmatic solutions. For HR & HR Professional: It allows HR to become proactive, rather the reactive, in relation to business needs.

It enables HR to become more influential within the business.

It enables HR Partner to become closer to business decision-makers.

HR Business Partner Competencies

The competencies may define as personal characteristic/ behaviours that differentiate superiors from average performers. The competencies required of a strategic HR Business Partner are based on a Model put forward by Ulrich and Beatty (2001) They were getting frustrated with the lack of Strategic Behaviour within HR and as a result they put forward Player Model according to which HR as a function has several roles to play within the business.

There are six Roles:

1. HR Architect 2. HR Builder

3. HR Facilitator
4. HR Coach 5. HR Conscience 6. HR Leader

1. HR Architect: Creating the blueprint, designing the systems and processes to make the best use of people. The separate categories are: Commercial architect, organisational architect and strategic architect.

2. HR Builder:
Building theses processes and systems in practice. The separate categories are: Bridge-builder, value-builder and action builder. 3. HR Facilitator: Facilitating others to build processes, systems and teams to ensure that they operate well in practice, and encouraging change. The separate categories are: Change facilitator, implementation facilitator and relationship facilitator.

1. HR Coach:
Coaching senior management in areas such as the impact of their behaviour on other and what people are really thinking. The separate categories are: Development coach and feedback coach. 2. HR Conscience: Acting as a sounding-board and conscience to senior executive in terms of the impact of their decisions. The one and only category is: business conscience. 3. HR Leader: Setting an example of how to lead a function, setting objectives, managing performance, demonstrating and publicising successes. The separate categories are: Functional leader, performance leader and transformational leader.

The End