Do they have the capability? 'Higher-level skills and capabilities are very important for the HR business partner,' says expert
The role of the HR Business Partner (HRBP) has evolved through the years, and there are definite advantages to the role, according to a new report.
Organizations that employ HRBPs in high-level, strategic, “problem-oriented” roles are “twice as likely to exceed financial targets, 12 times more likely to accomplish high levels of workforce productivity, and seven times more likely to adapt well to change.”
However, there are several challenges standing in the way, including gaining respect from other leaders and embracing data analysis, according to the Josh Bersin Company report, based on over 55,000 comments from HR professionals.
For one, the largest proportion of organizations (39%) are using HRBPs in more “transactional compliance” roles, occupied largely with risk avoidance and administration.
And many organizations are still stuck in legacy approaches, says the report, struggling to adopt leading practices and strategies.
- Only 24% of organizations have HRBPs partner with business leaders on solution design.
- Only 15% of companies believe their HRBPs can redesign work or organizations.
- Only 12% of companies train HRBPs on offerings and issues.
Defining the role of HRBP a key challenge
“The field of human resource management is undergoing a lot of changes, and so is the role of human resource business partner. However, the fundamental issue is correctly defining the role of human resource business partner,” says Harsh Doshi, HRBP at Toronto-based manufacturer Polytainers.
“If you go to a job site and do a quick search on the role, you'll find HR business partner roles from say $50,000 a year to $150,000 a year,” he says. “And that's where the gap is – people do not realize what the role of a human resource business partner is.”
Kathi Enderes, SVP Research at Bersin, points out that the role of the HRBP, which first evolved from the traditional HR generalist role in the 1990s, has been evolving constantly since then. It was originally designed to be a strategic, consulting role, she says, but became a more administrative one as managerial tasks were continually taken on.
It came as a result of so many people management tasks going digital, Enderes says, with most managers lacking the capacity to take those processes on.
“The thought was that they would actually work with the business, to translate the business plans into people plans and to work with the business to support them on their strategies,” she says.
“It was all really well-thought-out, and the model was actually pretty good. But what ended up happening with the HR business partner role was that because they were the interface for the managers, the leaders and the employees, they ended up getting all the leftover pieces that were too hard to do.”
HRBPs operate as business consultants
The Josh Bersin study identifies main areas for HRBPs to focus on to become stronger business consultant-type partners rather than “order takers,” Enderes says. One involves clarifying the role of the HRBP within the organization, and the relationships that are necessary to maintain that role.
Plus, it needs to be determined if HRBPs have the capability to meet the expectations of a business partner within the organization, she says.
“Do they have the capabilities to be a consultant, to use data, to use analytics, to be a coach to leaders and mentor them as well, to be very proficient in change management and organization design? Those kinds of higher-level skills and capabilities are very important for the HR business partner.”
Sara Mahabadi, assistant professor of strategy and management at the Alberta School of Business, points out that having HRBPs in such high-level, strategic roles can give an organization a crucial, competitive edge in today’s challenging economy. Conversely, companies that don’t embrace this new role of HRBP risk being left behind, she adds.
“In modern institutions or organizations, the ones that are successful are actually thinking about human resources as strategic partners,” she says. “They are invited to the table with managers, to basically plan for what the organizations want to do today and where they are going in future.”
HRBP must be proactive in learning and development
The Josh Bersin report identified that many HRBPs are struggling to embody this elevated role of integral strategic partner; out of 7,100 HR professionals who completed an online self-assessment test, most excel at lower-impact, individually focused work (such as writing job descriptions or coaching leaders) rather than the higher level, organization-wide work the role was originally designed to be.
Highest-impact responsibilities such as developing leaders, change management and organizational design were all met with challenges such as gaining respect from other leaders, difficulty cross-coaching or up-coaching, and influencing business decisions without authority.
Not only that, just keeping up with the constantly changing bigger picture of HR and employment trends means HRBPs must always be learning and developing themselves, Doshi says.
Data analytics has become an essential aspect of managing HR, and a powerful way to bring value to the table at their organizations. For data analytic to be truly effective for the HRBP, however, they need to know when and how to implement them, depending on the unique parameters of their company’s business, he says.
“Case in point, we all talk about data analytics or HR analytics and the importance of it, but how many of us in the HR fraternity know and understand Power BI or Tableau, or certain tools like that, from a user standpoint to someone who is able to create those dashboards?” Doshi says.
“It's very easy to advise someone else, or expect people to have a learning mindset or be development oriented, but are we investing in ourselves?”
