1. HR Business Partner:
All You Need To Know About the Role
The HR Business Partner is a strategic liaison between HR and the business.
These senior HR professionals have a deep understanding of the business and
ensure that HR helps the business make an impact.
The HR Business Partner function is constantly evolving, driven by emerging
trends in the world of work and changes in the job market. The changing role
of HRBP reflects the shift towards strategic HR management, data-driven
decision-making, employee experience, talent management, and effective
collaboration. Hence, HRBPs must learn and develop different skills to meet
demands and help organizations succeed.
In this article, we will discuss the HRPB role and its evolution, what makes a
good business partner, and how HR Business Partners can maximize their
contribution to the business.
2. What is an HR Business Partner?
The HR Business Partner (HRBP) plays a vital role in connecting Human Resources with the business side of a
company to achieve its goals. They are responsible for adding value to the organization and helping the
business make decisions, especially during times of change. They primarily work with managers to ensure
that HR activities align with their needs.
Line managers understand the company well, so HRBP works closely with them to set priorities and make a
significant impact. Human Resources Business Partners are usually found in larger companies and may
oversee many employees. Generally, the more employees they oversee, the more critical and strategic their
role is.
HRBPs have different responsibilities in a company. Gartner identified four roles that show how versatile
they are:
• Operations Manager – Measures and monitors existing policies and procedures
• Emergency Responder – Provides immediate fixes to acute emergencies
• Strategic Partner – Develops and implements enterprise-wide strategies to address big challenges
• Employee Mediator – Finds solutions to individual employee issues
3. The HR business partner as a role
There is a common misunderstanding between the HR Business Partner as a role and as a function.
So far, we’ve talked about the HRBP as a job function. This is the person with the job function title
Human Resource Business Partner, who is the strategic liaison between HR and the business.
However, while not everyone in HR is a business partner, everyone in HR should be ‘business
partnering.’ It means that every HR professional should deeply understand the business and try to
shape HR policies in a way that helps enable the company.
For example, a learning & development specialist deeply understands how people learn and can
change their behaviors. Undoubtedly, they would be dysfunctional if they did not understand the
business that they were in. When they know the company, they make better choices, are better at
aligning L&D practices with what the industry is looking for, and will make more impact.
While in this article we focus mainly on the HRBP as a job function, learning about the HRBP’s
strategic responsibilities and essential competencies is useful for any HR professional who aims to
‘business partner’ and is determined to help their business attain its targets.
