HR can break through to the table where decisions are made. Research by Gartner revealed that ‘70% of CHRO’s expect their HR Business Partners to be strategic partners to business’, while ‘only 18% of HRBPs recognise room to grow as strategic partners.’
Clearly, some HR leaders need to give more support to their HRBPs.
I have two questions.
First, what is the actual level of the HRBP and their scope to operate at the strategic level? We see a huge range – from HR Adviser with a new job title but whose work is still largely transactional, through to HRBPs who operate at the top level in business divisions and report to a global HRD.
Second, how clear are we about what ‘being strategic’ involves? Credibility and influence, the intellectual capability to understand how the business works and what drives success, mixed in with curiosity, empathy, challenge and resilience to name a few.
Our research has shown that the key is confidence. It isn’t so much about level, it’s about getting stuck into conversations about the realities of your organisation and how you can help.HRBPs can develop these at any level. It’s about attitude. As Henry Ford said, ‘whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.’
How does confidence affect you?
