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 HR Business Partner Skills 

According to recent research from organisations across Asia Pacific*, HR has a way to go before it establishes itself as a function that adds real business value and is at the heart of business transformation.

And yet now more than ever, business success comes from HR {Ulrich, 2005}

Effective HR Business partnering is about a new mindset and new skills rather than just a model. Building on a consultative approach to other managers and the organisation, they think strategically and draw on their credibility to influence at a senior level.  With insights from Roffey Park’s 2009 and 2010 research, this programme will help you to develop the skills and behaviour necessary for your HR role to contribute even more to the success of your organisation.

This programme combines an in depth grasp of HR business partnering, with the skills of internal consultancy, to ensure you gain all the essentials for being an effective Business Partner.

What you’ll gain from the programme

As well as benefiting from Roffey Park’s unparalleled expertise in business partnering, you will gain from the shared learning of other HR professionals from different sectors. You’ll come away with:

  • An understanding of the Business Partner model, and an appreciation of what that means for your own organisation
  • Confidence and credibility in successful partnering
  • Increased commercial awareness
  • The ability to initiate and implement a HR strategy
  • Capacity to influence at senior level
  • Develop a network of Business Partners from different organisations

“The programme gave me a clear understanding of the role of a HR business partner and the gap between my role and the desired end position.  The programme was dynamic and flexible to meet the needs of the group.” 

Les Agnew, HR Business Partner, Sellafield Ltd


Business Benefits

“HR leaders are business leaders” and can “change the economics of a business” (Holbeche 2010).  In all sectors, today as never before, HR has the opportunity to add measurable financial value.  As Business Partners, all this goes along with enabling managers to manage, delivering flawless transactional services, being transactional services, being agents of change, and not neglecting what Ulrich called the “employee champion” role. Tall order?  It’s what HR is doing to enable organisations to flourish.


Programme content

Day 1 : HR Partnering with the business

  • The Business Partnering approach plus the competencies and attributes necessary for success
  • Making HR strategy work for your part of the organisation
  • Enhancing the HR value proposition for your organisation
  • Enhanced commercial awareness

Day 2 : Core consultancy skills

  • The Consultancy Cycle – behaviours, tools and skills for every phase from contracting to disengagement
  • Roles consultants play – developing effective client/consultant relationships
  • Effective influencing – being influential without line authority
  • Building personal credibility and impact
  • Understanding and working with organisational politics

Day 3 : Practical skills

  • Application of the skills and knowledge gained through a case study, using professional actors

Day 4 : Embedding your learning (post programme)

This will take place on a date agreed by the course participants, approximately 3 months after the 3 days programme.  It provides the opportunity to benefit from the support and challenge of fellow participants on the actions you’ve taken following the programme, as well as to adding to your learning, and practicing the facilitation and feedback skills you’ve gained.  Subject to participants’ requirements, the day can either be held face to face or through web conference.

“I’ve learnt a great deal around influencing and collaboration which will be of huge benefit in my day to day role.”

Cath de Beer, Nando’s Chickenland

Who should attend?

You are a HR practitioner at middle to senior level with a range of operational experience, with either a generalist or specialist background.  You are in or about to begin a Business Partnership role and recognise the need to develop the skills to support the organisation’s wider aims and objectives.  The demands of your role are changing from operational and maintenance of service provision to one of influencing the direction of the business and working in closer partnership with key decision makers.
 

Programme Director

 

Alex Swarbrick, MPhil (Econ), BSc, FCIPD 
Senior Consultant 

 

 

 

 

*What the Line Really wants from HR – Hewitt Associates, 2007