Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP): Your Guide to the Role

A human resources business partner (HRBP) is a senior HR professional who works closely with a company's leaders to develop HR policies and procedures that address business needs. Using their HR knowledge, HRBPs deliver strategic insights about a company's workforce that ideally drive organizational success.

Learn more about the HRBP role, including how it differs from an HR manager, and key skills you'll need to succeed in this career. Afterward, build your HR abilities with the HCRI Human Resource Associate Professional Certificate.

What is an HR business partner?

An HRBP is a senior strategic partner focused on optimizing a company's workforce. They often serve as a bridge between operational management and the HR department, translating business needs into people strategies and vice versa.

HRBPs typically collaborate with executives and department managers to understand their needs and develop tailored HR solutions. They might help with workforce planning, talent management, organizational development, and change management initiatives. Their role requires deep HR expertise and strong business acumen, as they need to understand how HR initiatives impact business outcomes.

HRBPs make an average annual salary of $131,371, according to Glassdoor [1]. Learn more about the factors that can affect your earning potential as an HRBP.

What does an HR business partner do?

As an HRBP, you can expect to partner closely with senior leadership to align the company's HR agenda with key business goals. Your work will largely depend on your company's needs. You might help with workforce planning, talent management, organizational development, and change management initiatives, relying on HR analytics to provide data-driven recommendations about any of these areas.

Some primary responsibilities of an HRBP include:

• Analyzing and evaluating HR metrics 

• Guiding HR policy and suggesting new strategies

• Monitoring and reporting on workforce and succession

• Identifying training needs and evaluating development programs

• Addressing employee grievances or issues with employee relations

• Building relationships with internal leaders and colleagues

• Driving organizational culture

• Developing diversity and inclusion initiatives

• Leveraging employees as brand ambassadors to help build brand equity

HR manager vs. HRBP 

The human resources business partner (HRBP) role differs from a human resources (HR) manager, though there is some overlap. An HR manager typically has a supervisory role and is usually responsible for the day-to-day oversight of HR policies and processes. These processes may include talent acquisition and development, employee productivity, discipline, payroll and benefits processing, and regulatory compliance.

The human resources business partner, on the other hand, has a more strategic role. An HRBP might be involved in coaching executives, planning strategy, and analyzing talent requirements. This individual brings broader business knowledge, including strategic management, to support HR alignment with overall organizational goals.

How to become an HRBP

An HRBP typically needs several years of experience, preferably in human resources. They also tend to have a college degree, and have acquired skills that span HR, business, and analytics. Learn more about how to become an HRBP by following the guidance below.

Earn a degree.

A bachelor's degree is often required to progress to the HRBP role. According to Zippia, 71.3 percent of HRBPs have a bachelor's degree, while 20.6 percent have a master's [2]. While it's possible to get started in HR without a degree, you may find it necessary as you seek to advance in your career.

Gain experience in HR.

An HRBP has several years of human resources experience. You can gain this by beginning as an HR specialist or generalist and progressing in your career from there. Many HRBPs spend at least a few years as an HR analyst, building their data and analysis skills, before moving into the HRBP role.

Build your knowledge of business.

Because an HRBP needs to understand business in order to address current challenges, it's useful to build your knowledge of business administration and business intelligence, while also getting comfortable using different business analysis tools.

Strengthen your skill set.

Because an HRBP is a senior role, you should have a robust skill set by the time you're ready to pursue this particular title. These skills include a range of technical and workplace abilities.

Technical HRBP skills:

• Strategic planning

• Change management

• Leadership development

• Talent management

• Employee relations

• Performance management

• Organizational design

• Data analysis

• Business acumen

• Conflict resolution

Workplace HRBP skills:

• Excellent communication

• Collaborative nature

• Inspirational leadership

• Ability to drive change

• Coaching/mentoring skills

• Active listening

• Ability to identify talent

• Exceptional networking and relationship acumen

• Ability to maintain confidentiality

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