1. What is an HR Business Partner?
The HR Business Partner model was promulgated by one Mr. David
Ulrich in 1997
(Mr. Ulrich is a university professor, author, speaker, management
coach, and management consultant. he is a professor of business at the
Ross School of Business, University of Michigan)
Mr. Ulrich sees HR business partners as part of a successful modern
HR function who work closely with an organization’s senior leaders
in order to develop an HR agenda that closely supports the overall
aims of the organization. This may involve the HR business partner
sitting on the board of directors or working closely with the board of
directors and C-suite. with experience of putting points across to
senior leaders on a regular basis.
In the HR business partner model, the human resource department
participates in strategic planning to help the business meet present and
future goals. Rather than concentrating solely on HR duties such as
benefits, payroll and employee relations, HR departments seek to add
value to the company by overseeing recruiting, training, advancement
and placement of new and current employees in conjunction with line
managers.
HRBP is essentially person-centered and because HRBPs need to
communicate the financial value and future worth of person-centered
HR policies to the company’s leadership, as well as communicate

2. high-level decisions down to other members of the HR department
and the whole organization, communication skills are very important.
HR business partnering is becoming more popular as organizations
become people-focused and see the value in aligning agendas toward
a common goal
Commentators talk of a ‘breakdown of traditional silos’ and greater
collaboration between departments HR business partners are seen as
important in this process as a progressive way to connect the HR
department to other functions – since HR business partners often have
experience in senior positions they are well-placed to communicate
effectively with other senior leaders.
The best HR business partners have:
 Self-belief in their personal ability to make a difference to the
business
 Belief in the value of the HR function
 Confidence to have a strong point of view and express it even if
it proves unpopular
 Knowledge and experience of the business and its intricacies
and an ability to communicate in business terms
 An ability to build long-term, trusting relationships with clients
and with HR colleagues
 A focus on delivering business outcomes through making best
use of the whole HR function and acting as a strong role-model
for the rest of the team

3. What Is the HR Business Partner Model?
In essence, the roles of HR professionals were redefined to meet the
competitive challenges organisations were facing then and would face
in the future. The structure advocates that where basic administrative
HR is taken care of by low-cost, shared-service centres, while a small
team of ‘business partners’ are given higher-paid jobs concentrating
on people strategies. In the middle are teams of specialists.
Benefits
The business partner model relieves pressure from management to
hone employee job skills for efficiency and productivity, as well as
identifying, developing and grooming key employees for
advancement. Human resource personnel is also responsible for
analyzing employee review data.
This allows HR personnel to recognize strengths, which they may
then further develop to place employees more effectively, and
weaknesses, which they may correct with further job skill training or
disciplinary action.
Challenges
If the HR department is already overworked with everyday employee
relation issues, there may not be adequate time and personnel to
devote to partnering with the business for additional functions.

4. The business partner model requires HR to be involved in almost
every aspect of the business, including production statistics, financial
status and sales projections.
Management buy-in may also be a challenge, as the traditional role of
human resources is extended to that of an overseer of the entire
business in the business-partner model.
Features
In theory, the HR business partner model is designed to positively
impact the business on all levels over time. By being involved in the
recruiting process, HR is able to more carefully screen and choose
individuals best suited for the jobs.
In the training and development process, HR is able to pinpoint which
employees need particular training and ensure that it is carried out.
In knowing the inner workings of the business, the strategic nature of
the HR partnership model is tasked with a corporate chess game of
employee and manager placement to achieve the most productive
outcome.
Change
The primary reason that companies consider and implement the HR
business model is change.
Whether to grow the business or to make it more competitive,
productive, efficient or to solve problems, change in the business
paradigm is often necessary.
The HR business model handles the changes and improvements
necessary by investing in what is known as "human capital."
Proponents of the model recognize that the personal success and job
satisfaction of the individual is one of the keys to business success,
and a well-run HR partner model is ideally suited to focus on both the
needs of the individual and the company.

5. Considerations
Businesses considering the HR business partner model need to
consider the specialized nature of different model aspects, and hire,
train or outsource HR specialists.
Expecting a one-person HR office to handle generalist duties on top
of recruiting, interviewing, training, reviews and strategic planning
will result in frustration and possible program failure for all involved.
The HR business partner model requires a conscious decision to
change and the hiring of a sufficient force of specialized HR talent to
see it through
The HR Business Partner: Panacea or impossible role?
Most large organizations have undergone HR transformation
following the classic Ulrich model of HR shared services; however,
practitioners who have implemented the structure often highlight
teething problems and acknowledge they have some way to go before
the role of HR Business Partner is operating as they would like within
their organization.
The Ulrich model provides a centralized HR administration and
operational function to line managers and individuals. Centers of
expertise create leading edge HR policies, advice on specific issues
and HR Business Partners providing organization development,
change management expertise and a value-adding partnership to the
business.
And just as practitioners have found teething problems, if you ask
business advisors in the field of HR transformation which

6. organization is delivering the business partner element of the model
they will often struggle to come up with examples.
Are these problems down to how organizations have implemented the
Ulrich model or, more potently, is it a flaw in the model on which
most organizations have hung their hat?
Our experience of working in the field of HR Transformation since
the heady days when the Ulrich model heralded the new era suggests
that it’s probably a bit of both. Let’s examine the facets of the issue.
Exploring the implementation issues
In terms of implementation there are a series of interrelated issues.
Perhaps the most frequently cited is the problem of line managers not
taking responsibility for day-to-day people management that enables
HR to focus on more strategic issues.
This is exacerbated by the fact that a high proportion of HR
transformation is, to a large degree, HR led even where there is a cost
reduction driver from on high. This means line managers whose
behaviors the function is seeking to change, often don’t welcome the
new way of working that results from a restructuring of the HR
function.
A very common issue arising from function-led HR change is a lack
of focus on the business outcomes that are expected from a
transformation program.
There can be too much focus on cost reduction and service
improvements – “Our ratios will be down to 1:120, we’ll be able to
recruit faster,” - rather than on driving out clarity on what the business
outcomes should and will be.
Compare this with a business-led change such as applying lean
manufacturing principles which, when done well, has a clear business
impact that provides the common goal for example errors in
manufacture to one per million, cycle times reduced from 21 to four
days

7. Very few HR transformation programs can articulate their business
impact with such clarity.
Then there’s the problem of the capabilities and behaviors of
individuals appointed into business partner roles. Very often the
organization simply doesn’t have the individuals within it that are a
good match to the demanding profile for a business partner.
Individuals who bring new insights to seasoned business managers in
terms of answers to the problems they’ve thought of and those they
haven’t, then integrate delivery of the resulting interventions within
the wider organizational context, are relatively few and far between.
Yet despite this demanding requirement HR generalists are often
required to metamorphosise into strategic players and redefine the
relationships with their customers almost overnight.
Exploring issues with the model itself
Then there is perhaps the thorniest issue – that of a flaw in the model.
There are two issues here. Firstly, the core Ulrich model does not
adequately address the components that a business partner needs
around prioritizing what needs to be delivered across the business and
ensuring there is access to key resources such as project delivery,
people information and decision support.
The second issue stems from the extent to which large-scale
technology implementations have become part and parcel of HR
transformation. There is an inherent tension between the drive for
standardization required for successful ERP and shared service center
implementation and the need for specific, tailored business solutions
that are essential for the business partner to be credible in the delivery
of specific and tangible business outcomes.
Let’s take an example. An organization has acquired a niche player
which needs to be integrated into an existing business unit. The two
cultures are at odds but rapid integration is required to gain benefit
from the acquisition. The business partner knows that new

8. management behaviors are key to this and the lever to change is the
way senior management performance assessment and pay are
structured.
There needs to be a new approach that goes outside of the company ‘s
compensation policy and administrative cycle. The business line
wants the change but senior HR colleagues will not support delivery
because the specific solution is at odds with the philosophy of
standardization.
How can organizations keen to buck the trend establish effective
business partnering roles?
Ulrich’s model still represents the best chance that HR has of
repositioning itself and there are ways to overcome the challenges
we’ve discussed.
Firstly, it is critical to acknowledge that getting line managers to take
accountability for people management issues is not going to be
achieved overnight, but represents an ongoing process of attitudinal
and behavioral change.
The first step is to achieve buy in to a new way of working through
effective education and communication. Not theory but practicalities.
What’s in it for me? What will I see and feel that is different from
before? What is my role in this? These messages also need to be
consistent across the organization even if the methods are tailored to
different audiences.
This buy in process must be complimented by appropriate training
and reinforced through performance management, remuneration and
strong signals from the board down that excellent people management
skills are core to being successful in the organization.
Secondly, there needs to be a demonstrable link between what HR is
doing differently and the business results. Rather than being
preoccupied with the intricacies of measurement, if a business partner
is able to show that their business unit is closer to having the right
skills in the right place doing the right things, then that is a good
starting point for demonstrating value add.

9. Moreover, it is even better when they can demonstrate their
contribution to establishing the right structures and governance, clear
objectives and measurement together with excellent talent and
succession management.
Further, there must be a focus on tailored organization development
interventions that become recognized differentiators by business
managers and have other colleagues asking how to make it happen,
for example in driving the mindset shift required when an
organization shifts its strategy from cost reduction to top line revenue
growth.
Thirdly, it is important to recognize that you can’t just give the same
people different job titles. There is a real need to bring in new people
with a proven track record and give existing staff with the right skills
the chance to wear a new hat with a group of people who don’t prefer
them in the old one.
Capability assessment exercises are a vital part of any transformation
programmer to ensure people able to operate in a different way are
identified and aligned to the right customer group. You have to accept
from the outset that there are likely to be a significant number of
people who will not succeed and ensure that expectations are
managed accordingly.
It’s also important that developing business partnering capability
becomes an ongoing process in the organization and to take a long,
hard look at the development paths in HR - there must be a business
not a functional focus.
It is essential to know what operational knowledge and business skills
matter in your organization and to ensure that is what potential
business partners are being developed against in addition to their HR
and change skills.
Moreover, this skill development should be aligned with business
wide management development interventions so programmers are
complimentary. Be patient and recognize it will take time to embed a
successful programmer.

10. Lastly, some refinements to the core model are also important to
enable the business partner to succeed. There needs to be a clear
approach to the prioritization of HR change projects and a simple and
transparent process for identifying and allocating resources to work
on them.
An HR department that establishes programmer office and resource
management functions provides two key enablers to helping the
business partner discharge their role effectively.
To address the tension between HR shared services and business
partners is an organizational rather than a functional issue. Business
leaders, coached by the HR leadership team, need to set direction on
the right balance between standardization and customization given
their organizational context.
This can then underpin the thinking on appropriate costs of the
function, suitable technologies, policy and process. Most importantly
it enables the right governance approach to be developed within the
function in terms of the decisions that rest with a business partner
versus the shared service center or center of expertise.
Focus outwards and ensure that senior business customers are fully
involved in the HR transformation process.
The key to successful HR transformation and strong, effective
business partners is to focus outwards and ensure that senior business
customers are fully involved in the HR transformation process.
Any disconnect with the business and any transformation that is
premised on ‘HR for HR’s sake’ will not deliver for HR or the
business and will result in a progressive degradation of the HR
business partner role over time.
Where did the businesspartner model go
wrong?

11. Hailed as the approach progressive human resources departments
should be taking in the 21st Century, it would seem the jury is still out
on the HR business partner model.
That is according to research less than half (47%) of managers think
the HR business partner experiment has been a success and, a quarter
(26%) went as far as to say the system was not effective at all, while
the remainder said it was too early to tell.
But although this approach does seem to have been successful in a lot
of organisations, why has it also failed in so many?
A common pitfall is for HR departments is to get hung up on
implementing structures without actually developing their strategic
influence.
“It’s easy to change a structure, but if there’s no clarity around what
HR is supposed to deliver once this structure is in place then nothing
will change,” he said. “In a lot of the companies, it’s not always clear
what HR is there to do.”
Rather than get bogged down with implementing the structure and re-
labelling itself a business partner, HR should start by “getting its
value proposition and delivery right and the structure should fall out
of that”. – Paul Higgins
Confusion
Part of the reason for the confusion over the role of the business
partner, he says, is that Ulrich defined four distinct roles for HR
professionals within his model – strategic player, administrative
expert, employee champion, and change agent. In some cases, the
lack of clear definition for these roles has stopped the business partner
model from being truly effective and meant the HR delivery has not
lived up to the expectations of the business, according to Higgins.
He also feels there is a question mark over whether there are enough
HR people capable of delivering the business partner model and feels

12. there are many people in HR who don’t have the expertise or
competencies to make the jump to a strategic role.
“Role fulfilment can only happen if the requisite talent is there,” he
said.
This point is picked up by Jane Clark, senior HR business partner at
aid agency Christian Aid. She says HR business partners require a
whole different skill set compared with traditional HR generalists, and
in some organisations HR has been expected to make this transition
without adequate support.
“If you re-badge people without giving them training and awareness,
you are setting them up for failure” she said.
For Clark, a strategic HR business partner must be focused on looking
forward, “anticipating change, understanding its impact on the people
side of the business and managing this change”. She says they must
be comfortable working with senior people from the business on an
equal footing and acting as an internal consultant within the business.
Outside experience
But many HR practitioners who have spent all their working life
solely within the function will struggle to tick all these boxes,
according to Clark. She believes her experience of working outside of
HR in an international development role for many years has helped
her develop her strategic focus.
She recommends giving HR business partners secondments to other
functions in the business as a way of expanding their strategic and
commercial nous.
At international law firm Bird and Bird, head of HR Johnny Nicholls
previously worked as a lawyer as well as an HR practitioner for a
recruitment firm. He says this blend of experience, and cross
fertilisation of ideas it has produced, has enabled him to make the step
to business partner and given him “a different view on timescales and
the business process”.

13. “I consider my role to be about adding value to the business and
understanding the business model,” he added.
Nicholls says while the business partner model sounds good in theory,
where it falls down in a lot of organisations is the hiving off of
adminstrative roles to a shared-service centre. According to Nicholls,
the shared-service model only truly bears fruit in larger organisations.
In smaller companies, it is the administrative and transactional tasks
that give HR the opportunity to interact with the business and offer
good service – facets of the role that help build credibility with the
business.
“Anyone who feels they can just deal with the strategic piece and not
get their hands dirty needs to look at a position in a really big
company,” he said.
A good working relationship between line managers and HR business
partners is also essential if the model is to work, according to Gary
Miles, a principal consultant responsible for strategic HR at Roffey
Park.
Work with line managers
He says line managers are the key enablers of an organisation’s
strategy on the ground, and therefore they need to understand how
they fit in and what HR business partners are there to do.
“Business partnering is only effective if line managers have been
prepared beforehand and know what to expect from this new HR
approach,” he added.
This issue, according to Paul Kearns, director of HR consultancy
PWL, strikes at the heart of why many business partner approaches
fail. He says if HR is to be effective into the future, something must
be done about improving the quality of line management rather than
HR per se.
He said: “Managers use very old techiques, such as profit and loss
auditing, and see people and training as overheads, and until they are

14. educated otherwise HR will find it very difficult to offer them a better
service.”
He added: “Most HR teams have not educated their management
teams about what HR-focused management is. They should be going
out into the business and explaining their vision.”
Kearns says that despite the cool response to the business partner
model from some quarters, HR must never give up trying to work
closely with business managers?
“The need for a business-focused role for HR is more important today
than it has ever been, he said. “Globalisation means more
competition, and more competition means getting more out of
people.”
But if the business partner model is not delivering, does Kearns feel
there is an alternative structure that will be more effective?
Not so much a different structure as a totally different approach
altogether, says Kearns, who believes the model that splits HR into
transactional and strategic is a false dichotomy.
“If companies have very complex pay schemes that cost a lot to
administer, the answer is not more efficient administration, but better
designed, simpler pay schemes.
“In other words, better strategic HR decisions will lead to more
efficient administration – not the other way around.”
Does Ulrich’s HR business partner model work?
 “Ulrich’s original thesis was an excellent piece of work and very
influential. It stimulated a lot of thinking in HR and encouraged the
function to be more strategic. It was a wake-up call.”
Jane Clark, senior business partner, Christian Aid
 “HR business partnering can be effective and there are a number of
organisations out there that are doing things right.”
Nicholas Higgins, chief executive, Valuentis

15.  “Ulrich is an academic and has never been an HR manager, never
mind a business partner. Like many academics he produced a model
that looks OK on paper but his research was seriously flawed.”
Paul Kearns, director, PWL
 “Only a limited number of HR people are capable of taking the step
towards being a business partner,”
Johnny Nicholls, head of HR, Bird and Bird
Career paths for HR business partners
While the Roffey Park research may suggest an element of
uncertainty for HR practitioners who have made the move to a
business partner role, Paul Kearns believes their future is bright.
He said: “For a business-focused, totally professional, modern HR
person who creates lots of value, the sky is the limit.”
Kearns says with the topic of human capital management high on the
corporate agenda, effective HR business partners are well-placed to
play a central role within their organisations.
“With many of the low-skilled jobs going to India and China, Western
organisations are focused on getting the best out of their people and
moving up the value chain.”
For Jane Clark at Christian Aid, strategic HR business partners, who
have developed commercial skills, have a choice of career paths.
She said: “They are well-positioned to move into an HR director’s
role, but equally could make the step into a senior management
position on the top table, and even the chief executive role.
Consultancy work is also another option.”
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