The Chartered Human Resources Business Partner

By Zulk Shamsuddin

The Chartered Human Resources Business Partner ™ (CHRBP) credential is a professional certification that demonstrates the attainment of a defined level of technical knowledge and experience as an HR Business Partner, professional practice, and ethical behavior.
It forms the basis of the assessment that applicants must pass to gain the Chartered Human Resources Business Partner ™ credential and inclusion in the Register of The Global Academy of Finance and Management® Certified / Chartered Professional. Individuals with several years of experience in human resources business partners are encouraged to acquire this certification.

This book is the official reference for the Chartered Human Resources Business Partner examination that is available via the GAFM Academy Digital Certification services.
Stand out above the rest with the world-class Chartered Human Resources Business Partner certification and get noticed by top recruiters. Introduce yourself with this exclusive membership card during networking, business events, conferences, anywhere. Membership has its privileges.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781678101374

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 Zulk Shamsuddin, PhD / GAFM ACADEMY

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6781-0137-4

Revised Edition: August 2023

INTRODUCTION

The Chartered Human Resources Business Partner ™ (CHRBP) credential is a professional certification that demonstrates the attainment of a defined level of technical knowledge and experience as an HR Business Partner, professional practice, and ethical behavior.

It forms the basis of the assessment that applicants must pass to gain the Chartered Human Resources Business Partner ™ credential and inclusion in the Register of The Global Academy of Finance and Management® Certified / Chartered Professional. Individuals with several years of experience in human resources business partner are encouraged to acquire this certification.

This book is the official reference for the Chartered Human Resources Business Partner examination that is available via the GAFM Academy Digital Certification services.

Stand out above the rest with the world-class Chartered Human Resources Business Partner certification and get noticed by top recruiters.  Introduce yourself with this exclusive membership card during networking, business events, conference, anywhere. Membership has its privileges.

Benefits of becoming a Chartered Human Resources Business Partner

Personal recognition from your peers in Organizational and HR strategic planning and other related professions.

Enhanced CV to stand out in the job market.

A framework for the development of your career.

International recognition.

Assurance for clients of high standards and ethical practice.

Use of the post nominal CHRBP or Chartered Human Resources Business Partner ™

A Chartered Human Resources Business Partner is an experienced human resources professional who has earned the accredited gold-standard Chartered Human Resources Business Partner ™ credential from The Global Academy of Finance and Management ®. This credential is offered to the individual with several years of experience as a strategic human resource management professional.

HR Business Partner Role

The role of the HR business partner is to make sure human resource policy and procedure throughout the organization fit the needs, goals, and aims of the organization and its top leadership. The HR business partner ensures that HR strategy fits into the organization's overall business strategy.

Most organization stresses the importance of making the HR business partner role a purely strategic one. Instead of dealing with transactional and operational issues such as managing personnel, executing strategy, or addressing employees’ day-to-day needs, the most successful HR business partners are given the latitude to focus on large-scale business initiatives such as talent acquisition.

In essence, the HR business partner is an adviser and consultant to business leaders on issues pertaining to human resources. It’s important for individuals in this role to fully understand short-term and long-term strategic goals for the business, and to interpret the role that HR can play in helping to achieve these outcomes and drive value to the business.

Below are a number of core responsibilities for someone in an HR business partner role:

Work with executive leadership to determine business needs and collaborate with HR (including external recruiters) to help meet these needs

Compare business goals and objectives to the current structure of business units and distribution of roles

Identify new roles and/or existing job openings that must be filled to enable the business to meet its goals

Lead the hiring process for high-priority roles, from writing the job description to screening and interviewing candidates

Monitor the HR budget and advocate for the redistribution of funding of salaries to high-priority roles or departments as needed

The HR Business Partner works alongside senior managers, providing the link between business and organizational strategies, providing support and challenge to the senior team and developing credible initiatives in setting of ongoing cost reduction.

The HR Business Partner aligns business objectives with HR initiatives and solutions for both employees and business managers. Always keep in mind that the position serves as a consultant to the management on HR related issues. A strong candidate would possess good knowledge of multiple human resources disciplines, such as talent acquisition and development, employee retention, labor relations, organizational effectiveness, compensation practices and diversity.

HR Business Partners act as a point of contact for both employees and managers in the organization. This requires close liaison with business leaders to deliver customized and forward-looking solutions, programs and policies to tackle issues faced by the company. A HR business partner has to act as the performance improvement driver to influence positive changes in the business environment. This enables them to manage complex and difficult projects and take a consultative approach and act as a key advisor to the leadership team.

The HR Business Partner would have a seat at the executive table (senior management) and be seen to be an equal partner in making strategic decisions about the business. They would be making contributions to organizational design, strategy development and planning and organizational change. There would be substantially spent less time on a maintenance role for example, hands-on recruitment, maintaining services and records, and auditing. The distinction can be drawn between being reactive and being strategically responsive both leading and following.

At senior levels, strategic Business Partners are proactive. They influence those who make the business strategies, working alongside or as part of the business planning team to develop strategies together. Business Partners need a good understanding of the business and its changing context. They need to be clear about the organization’s goals, needs, values; aware of gaps in culture and capability; to be able to translate business goals into operational strategies.

They need to be able to influence decision makers. Good negotiation and interpersonal skills, as well as resilience, may be required. HR Business Partners are often described as ‘knowledge rich’ but poor in application. Being strategic alone is not enough. Chief Executives want HR professionals to be able to translate the organizational issues into business language, and vice versa. They need HR Business Partners to help them understand what must be done with regard to people if business strategies are to be achieved.

Some of the key functions of the HR Business Partner are:

Strategic planning

Organizational development and design

Improving organizational productivity and quality

Facilitating mergers, acquisitions and partnerships

Scanning the environment for new products/potential new partnerships

Recruitment and selection; strategy rather than implementation

Employee development; training/education; management development; performance appraisal; career planning; competency/talent assessment; strategy and advice on these areas

Compensation and benefits; reward and recognition initiatives; retirement programmes; redundancy programmes

Management of HR information systems

Responsibility for legal and regulatory requirements

Responsible for equal opportunities policy and practice

The difference between an operational HR role and a strategic Business Partner goes beyond changing job descriptions to looking more carefully at the skills required and the capacity for individuals to influence change at a strategic level.

10 Key Skills of a Successful HR Business Partner

The role of an HR business partner is largely strategic in nature, and it requires frequent collaboration with executives and business leaders. As a result, the skills required to achieve success in the role focus on decision-making, communication, and leadership.

1. Proficiency with Digital Tools

HR business partners have a wide range of software products at their disposal to help develop and communicate HR strategy, manage individuals and teams, and track spending. The list includes business intelligence, decision support, data visualization, and online communities that facilitate information sharing. 

2. Ability to Leverage Artificial Intelligence

Data analysis can help HR departments with tasks such as evaluating job candidates, assessing staffing needs, and monitoring productivity and other job performance metrics. As Human Resource Executive points out, data analysis plays an important role in strategic planning especially in an uncertain market.

3. Cross-Cultural Competence

Multinational companies compete on a global scale for talent, both in their field offices and at their headquarters. Effective HR business partners have a keen sense of cultural awareness in the areas where an organization operates; this includes an understanding of different labor laws, business practices, and compensation structures.

4. Knowledge of the Business

It is expected that HR business partners have a background in the principles of human resources management. But success in the role also requires learning how the organization operates: What is the core business functions, how do the business units interact, what is the organizational chart. This familiarity is critical for earning the respect and confidence of business leaders, especially in an environment where major changes are anticipated.

5. Project and People Management Skills

An HR business partner should be comfortable with tasks such as developing a project scope statement, managing resources and stakeholders, and communicating in large and small groups. Experience leading teams with remote and/or international contributors is a plus.

6. Effective in Addressing Change and Transformation

In aligning business objectives with personnel decisions, HR business partners frequently advocate that organizations change the way they do things—sometimes radically. It’s important to identify these large-scale changes well in advance and develop strategic plans for managing changes with the least disruptive impact to the organization and its employees.

7. Ability to Identify and Develop Leaders

In addition to becoming leaders themselves, it’s imperative that HR business partners develop leaders within an organization and, when necessary, identify external candidates for leadership roles. All leaders should be evaluated based on how their expertise and performance align with overall business objectives.

8. Exceptional Networking and Relationship-Building Acumen

Within an organization, an HR business partner needs to be comfortable speaking with business leaders with various backgrounds, both to understand the needs of their business units and to build rapport with key decision-makers over time. Outside an organization, the HR business partner should build a network of human resources peers who can provide professional advice and a network of individuals who would add value to the company as potential hires.

9. Ability to Maintain Confidentiality When Necessary

Just as employees are able to trust HR managers with confidential information, leaders need to be able to trust HR business partners with sensitive or insider information about business operations or financial performance, according to Human Resource Executive. Business leaders have to be comfortable sharing this information for strategic planning purposes while knowing that it won’t negatively impact their own job performance.

10. Effective Communication Skills among Diverse Audiences

Individuals in HR business partner roles must be adept at communicating in many situations, ranging from executive presentations to negotiations to the occasional conflict or crisis scenario. For today’s businesses, intercultural and digital communication experience is a must-have as well. Finally, being willing to say No to executives when necessary, and to present well-thought alternative proposals, is an important skill as an HR business partner advocates for change.

Strategic Human Resource Management

Strategic human resource management involves a future-oriented process of developing and implementing human resource (HR) programs that address and solve business problems and directly contribute to major long-term business objectives.

HR management has changed dramatically in recent decades. It was once largely an administrative function focused on day-to-day responsibilities such as employee recruiting and selection and managing employee benefits. Changing labor market conditions and new business thinking call for HR business strategies that include recruiting and retaining the right people, as well as providing ethical and cultural leadership.

Strategic planning presents great challenges and opportunities for HR professionals. Nearly all HR leaders in the largest global companies are involved in strategic decision-making and participate on the organization's strategy team, and a majority of HR professionals report that strategic planning is part of their function. In contrast, HR professionals in many medium and small organizations are not often involved in organizational or functional strategic planning. Consequently, to achieve long-term strategic HR objectives and to be a key player in the organization's strategic planning process, some HR departments may need to overcome stereotypical negative views of the HR function.

HR's role includes developing a plan of HR initiatives to achieve and promote the behaviors, culture and competencies needed to achieve organizational goals.

Human Resource and Organization Business Strategy

The closer the alignment between HR and an organization's overall business strategy, the better the company's ability to anticipate and respond to customer needs and to maintain competitive advantage. Rigorous research, planning and development involving workforce culture, behaviors and competencies promote the successful execution of business strategy.

Particular benefits of HR strategic planning include the following:

Avoiding costly and disruptive surprises that interfere with achieving goals.

Addressing key issues in a timely manner to avoid crises.

Promoting employee productivity and overall organizational success.

Providing a sense of direction to positively affect how work gets done.

Keeping employees focused on organizational goals.

Providing a strategic focus to guide training and development initiatives.

Giving leaders tools to help focus and implement their strategic initiatives.

HR Business Partner - Skills & Qualifications

Business partners obviously form the bulk of those working in a close relationship with managers, but there are also those in the corporate office, including the HR director him/herself, who may need the same skill set. At a generic level HR Business Partners will need a number of competencies:

communicating

facilitating

coaching

influencing

interpersonal

negotiating

However, they will have to be deployed in a particular context. This includes operating as a broker

Reviews for The Chartered Human Resources Business Partner

[Jason Bourne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy reading this book. I found it very useful for HR managers to get this book as a reference and those who wish to be certified.