Introduction

Underpinning the Business Partner programme is a competency model. These competencies, and their underlying behaviours, are actively assessed and developed throughout the programme. .

As such, the competency model is 'the glue', uniting the various activities and enabling them to build capability in a synergistic way.

Historical context to the Business Partner Role

For many years, HR was a 'maintenance orientated' function, eg. staffing, training, time and motion, welfare, pay, union relations etc. During the 1970's, government involvement in organisations stimulated a greater role for HR in areas such as equal opportunities, health & safety and pensions. Responsibility for these issues raised HR's level of contact within organisations.

In the 1980's, as change became more prevalent and organisations became more complex, eg. matrix and project structures, HR responded with a greater and more sophisticated range of services, eg. team development, strategic planning, learning and development etc. These activities maintained HR's profile and consolidated relationships at senior levels within organisations.

In the early 1990's, HR changed its orientation. Research indicated that HR's focus was on strategic issues whilst their operational focus was diminishing. This was in sharp contrast to similar research conducted in the late 1980's, where the focus was found to be equally on operational and strategic considerations. The research in the early 1990's indicated that 'operational work was being eliminated, automated, streamlined and outsourced'.

Several researchers have proposed the component roles within this new HR identity. Some research identified three roles; business knowledge, HR expert and change manager. Ulrich identified four roles; administrative expert, employee champion, strategic partner and change agent. However, Ulrich's own research identified that HR's line manager clients found it difficult to distinguish between strategic partner and change agent.

Significantly, line managers identified management of change as being approximately twice as important to them as being an HR expert or having business knowledge. This is, perhaps, not surprising as change management represents the most tangible evidence of a new HR role for line managers, ie. understanding the business or being an expert in HR only enables appropriate change interventions to be designed and implemented.

Whilst researchers found that these roles remained relevant to line managers, ie. were not replaced by other possible roles, their expectations of HR in these three roles did increase, eg. HR professionals were expected to know more about the business. Also, whilst line managers expected more capability from senior HR executives, compared to their junior counterparts, the relative importance of these roles did not change. With minor exceptions, these roles retained their importance irrespective of industry type.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a positive relationship was found between the level of HR competence and the competitiveness of the company, ie. as HR became more capable in these three roles, the company became more competitive. Whilst the relationship was relatively modest, it does endorse the argument that HR, contributing in the right way, has a positive impact on the 'bottom line'.

From this research it can be concluded;

1. Expectations of HR, from line management, are becoming greater.
2. There are three core roles for HR to embrace, ie. understanding the business, being an HR expert and a change agent.
3. If adopted, these roles will have positively effect profitability.

The Business Partner Competencies

Taking this, three role, perspective of HR, QC has developed a competency model. This model is the consequence of a literature research and interviews/discussions with effective Business Partners, their managers and line manager clients, in several major companies in the UK.

The model has, at its core, the competencies of 'HR Expertise', 'Commercial Focus' and 'Change Leader'. In addition, effective Business Partners also have several other competencies; 'Professional Integrity', 'Networker', 'Partner' and 'Developer'. The competencies relate to each other in the following way:-

Whilst seldom visible to the line manager client, the Foundation Competencies are necessary building blocks upon which to build the Core Competencies. Indeed, within the Core Competencies, effectiveness in 'Commercial Focus' and 'HR Expertise' enables the Business Partner to demonstrate their 'Change Leader capabilities.

For example, if the Business Partner initiates change but, in doing so, does not respect the values of the business or the motivations of staff (Professional Integrity), not matter how well designed and implemented the change programme is, it will likely fail. Similarly, if the Business Partner does not understand how the informal organisation operates (Networking), again success is far harder to achieve.

The Core Competencies are what their title suggests, ie. the 'engine room' for effective performance in the Business Partner role. Understanding the business enables Partner's to adapt HR techniques to suit the needs of the situation. Consequently, change interventions can be designed, safe in the knowledge that the activities are both appropriate to both the business and accord with HR 'best practice'.

Finally, if both the Foundation and the Core Competencies are in place, it provides the opportunity for the Business Partner to demonstrate the Consequential Competencies. Without these earlier competencies, Business Partners will simply have not earned the right to become a partner and coach to line management.

Implications Of The Competency Model

Other Competency Sets: The QC competency set describes the specific capabilities required to fulfil the Business Partner role. It's focus is deliberately specific, but does presume Business Partners are capable in the basic management competencies, eg. problem solving, influencing, administration, presentation etc. It also presumes HR professionals have personal value sets that are aligned to their organisation.

Business Partner Programme: The Diagnosis phase of the programme focuses on all seven competencies. In the Discovery phase, however, attention is concentrated primarily on the Core Competencies. This is because these competencies are the most critical to success. It is also because, from experience, QC have found that it is these competencies that Business Partners need most help with. Whilst not part of the mainstream programme, QC offer workshops to develop specific deficiencies, eg. influencing and facilitation. The latter phases of the programme, ie. Development and Delivery broaden their focus back out to encompass the full competency set.

Selection and Development: If selecting Business Partners, priority should be given to the Foundation and Core Competencies. This should be combined with some checking of the individual's basic management competencies and their predisposition towards the Consequential Competencies. When developing Business Partners, attention should be given primarily to the Core Competencies. If Partners have limitations in the Core or Consequential Competencies, or indeed any of the basic management competencies, this will become apparent during the Discovery and Development phases, and can be addressed accordingly.

This summary has drawn on the following source material;

1. Human Resource Competencies: An Empirical Assessment; D.Ulrich, W.Brockbank, A.Yeung & D.Lake (Human Resource Management, Volume 34)
   
   
2. Human Resource Roles: Creating Vale Not Rhetoric; J.Conner & D.Ulrich (Human Resource Planning Society, 1996)
   
   

back to top