Human Resources: The Strategic Business Partner!

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Human Resources The Strategic Business
Partner!
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Strategic Human Resources
SBP
Transforming HR from a personnel function to a
Strategic Business Partnership

• Introduction Why SBP
• The new HR
• 4 Concepts
• SBP Accountabilities

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Introduction
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A Look Back
Personnel Department Maintain employee records
and information Respond to what is urgent
Name change from Personnel to Human
Resources People issues to manage became more
complex Need to protect workers regarding
health, safety, pay and benefits Employee
Advocate HR Functions broadened OD, Change Mgt.
Changing times environment becoming more
complex, competitive, challenging Retaining and
optimising talent, managing organisational
change Technology, outsourcing
Operate more strategically and operationally Optim
ise workplace performance to maximise results of
the organisation Perceived value and results
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Introduction
Why We Hate HR In a knowledge economy,
companies with the best talent win. And finding,
nurturing, and developing that talent should be
one of the most important tasks in a corporation.
So why does human resources do such a bad job --
and how can we fix it?
Keith H. Hammonds
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Why Strategic Business Partnering?

• SBP are people who work with management to
  define, align and implement people initiatives to
  benefit the business
• There is a strong need for the HR function to
  adopt a more strategic and business like approach
• A need to make significant contribution to the
  bottom line
• Gap between what business leaders and employees
  need from HR and what HR is providing
• Partner with middle/senior managers and develop
  deep knowledge of the business requirements and
  the challenges these individuals face
• SBPs develop ACT gain Access, grow Credibility
  and develop Trust
• A project focused role where we identify and
  partner with clients to support strategic
  projects that directly address one or more
  business needs
• Earn the right to sit at the table with clients
  formation of business strategies, integrating and
  executing people initiatives in support of
  business plans

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Key Concepts
I just learned that I am going to be working in
the role of a Strategic Business Partner. What
do I do now?
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Four Concepts The Strategic HR Approach
1. HR function supports 3 kinds of work
2. The Need Hierarchy what SBPs discuss with
clients
3. Translating Business needs to human
performance requirements
4. Determining the client or who to partner with
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1. Transforming HR - 3 Kinds of Work
3) Strategic
Going up!
2) Tactical
1) Transactional
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Transactional Work

• Administrative in nature
• Order taking manner
• Quick turn around
• Addresses needs of individuals
• Requires providing information or guidance to the
  individual
• Requests to counsel a supervisor
• Requests to fill an open position
• Identifying a training program to address a
  developmental need

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Tactical Work

• The many solutions HR offers to achieve a goal
  our turf
• Requires design/delivery of solutions
• Training ? Organizational redesign
• Recruitment ? Compensation
• Succession Planning
• Tendency to be silod into solution specialists
• Programmable, Resource intensive
• Benefits work groups
• Usually integrated into a strategic initiative

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Strategic Work
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Strategic Business Partners

• Partner with leaders
• to define implementpeople initiatives
• for strategic success

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Four Concepts The Strategic HR Approach
1. HR function supports 3 kinds of work
2. The Need Hierarchy what SBPs discuss with
clients
3. Translating Business needs to human
performance requirements
4. Determining the client or who to partner with
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2. The Need Hierarchy

• What SBPs discuss with clients
• Business Needs operational in focus,
  quantifiable, requires multiple efforts,
  needs/goals for an entity
• Performance Needs behaviour on the job,
  activities done to meet business needs
• Work Environment Needs/Solutions
  infrastructure, work processes, intangibles
• Capability Needs/Solutions skills and knowledge
  the employee needs to perform effectively
• Business and Performance needs are the results to
  be achieved
• Environmental and Capability needs are the root
  causes of non performance
• Impacting operational results requires changing
  peoples performance

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Four Concepts The Strategic HR Approach
1. HR function supports 3 kinds of work
2. The Need Hierarchy what SBPs discuss with
clients
3. Translating Business needs to human
performance requirements
4. Determining the client or who to partner with
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3. Business Needs to HPerformance requirements

• What questions do I ask?
• 3 types of questions SHOULD, IS, CAUSE
• SHOULD questions identify the business and
  performance shoulds or desired state. Business
  shoulds are described numerically, performance
  shoulds are defined behaviourally
• IS questions identify what currently exists
  compared to the shoulds. They are current
  results in quantifiable terms. IS performance
  describes current behaviour of specific employee
  groups
• CAUSE questions focus on root causes for why
  people are not performing as required. Factors
  that may hinder performance once a new initiative
  is under way.
• Should Is questions translate business needs
  to performance needs.
• Cause questions go beyond symptoms to
  identifying solutions

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The G A P S Model
Go for the SHOULD Identify what is required by
the business and from employees
Analyze the IS Compare current business results
and employee performance to identify gaps
Pin down the CAUSES Uncover reasons for the gap
root causes not symptoms
Select the right SOLUTIONS Choose solutions to
address the root cause, close business
performance gaps
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Four Concepts The Strategic HR Approach
1. HR function supports 3 kinds of work
2. The Need Hierarchy what SBPs discuss with
clients
3. Translating Business needs to human
performance requirements
4. Determining the client or who to partner with
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4. Determining the Client / who to partner
with

• Clients have authority or power to make things
  happen. They own/have accountability for
  achieving business results
• Sustained Clients
• Project Clients
• Once clients are identified, we need to develop
  and maintain partnership/collaboration. We need
  to work to gain access, credibility and trust.

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4. Determining the Client / who to partner
with

• Clients have authority or power to make things
  happen. They own/have accountability for
  achieving business results
• Sustained Clients
• Project Clients
• Once clients are identified, we need to develop
  and maintain partnership/collaboration. We need
  to work to gain access, credibility and trust.

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Gaps! Map
Business Need _______________
Employee Group _______________
G
Go for the SHOULD
Business SHOULD
Performance SHOULD
A
Analyze the IS
Business IS
Performance IS
Factors External To Organization
Factors Internal To Organization
Factors Internal To Individuals
P
Pin Down the CAUSES
Capability Needs
Work Environment Needs
Outside the business unit
Within the business unit
Select the right SOLUTIONS
S
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SBP Accountabilities
1. Build Client Partnerships
2. Identify and Partner to Support Strategic
Projects
3. Influence Business Strategies Direction
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SBP Accountabilities

• Reframe requests To Identify Strategic
  Opportunities
• Proactively Identify Strategic Opportunities
• Implement Strategic Projects

Influence Business Strategies Direction
Identify Partner to Support Strategic Projects

• Contribute to Formulation of Business Strategies
  Plans
• Integrate HR Strategic Plan and Initiatives into
  BP
• Implement People Initiatives in Support of BP

Build Client Partnerships
Trust
Access
Credibility
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SBP Accountabilities
1. Build Client Partnerships
2. Identify and Partner to Support Strategic
Projects
3. Influence Business Strategies Direction
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Build Client Partnerships - ACT
Gaining Access to Clients
Gaining Credibility Trust
Determine the strategic decision and gain face
time sustain relationship
Credibility and Trust are gained the old
fashioned wayyou earn them!
Credibility
The confidence others have in your ability to
deliver results. Take actions that impact
employee performance business positively.
Accepts responsibility and accountability.
Trust
The confidence others have in your integrity
reliability to achieve results
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Developing Trust

• Maintain confidences
• Honor commitments
• Match words to actions
• Act to support organization values
• Be a straight shooter
• Be a sounding board listen deeply
• Share opinions perspectives
• Keep focus on the big picture
• Accept accountability
• Avoid blaming others

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SBP Accountabilities
1. Build Client Partnerships
2. Identify and Partner to Support Strategic
Projects
3. Influence Business Strategies Direction
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SBP Accountabilities

• Reframe requests To Identify Strategic
  Opportunities
• Proactively Identify Strategic Opportunities
• Implement Strategic Projects

Influence Business Strategies Direction
Identify Partner to Support Strategic Projects

• Contribute to Formulation of Business Strategies
  Plans
• Integrate HR Strategic Plan and Initiatives into
  BP
• Implement People Initiatives in Support of BP

Build Client Partnerships
Trust
Access
Credibility
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The Logic Used To Identify Strategic
Opportunities
We influence more by what we ask than what we
tell
Asking the Right question Right
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Preparing for a Reframing Meeting
3) Prepare opening question
2) Prepare questions
1) Develop a GAPS! map
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Gaps! Map
Business Need _______________
Employee Group _______________
G
Go for the SHOULD
Business SHOULD
Performance SHOULD
A
Analyze the IS
Business IS
Performance IS
Factors External To Organization
Factors Internal To Organization
Factors Internal To Individuals
P
Pin Down the CAUSES
Capability Needs
Work Environment Needs
Outside the business unit
Within the business unit
Select the right SOLUTIONS
S
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Preparing for a proactive conversation

• Purpose of meeting
• Benefits to client
• Benefits to you
• Agenda
• Confirm time
• Confirm business goals (measures,
• challenges, employee gaps critical to
• achieving goal)
• Ask the right questions

OPENING
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Proactive Conversations
Focus On Outcomes Not Activities
Outcomes results
Activities solutions
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Proactive Conversations
Suppose that happens,how would you know you have
succeeded?
I would know when.
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Workflow Process for Strategic Projects
Phases
Proactively Identify Strategic Opportunities
Respond reframe requests
Partnership
Strategic or tactical Solution?
The Should, Is, Cause
Assessment
Tactical
Moves to implementation phase
Report Agree Solutions
Plan Solution
Implementation
Implement Solution
Measure Report Results
Measurement
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Core Behaviours
During the meeting

• Have a proactive conversation
• Restate summarize Connect the dots
• Deep drill key issues
• Identify real need and desired results
• Cash in on what is unknown
• Push back when the clientssolution is
  inappropriate
• A request for a solution becomes a
• situation to be explored

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SBP Accountabilities
1. Build Client Partnerships
2. Identify and Partner to Support Strategic
Projects
3. Influence Business Strategies Direction
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SBP Accountabilities

• Reframe requests To Identify Strategic
  Opportunities
• Proactively Identify Strategic Opportunities
• Implement Strategic Projects

Influence Business Strategies Direction
Identify Partner to Support Strategic Projects

• Contribute to Formulation of Business Strategies
  Plans
• Integrate HR Strategic Plan and Initiatives into
  BP
• Implement People Initiatives in Support of BP

Build Client Partnerships
Trust
Access
Credibility
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Business Knowledge
Successful SBPs think like a business person
Balance
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What SBPs Need to Know

• The Market Place
• Key Players
• Differentiators
• Industry Forces
• Compliance
• Market Segments
• Global Factors

• The Business Model
• Operational Metrics
• Balance Sheet
• Strategic Plan
• Core Processes
• Values Culture
• Customer Profile
• Competitors

Organization
Industry
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HR Knowledge

• Talent Selection Recruitment
• Development Retention
• Career Management
• Succession Planning
• Compensation Benefits

Foundational Competence
Working Knowledge
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HR Knowledge

• Change Management
• Consulting Model Skills
• eHR Systems
• Human Performance Technology (HPT)
• Organizational Development

Second Level Competence
Understand Principles
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Apply Business HR Knowledge

• Deliver on commitments
• State the financial business case
• Connect all dots
• Transcend the HR perspective
• Share accountability for results
• Be objective in discussions
• Challenge inappropriate actions
• Underpromise Overdeliver
• Deliver on time under budget

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Summary
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Making the SBP Role Real

• HR needs to be more strategic and integrated in
  the business
• Build partnerships based upon credibility and
  trust
• This provides opportunities to identify and
  support projects directly aligned with business
  goals
• Enables HR to form long range business strategies
  and plans
• Enables HR create and implement people
  initiatives that link into and support the
  business strategies and plans
• HR as SBPs requires the use of a mental model as
  a guide
• There are 4 concepts integral to this mental
  model and critical to our success as SBPs
• SBPs demonstrate competence through their
  questioning of clients, knowledge of the business
  and ability to translate business needs into
  performance requirements and people initiatives
• Being a SBP will mean changes for the entire HR
  function
• Despite the growing pains, the future of HR is
  phenomenal
• Dave Ulrich

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Partners in Change, Inc., founded in 1981, is a
research-based consulting firm led by Dana
Robinson and Jim Robinson.   The Robinsons are
renowned leaders in aligning people strategies
with business goals.
Dana Robinson
Jim Robinson
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QUESTIONS?