What is an HR business partner (HRBP)?

The CIPD says the original business partnering model was conceived by Dave Ulrich in the late 1990s and has evolved since. It describes business partners as working closely with leaders to build organisational and people capabilities, using data to inform decisions and delivering people solutions that fit the business. In the classic version of the model, HR is split three ways: business partners who face the business, centres of expertise that hold deep specialist knowledge (for example reward, talent or employee relations), and a shared service centre that handles transactional work.

An HRBP’s typical work includes translating the business plan into a workforce plan, advising managers on structure and roles, leading talent reviews and succession planning, coaching leaders on performance and difficult conversations, steering organisational change, and using people data such as attrition, engagement and hiring metrics to spot problems early. They usually draw on specialists for the detail, such as recruiters for hiring or employee relations advisers for complex cases.

The difference from an HR generalist is mainly scope and altitude. A generalist covers the full range of day-to-day HR tasks for a group of employees. An HRBP spends more time on planning and advice for one part of the business and less on administration, though in smaller companies one person often does both.

The role works when the HRBP has real access to leadership meetings and enough support from specialists and shared services that they are not pulled back into routine casework.

Also called: HRBP, HR business partnering, people partner.