Many HR professionals are still finding it difficult to make the move from traditional HR to strategic business partner.
These are comments made by Shirley Dalziel, co-author of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) toolkit, ‘HR Business Partnering’, which aims to assist HR professionals to identify skills gaps and apply those skills to become genuine business partners.
Dalziel, from develop uk, the leading specialists in business partnering, remarked that it is in the interest of the business that HR are on the top table and contributing to its strategic direction. “People are central to business success and HR can add real value to business by focusing on the wider business and outcomes as well as the traditional HR specialisms.”
However, Dalziel warns that simply having the skills is not enough, and the challenge lies in applying them in the frenetic world of work while delivering the transactional duties of HR at the same time.
“When it comes to what makes a successful business partner, the difference often comes down to building business credibility, gaining influence and adding value,” she added. “The traditional business view of the HR professional in their ‘ivory tower’ needs to be stripped away with a much more ‘street wise’ and strategically aligned HR professional.”
Further information on this will be presented in a workshop on Tuesday 18 September at the CIPD annual conference.
