Business Partner Resource Pack

Introduction to the resource hub

The Business Partner (BP) role is integral to aligning HR outcomes and business needs and as such sits front and centre of the Workforce Directorate. This resource pack has been developed to support our member organisations in thinking about how BPs can maximise their strategic contribution to the organisation.

I am delighted to present the HPMA Business Partner (BP) Resource Pack and hope that you will find the information useful if you are reviewing your structure or are thinking about how you can develop your BPs. Maybe you are working in a BP role and thinking about how you can operate as effectively as possible, supporting the business to achieve its objectives.

At an earlier stage of my career I worked as a BP and I fully appreciate what a critical role this is and how important it is to be viewed as a true strategic partner supporting your managers and staff to be successful and achieve their potential. I am also aware that there is a wide variety of BP structures and roles across our NHS member organisations. We do not seek to prescribe a role or structure but do aim to provide you with useful information on best practice as well as ideas and tips for operating as an effective, strategic BP. I believe that the role of the BP will continue to evolve and the current Transforming People Services work being led by NHS England will define a clearer role for the future. We will aim therefore to update this information so that it captures leading edge thinking on the development of the role and how we can support the development of these critical functions and skills for the People Profession. We do hope that you find this a useful resource.

Julie Rogers, CEO, HPMA

Strategic Drivers impacting on the delivery of People Services in the NHS

The BP role in the NHS is constantly evolving driven by changing trends in the world of work, the introduction of new technology, changing patterns to the delivery of patient care and the broader strategic context of the NHS. Some of the key strategic drivers impacting on the form and function of the BP role are:

The futures of NHS human resources and organisational development

Fit for the future:10 year health plan for England

NHS long term workforce plan

Our NHS people promise

In addition, NHS England is leading on a nation wide programme of work called ‘Transforming People Services’. One of the key components of this work will be the development of a Target Operating Model for the NHS people profession. This work will potentially result in the development of a standard good practice model for Business Partnering. This resource pack does not present or recommend a standard model as this is for local determination. This will be guided by the development of a standard operating model.

Defining the future of the Business Partner role

There is a wealth of online information on the roles and responsibilities of the BP and this will vary depending on the type and size of organisation. The key message is that the role is rapidly changing and BP roles will increasingly have a strategic focus, supporting managers to plan and deliver future focused services in an increasingly digitised NHS. For some of our BP colleagues this will be a step change and there will be a need to redefine the role and to develop new competencies, skills, behaviours and knowledge.

This page provides links to some of the available resources on the full range of responsibilities of a BP role from a future focused perspective. Reading across the full range of documents and resources available there are essentially a number of generic characteristics of a strategic BP and these are as follows:

Supporting and shaping the culture of the organisation/business unit or service and developing the conditions within which staff can thrive and have the best possible employee experience. The role is evolving with a greater focus on supporting organisational development including leading interventions and initiatives to improve staff morale and productivity. As transacational services become more standardised and automated the strategic focus on supporting culture change and improving working lives, will become more central.
Using data to support and influence decision making to ensure that the organisation/business unit or service can achieve its key objectives and targets. This means using data strategically to improve performance and enhance decision making, with a deep understanding of the contextual context of the service/business
To prepare the organisation/business unit or service for the future of health and work, taking into account future trends and workforce plans, ensuring fitness for purpose now and in the future. This means taking a long term strategic view of evolving roles linked to the rapidly changing nature of the delivery of health and care. BPs of the future will need to understand the supply trends impacting on NHS professional groups as well as having a detailed understanding of the vision and deliver of health services across their service.
Acting as a coach and consultant to empower managers across the organisation/business unit or service to develop the leadership skills to ensure success. The aim is to create an environment where leaders are adequately equipped to handle most day to day people issues autonomously. The BP is able then to focus on the long term people strategies.
Provide business acumen and knowledge to support the development and delivery of operating plans. Having business acumen is becoming an increasingly critical competency in being able to advise on the business opportunities and risks in a way to support the success of the service. This involves understanding the the role of technology and AI, the key stakeholders and being able to utilise transactional and specialist people services to the full advantage of the business.

Developing your BP Structure

There isn’t a definitive BP structure, as the design will be influenced by a number of factors and depend on the type of organisation. There are however some good practice models that can act as a helpful blue print or guide when reviewing and implementing a new BP structure.

The desired structure will depend on the design of the wider workforce directorate including the arrangements for transactional and specialist people services. Many organisations and systems are moving towards a shared services arrangement, and implementing digital HR solutions. This will potentially result in transactional and specialist people services being rationalised and centralised at a system or regional level. As a result the internal BP service will be more strategically focused and play a key role in ensuring that centrally or externally organised specialist people functions deliver efficient and responsive services.

The following structure is derived from a review of good practice BP models on the basis that services are reorganised in line with the description above. It is not a definitive structure but one that can be used as a guide when reviewing and developing your own structure. We have therefore described the functions for each tier of the structure.

The following provides a description of each tier of the model:-

Moving from a Transactional to a Strategic Business Partnering Service

So far these resources have described a future focused role and structure for your BP function it is now time to consider how BPs can develop the behaviours and mindset to deliver a strategic BP service to the organisations. How can we develop the service to ensure that BPs are operating as full strategic partners embedding in and supporting the business. You can have a great structure and role description but if BPs are not operating with a strategic mindset and are not respected as an equal member of the senior management team, they will be failing to achieve their potential.

This section provides thoughts, ideas and tools for assessing the strategic capability and impact of your BP function.

The principles of strategic Business Partnering

For a BP to operate as a strategic partner within the business we have developed the following operating principles, Each principle is underpinned by a descriptor outlining what this actually means in practice. What would the managers across the business see if you were acting as a true strategic partner. Ask yourself how far am I, or my team adopting these principles of strategic Business Partnering and what do I need to do differently or what do I/we need to do to truly embrace and exhibit these principles.

Moving from being a reactive to a strategic business partner

As you develop as a BP you will gain the competence and confidence to demonstrate your intention to operate strategically, fully embedded in the business as the trusted ‘go to’ advisor and colleague.

Here are some behaviours and actions you can demonstrate to your intention to move into taking a strategic position:

You will move from being pulled into meetings to being known as a go- to sounding board. As a result the human factors in decision making and planning will have been taken into consideration in the early stages. This often will result in the avoidance of costly mistakes further down the road. I am sure many of you will have used that expression ‘if only they had thought of xxx early on’ or that the human factors of a decision have been overlooked
You will move from advising on and managing process to being integral to framing workforce risks and trends. You will move from operating from a transactional mindset to a strategic mindset combining your expert knowledge and gravitas to anticipate and articulate current and future risks and trends impacting on the workforce.
You will be moving from asking ‘what do you need’ to saying ‘here is what the data suggests’, demonstrating your intention to frame the strategic factors impacting on the workforce, from a data-driven standpoint.

Power moves to elevate your BP practice

We have identified ten strategic power moves you can make to elevate your BP practice. We have defined each of the power moves and invite you to assess how you and your team (if you work in a team) are doing against each of these power moves. We have developed a simple assessment tool for you to score yourself. The scoring across the power moves will assist you in determining where you need to prioritise development. This development could be focused on developing new skills or behaviours or it could be around how you structure and position yourself/selves to provide stronger strategic leadership.

Click here for the assessment tool

Developing the Skills and Competencies of a BP

The development of the skills and competencies required to deliver a strategic BP service to the organisation is critical and we have developed and defined the key competencies underpinning the role.

The HPMA has also developed a competency framework for aspiring BPs which links to the NHS People Profession Map. When conducting appraisals with your BPs we suggest you use the competency framework as a benchmark for determining the areas of strength and development. Alternatively, you could use the NHS profession map to determine a more tailored development plan for your BPs.

Check out the competency framework here

Career Pathways for BPs

Many of our people professional colleagues aspire to become BPs at some point on their career pathway. We have consistent feedback however that moving from a specialised function into a BP role can be difficult as the gap is too great between the roles. There are also significant differences between organisations in the structure and banding, meaning that direct progression into a BP role can be challenging.. The following provides some hints and tips for organisations and individuals considering how they can provide attractive and accessible career pathways for those wishing to progress into a BP role

Review the structure of your BP function and consider whether there is scope to introduce an Associate BP role to provide a development opportunity for team members wishing to make a move into a BP role. This has already been introduced by many organisations
Introduce career conversations as part of the appraisal process to identify those with ambitions to progress to a BP role and put development plans in place to support staff to achieve their ambitions
Provide development programmes for aspiring as well as existing BPs. These can be delivered internally, at a systems level or through the broader HPMA development programme.
Consider setting up learning sets for those in associate BP and BP roles, working across systems and organisations to bring colleagues together to expand and deepen their knowledge and development
Consider introducing shadowing and work experience opportunities for those with the ambition to move into a BP role. This could include buddying a existing BP with aspirant BPs or setting up an internal mentoring arrangement
Consider implementing learning circles for your BPs to collectively reflect on their individual and common challenges and opportunities in developing strategic impact and gravitas

Be clear, explicit and intentional about your ambition to become a BP. If your organisation doesn’t offer career conversations request one. There are examples of career conversation frameworks in the HPMA resource hub link. Take control of your own development and career aspirations!
Identify a mentor or a ‘buddy’ within the BP function and approach them to ask whether they will work with you. They can only say no!
Consider identifying an individual to ‘sponsor’ your career ambitions. Here is a description of what a sponsor can do for you. Link
Consider your top 3 development priorities for becoming a BP and actively set out to achieve them. If for example you need to gain a better understanding of the business, ask to observe a senior management meeting. If you need to gain a greater understanding of the strategic priorities of your organisation go and observe a Board meeting. Think creatively and ambitiously and it will also get you noticed.

Case Study – Reviewing your BP Function

How do you review your BP function and define and measure the impact of the BP role? Many of our member organisations will be considering how to go about reviewing the BP function and considering how the service can ensure that it is adding the greatest value possible to the organisation.

The following interview provides details of a case study of how Radhika Nair, Associate Director of People – Performance and Planning, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, led a review of the BP service. Hopefully Radhika’s experiences and insights will provide some ideas and inspiration for colleagues leading similar work.

Radhika Nair, Associate Director of People – Performance Planning,