How to Become an HR Business Partner Without Experience
Looking to become a human resources business partner and learn the essential skills for the role? You’re in the right place. This step-by-step guide will help you on your journey to becoming an HR business partner equipped with the right skills.
Currently, the demand for HR business partners in organizations is on the rise. This role has become a significant career aspiration for many individuals.
As an HR business partner, you will engage with real-world business challenges. You act as a liaison between business leaders and recruitment teams, ensuring that the skills of selected candidates align with the organization’s goals. Additionally, you play a crucial role in determining whether the acquired talent supports the organization’s long-term growth.
According to Zippia, the average annual salary for HR business partners is approximately $101,000, with a projected job growth rate of 7%. Many well-known companies are actively seeking candidates for human resources business partner positions.
In this article, we provide a comprehensive guide on how to become an HR business partner. Without further ado, let’s dive into the step-by-step process.
A human resources business partner is a dynamic and sensitive role. You must develop HR policies that not only align with the organization’s objectives but also attract the right talent.
Follow this guide to learn how to become a human resources strategic business partner. If you prefer learning through video, watch the content below; otherwise, feel free to continue reading.
Step 1: Become a Certified HR Business Partner
While schools, colleges, or universities do not offer specific programs for human resource business partners, you can still acquire the necessary skills.
Several reputable online resources provide in-depth courses designed for this role. A valid certification is an excellent way to kickstart your journey toward becoming an HR business partner.
Online courses provide the foundational knowledge necessary for effectively communicating with HR managers and business executives, enabling you to perform your job successfully.
It’s essential to develop a strong understanding of the technical skills required for the role of an HR strategic business partner. Additionally, you should be familiar with the tactics involved in efficient workforce planning. Below are key terms you should familiarize yourself with before applying for a position as an HR business partner:
- Business strategy
- Human resources regulations
- Strategic planning
- Business partnering
- Organizational development
- Diversity
- Business leadership
- Executive communication skills
- Human resource management
By reviewing these terms closely, you can gain insight into the responsibilities of the role and the critical business concepts you need to master.
Our human resources generalist and management courses are designed to help you enhance your technical skills as an HR business partner.
Step 2: Master the Fundamentals of Human Resources and Business Partnership
The role of a human resources business partner is both strategic and dynamic. In addition to understanding technical terms, you will often need to collaborate and communicate effectively with business leaders, stakeholders, and executives. Therefore, it is crucial to have a solid grasp of the fundamentals of human resource management and business partnership.
Here are some essential fundamentals you should know as a human resources business partner:
- Proficiency with relevant software products and digital tools
- Data analysis skills
- Understanding of business strategies
- Cross-cultural competencies
- Ability to drive positive outcomes through comparative analysis
- Monitoring HR activities and managing financial resources
As an HR business partner, your role is to facilitate business growth. This involves focusing on long-term business objectives in collaboration with the HR director through effective talent acquisition.
In addition to mastering fundamentals, you must be able to differentiate between long-term and short-term strategic goals. This skill is crucial as you will be responsible for conveying this information to HR managers and other HR professionals, ensuring they acquire the right talent to drive business success.
Furthermore, effective HR business partners are skilled in hiring and appropriately screening candidates based on job descriptions. It is also essential to understand how to allocate the HR budget to senior management and prioritize roles effectively.
Step 3: Develop Critical Thinking
Developing critical thinking is vital, as it allows you to think rationally, logically, and empathetically. This skill is essential for becoming an effective HR business partner and encourages innovative thinking that benefits the organization.
Learning tactics to cultivate a critical mindset enables you to devise diverse strategies and solutions that are unbiased and advantageous for both your team and the organization as a whole. With a solid understanding of the company and HR regulations combined with critical thinking, you will gain insights into strategic planning for organizational development. Additionally, a diverse knowledge base is crucial for enhancing leadership skills. Strong communication skills will further enable you to effectively communicate business goals to employee relations specialists, facilitating appropriate talent acquisition and engagement.
Step 4: Develop Business Acumen
Business acumen refers to the ability to understand core principles, operations, HR processes, and business objectives. For the role of an HR business partner, possessing business acumen is essential for comprehending the technical processes and general operations within an HR department that significantly impact overall performance.
Strong business acumen enables you to tailor HR policies and activities to align with business goals. This mindset leads to increased revenue and profit, while also fostering critical thinking and improved decision-making.
Step 5: Learn Stakeholder Management
A comprehensive understanding of both external and internal stakeholders is essential. External stakeholders include clients, business partners, agencies, and government entities, while internal stakeholders encompass employees, executives, and directors, all of whom play a crucial role in effective business management. Productivity is directly influenced by how stakeholders communicate and work toward shared business goals.
To develop strong stakeholder management skills, start by identifying who the stakeholders are and understanding your purpose in managing and interacting with them. Effective management requires the right communication tools, making familiarity with digital platforms vital for successful stakeholder engagement.
Step 6: Learn to Negotiate
Negotiation is a critical skill for an HR business partner. If you aspire to this role, you must hone your negotiation abilities. Strong negotiation skills can enhance productivity among employees and stakeholders without incurring additional costs. To achieve this, moving away from a win-lose mindset is essential.
Successful negotiation is only possible if you understand the other party’s perspectives, which requires knowing your stakeholders and employees. Additionally, maintaining emotional control is important, as business strategies that minimize emotional influence often yield the best outcomes.
Step 7: Develop a Complete Understanding of HR Business Partnership
Earning a certificate and learning the fundamentals is just the beginning; a thorough understanding of the intricacies of the HR business partner role is essential.
With an agile working structure, businesses can quickly adapt to changes in global and local markets. However, this agility can present challenges for organizations striving to continuously upskill, adapt, and hire the right talent to meet evolving needs. Understanding these complexities will enhance your effectiveness as an HR business partner.
This is why the role of HR business partnership has rapidly emerged in recent years. An HR business partner is responsible for communicating with both senior HR professionals and junior HR managers. However, the work is not as straightforward as it may appear.
To fully grasp the responsibilities of an HR business partner, consider a scenario in which a company wishes to adjust its strategic planning and operational infrastructure to align with the latest market trends. It is the duty of the HR business partner to implement these changes within the organization’s work environment using agile and dynamic practices.
Moreover, the role of an HR business partner varies across organizations. For instance, one company may prioritize talent acquisition skills when hiring for this position, while another may seek strategic and financial management expertise. Therefore, it is essential to critically analyze and understand the specific responsibilities of an HR business partner within each organization.
Step 8: Get at Least a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources
While the roles may differ based on each business’s needs, specific general competencies are crucial for securing an HR business partner position.
One of the fundamental competencies is holding at least a bachelor’s degree, preferably in business or human resources. For higher-level roles, such as Executive HR Business Partner, organizations often prefer candidates with a bachelor’s degree in human resources management and a specialized degree in business strategies.
This is why the role of HR business partnership has rapidly gained importance in recent years. An HR business partner is responsible for communicating with senior HR professionals and junior HR managers, but the work is not as straightforward as it may seem.
To fully understand the responsibilities of an HR business partner, consider a scenario where a company seeks to adjust its strategic planning and operational framework in response to the latest market trends. The HR business partner’s duty is to implement these changes within the organization’s work environment through agile and dynamic practices.
Furthermore, the HR business partner role can differ significantly among organizations. For instance, one company may prioritize talent acquisition skills when hiring for this position, while another may focus on strategic and financial management capabilities. Therefore, it is essential to critically analyze and understand the responsibilities associated with the HR business partner role in different contexts.
Step 8: Get at Least a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources
Regardless of the varying requirements across businesses, possessing certain core competencies is crucial for securing a position as an HR business partner.
One fundamental requirement is to hold at least a four-year bachelor’s degree, preferably in business or human resources. For higher-level roles, such as Executive HR Business Partner, organizations often prefer candidates with a degree in human resources management and a specialization in business strategies.
Step 9: Practice Business Partnership Skills and Gain Experience (Optional)
If you lack direct experience as an HR business partner, don’t worry—experience can take many forms. It doesn’t necessarily mean you must have worked with a specific company or organization.
The primary goal is to assess whether your skills are effective. You can achieve this by seeking relevant tasks online and working on them to achieve desired results.
Additionally, freelance opportunities and paid or unpaid internships are excellent ways to practice your skills. While not mandatory, some organizations do hire entry-level candidates and train them according to their business strategies. However, actively practicing your skills will significantly increase your chances of selection.
This step can also be beneficial for career progression in a business partner role. Previous experience as an HR manager or HR generalist is advantageous for advancement.
We hope the guidelines provided above offer you the necessary information on how to become an HR business partner.
How to Become an HR Business Partner at Your Organization
If you are currently in a junior position within the HR department, focus on securing the HR business partner role. Employees are typically promoted based on their work performance and eagerness to learn, making the development of this mindset crucial.
Here are some steps you can take to become an HR business partner within your organization:
Find a Project to Take Over Voluntarily
Demonstrating a willingness to learn is essential. If you aim to progress to a senior HR professional role, seek opportunities to understand how current HR professionals tackle projects. You can either ask a senior HR business professional to assign you a task or take on a side project to practice your skills and learn the process.
This approach allows you to practice the skills required for becoming an HR business partner while building a portfolio to showcase your abilities when the opportunity arises.
Voluntarily Participate in Problem Solving
Taking initiative to solve problems reflects your commitment to learning and becoming a better professional. Offer to help address technical challenges your senior colleagues face in their daily work. This will increase your visibility and improve your chances of promotion.
Develop a Portfolio and Track Your Achievements
Ensure that the projects you undertake and the problems you solve are documented in your portfolio. When the time comes to apply for the HR business partner position, you can present this evidence to potential employers. A well-constructed portfolio and a solid track record demonstrate your passion and commitment to the role.
Apply for HR Business Partner Positions
Once you feel you have developed the necessary skills and believe the time is right, proceed to apply for HR business partner positions. Submitting your application along with a proven work record and a strong portfolio will enhance your chances of being selected. Not only will you showcase your experience and skills, but you will also demonstrate to your supervisors that you are capable of continuous learning and growth.
Conclusion
If you are interested in becoming a human resource business partner, follow the step-by-step guide provided. Familiarize yourself with the HR business partner skills needed for the role, including business strategy development, talent acquisition, executive communication, and business leadership.
Additionally, understanding concepts such as comparative analysis and how to drive business leads is essential. Familiarity with relevant software and tools for advanced services will also be beneficial.
Overall, the role of a human resources business partner is rewarding both financially and experientially. It is important to note that while HR business partners do not directly recruit employees, they play a significant role in assisting hiring managers in sourcing and hiring the right talent. They communicate with HR directors, HR generalists, HR managers, and other HR roles to facilitate HR projects and the hiring process.
By following the steps outlined above, you can begin applying for HR roles and work toward landing your dream career.
FAQs
Here are insights provided by our experts to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the HR business partner role:
Do HR Business Partners Recruit?
In short, no. However, the candidates recruited are often selected based on the insights provided by the HR business partner. An HR business partner’s role involves communicating with business executives and conveying the company’s strategic direction. They also offer guidance on effective workforce recruitment techniques to HR managers and recruiters.
This collaboration allows hiring managers to draft job descriptions that align with the information shared by the HR business partner, helping them recruit the right candidates. Once a candidate is hired, the HR business partner’s role ensures that the selected talent aligns with the organization’s goals and objectives.
Thus, while HR business partners are not directly responsible for recruitment, they are closely involved in the process to ensure effective talent acquisition.
Is HR Business Partner (HRBP) a Good Job?
According to Glassdoor, a successful HR business partner has an average salary of $101,000 annually.
This translates to approximately $8,417 per month, $2,124 per week, and about $53.13 per hour, significantly higher than the average annual salary for many professions in the United States.
The reported average salary includes a base pay of $83,000, with additional incentives bringing the total to around $101,000. Most human resources business partners earn between $58,000 and $182,000, with a median salary of $101,000. Notably, Glassdoor reports instances of HR business partners earning up to $311,000 annually.
For example, Amazon offers a salary range for their HR business partners between $58,000 and $112,000 based on 51 salary estimates. Similarly, Verizon reports a salary range of $91,000 to $116,000 for their HR business partners.
In contrast, the average salary for an HR business partner at Google is approximately $170,000 per year, ranging from $130,000 to $291,000, based on data from nine employees in that role.
Thus, it is clear that the role of a human resources business partner is financially rewarding and considered a desirable career choice.
If you are new to Human Resources and are looking to break into an HR Business Partner position, we recommend taking our HR Certification Courses, where you will learn how to build your skillset in human resources, build your human resources network, craft an excellent HR resume, and create a successful job search strategy that lands you a sought-after HR Business Partner job.
