DSE HRT Bootcamp

HR business Partner

June 2012
1

Agenda

The role of the HR Business Partner

HR Business Partner the current state

Organisational design

Lessons learned implementing the HR Business Partner role

1. What is HRT?
Objectives of HRT projects
About 80% of all HRT projects are
implemented primarily for cost
savings

2 out of 3 HRT projects are

implemented with an eye
towards standardising
processes

Filling the gap between HR capabilities and business needs

Senior business executives
want HR to be more
effective
Only 4% describe HR as highly
effective in addressing the needs
of the business
60% describe HR as moderately
effective

People and HR are often

treated separately:

HR is often out of the loop on

strategic issues.

People issues are

considered strategic

Companies that rarely or never

consult their senior HR team on key
business issues:

HR issues are
perceived as
administrative

Mergers and acquisitions (63%)

Compliance and regulation (26%)
Talent (25%)

The role of the HR

business partner

HR Business Partners are a key element of the transformed HR

function

Shared Services
Shared Services respond to
employee inquiries and processes
HR transactions in order to
significantly reduce HR Business
Partner and COE involvement in
routine administrative tasks and
inquiries (e.g., benefits, payroll,
data maintenance). A Service
Center is a type of Shared
Service. Vendor Managers can
reside within Shared Services.
5

Business Partner

Centers of Expertise (COE)

HR
Business
Partners
are
dedicated to providing business
unit
specific
strategic
and
consultative services to executives
and line managers related to the
people-related issues impacting
their business unit.
Business
Partners broker technical talent
(e.g.,
benefits
design,
compensation design, organization
development) from the COEs to
deliver HR solutions.

COEs are comprised of teams of

technical
HR
experts
(e.g.,
benefits design, compensation
design, organization development)
who are shared by the business
units.
COEs provide strategic,
design and consultative services
to HR Business Partners and
assist the HR Service Center in
resolving complex issues. Vendor
Managers can be within the COEs.

Vendor Manager

Outsourcer

Vendor Manager is responsible for

ensuring that the vendor partner
provides contracted activities,
measures performance against the
SLA and coordinates vendor
activity
to
meet
current
operational, future capacity and
project needs. In addition, the
position assists both development
and
operational
teams
in
implementing
application
and
process related changes and
enhancements. Vendor Managers
can reside within the COEs,
Shared Services or as its own HR
Role.

The strategic outsourcing of noncore competency functions and/or

those that are more efficiently
delivered by the third party allows
the HR function to improve HR
service delivery, while reallocating
resources to more value-added
activities.

Our clients are consistently asking us for our opinion on HR

Business Partners

What does the title HR Business Partner? really mean?

How many HR Business Partners do we need?

Where do I find quality HR Business Partners?

Is it possible to develop my people into HR Business Partners?

How do I measure the impact of my HR Business Partners?

What is an HR Business Partner?

Confusion around the role

Ask ten people what it means to be an HR Business Partner and you will probably get
ten different answers.
There are tons of roles, all with the title of HR Business Partner, underpinned by
different job profiles and commanding a range of salaries.
There is clear variation both in terms of role accountability and expectations.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. All rights reserved.

Operational and Strategic role

One enables the other
The business partner role complements a strong operational excellence role

Strategic focus

Strategy
Partner

Change
Agent

Processes

People

Administrative
Expert

Employee
Champion

Operational focus

What is business partnership?

HR Business Partners are dedicated to providing service line specific strategic and
business consultative services to Partners and Directors, aiming at delivering people
solutions to business problems.

Business Partners broker technical expertise (e.g., compensation & benefits design,
organization development, learning management) from the HR Centers Of Excellence
to deliver HR solutions

To be successful, HR Business Partners must be actively involved in the development

and execution of business strategy, moving beyond the play of policy police, regulatory
watchdog and provider of administrative HR services.

To be successful, HR Business Partners must not only master the basics of HRM,
they must also have a deep understanding of business strategies, operations,
and requirements.

The impact on the business of the different categories of HR

Business Partner varies the Strategic Partner has the greatest
impact
Strategic
Partner 33%
Impact

Operations
Manager 11%
Impact

Source:
Corporate Leadership Council
11

Emergency
Responder 8%
Impact

Employee
Mediator 8%
Impact

So what should the Strategic HR Business Partner do?

Strategic HR Business Partner will:
Operate as an internal business consultant
Have significant access to senior executives
and help to shape business strategy
Build strong credibility at senior levels
Understand industry trends and anticipate
the impact on the workforce
Drive manpower plans based on business
strategy 2+ years ahead
Have a strong dependency on other HR
roles within the Service Delivery Model
Be relatively few in number and aligned to
profit and loss accountability within the
organisation design

Examples of Strategic HR Business Partner

Projects:
Customer Service transformation (supporting
movement from product-led to service-led
organisation)
Analysis of link between employee
engagement / absence management and
associated costs
Talent Management strategy (Exiting BabyBoom Generation and supporting Generation
X&Y)
M&A integration
Supporting Outsourcing and Offshoring
strategies
Managing large-scale cost reduction
programmes
Organisation Design

There are currently few successful examples of true Strategic HR Business

Partners within industry. Where this function does operate, it is often carried out
by the Corporate Strategy team rather than HR.
12

HR Business Partner need to have a deep understanding of the business

Sample: HRBP Process Related Responsibilities

Below is a sample HRBP Role profile outlining the process-related activities that a HRBP
can be responsible for. Notice that administrative tasks are not within the scope of HRBP
role.
Process-Related Activities
Strategic Staffing
Identify and build key talent segments and
provide input to workforce plan/staffing model
Work with managers to execute workforce
plan and strategy
Interview candidates as necessary (critical
talent and senior level positions)
Provide coaching to managers
Resource allocation
New Hire/Termination
Manage business justification
Work with outplacement counselors
Provide coaching to managers
Review and analyze turnover data
Learning
Identify business needs for learning
Provide input on solution development

14

Performance Management
Facilitate sessions with leadership to develop
and communicate business goals and
objectives
Drive continuous performance improvement
Coach managers on developing appraisals
and delivering feedback
Resolve performance rating disagreements
Provide coaching and guidance to managers
on promotions, demotions, and transfers
Leadership Development
Succession Planning
Future state/forecasting talent needs
Rewards
Meet with leadership to discuss salary
guidelines
Finalize salary plan/budget
Provide consultative guidance and coaching
to managers on pay for performance
philosophy and implementation
Work with managers to resolve
disagreements
Analysis/differentiation

Employee Data Administration

N/A
Benefits
Market benefits programs to employees
Time & Attendance
N/A
Payroll
N/A
Employee Relations
Receive grievances and disciplinary issues
(critical talent and senior level positions)

Employee Retention
Conduct business unit feedback sessions
Develop process to cascade findings to the
organization
Coach managers on communicating
feedback
Retention plan based on analysis
Develop game plan to address issues

HR Business Partner the

current state

HR still to become a
strategic business
partner: EMEA
A Mercer study revealed that 65% of human resource departments perceive themselves as a
strategic partner to their business. However, in reality only 15% of activities carried out by
human resource departments across Europe, the Middle East and Africa are related to pure
strategic interventions, according to 500 human resource directors surveyed by Mercer. All

the directors surveyed believed that HR is a strategic partner because it is an active

participant when discussing important business-wide issues.
(Benefits & Compensation International, March 1, 2011)

So why cant HR Business Partners be more strategic?

The top reasons why HR BPs are not more strategic can be categorized according
to Infrastructure, Capabilities and BP Service Delivery

Capabilities
Capabilities

Infrastructure

Poor data availability to make data driven decisions

Poor technology infrastructure and compromised
administrative efficiency

Limitations of the CoE

Limitations of the SSC

Challenges of operating internationally

Not enough HR people with the credibility, core

competencies (i.e. business acumen) and
consulting skills to perform the role
Line Manager capability or reluctance to perform
the people management role
Limited talent pool for the new BP

BP Service Delivery
HR operating as a Customer Relationship Manager and a broker of specialist HR services
Mismatch of HR BP to the business leading to poor line-HR partnerships

There is a lack of understanding of the importance of measuring the value of HR interventions / Human Capital and
a lack of capability in applying metrics to HR solutions

18

Typical HR Business Partner Challenges

Top Reasons HR Business Partners Have Not Fully Delivered on the Strategic Promise of HR
The absence of a clear business strategy with which HR can work in the absence of corporate strategy, business
partners must understand the value drivers of the business unit
The role is insufficiently defined leaving business partners without comprehensive role clarity requires a clear definition
of HR business partner roles in conjunction with other parts of HR
Line managers do not believe HR has the capability to work with or understand business strategy must deliver and
manage HR value proposition and brand
The troubled history of relations between HR and the line (e.g. HR still seen by some as the regulators of employment rules)
requires real culture change which HR must lead
There are not enough HR professionals with the skills and credibility to perform the role the skill set must be bought or
built
The role does not sufficiently account for true customer requirements (managers may be more likely to want more
operational than strategic support) HR needs to educate the business on HR value
Line managers are reluctant to perform people management responsibilities and continue to push back their responsibilities
to BPs manager scorecards must clearly articulate/measure people management responsibilities
Poor technology infrastructure and compromised administrative efficiency continues to require BPs to perform administrative
activities remaining admin roles must be removed from BP scope to another party

22

Organisational design

HR Business Partner Benchmarking

Organisation

No of FTES

No of HR BPs

FTE ratio

Thomson Reuters

50,000

251

1:199

RBS

85,000

333

1:255

Rolls Royce

21,000

65

1:323

ABN Amro

93,000

279

1:333

Prudential

6,500

17

1:391

Orange

11,000

21

1:523

Merrill Lynch

45,000

63

1:714

Lloyds TSB

80,000

92

1:866

24

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK

private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each
of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see
www.deloitte.com/sk/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and its member firms.
2012 Deloitte Slovakia

29