How do you stay sharp as an HR strategic partner?

Shifting the old school HR mentality from hovering outside the business to “Business Leaders Who Work in the People Space” is absolutely critical to the future and sustainability of the HR function. We must speak the language of our business, understand the numbers, competitors, products, margins and desired outcomes. Only then can we develop a robust and meaningful People infrastructure to not only drive the business forward but to allow our People to thrive simultaneously. Healthy organizations recognize the value of People strategy and embrace HR as a functional Business unit, like Marketing, Finance, IT and Operations vs a tactical order taker managing payroll, benefits and policy.

HR is ever-changing. And so is the business landscape. Remaining up to speed on HR competencies is essential, but it’s not enough. As HR professionals, we also need to understand our businesses as a whole - the industry, business models, competition, etc. Being able to apply HR principles to help solve business issues is where our strategic partnerships can shine. Focus on maintaining up-to-date HR knowledge? Absolutely. But balance that with maintaining an in-depth knowledge of your business.

To keep your skills fresh in HR spend less time proving what you know in "HR" and spend more time learning about how you can best serve the business and the business' consumers. Knowing how your organization makes money (or could) ensures you "strategically" align the people to how the organization profits. People are the creators of profit but only if they know how and are enabled to. That is HR's role. Take the time to research read, and learn everything you can about your competitors, the current economic climate, capabilities gaps in your industry, talent demands, etc. Learn how to read a P&L so you can have a business impact to get beyond the HR is a "cost center" mindset.

Assess your competencies- It's crucial to regularly assess your competencies and seek feedback, but also remember that competencies are not static. They evolve over time with the changing demands of the HR field. Don't just focus on the competencies outlined in established models; consider soft skills like empathy, adaptability, and cultural awareness. These are increasingly important in the modern HR landscape.

One thing I have also found helpful is effectively participating in HR related webinars and podcasts to know the latest trends in HR. This helps with understanding and knowing your competency gaps and areas to improve.

Some additional places to learn are in the Hacking HR and Resources for Humans communities. I recommend AIHR and CIPD if you are based in Europe. AIHR also provides points to HRCI for any course you take. I also recommend reading Deloitte's annual People Trends Report, anything from Gartner, Korn Ferry, McKinsey and Gallup.

Learning to be more strategic in the workplace can be challenging, but having a strategic mindset shouldn't be new to you. Strategic thinking is a daily practice. It's thinking ahead, anticipating problems and making a plan to overcome them if they arise. I guarantee that you think strategically in your personal life every day - packing some snacks incase I get hungry, bringing an umbrella incase it rains, jacket incase it gets cold etc If it comes so naturally to us in our personal lives, why do so many HR people still not approach their work like this? It just takes practice! So start thinking; What are the potential outcomes? What could go wrong here? What risks are involved? What could change? What would happen if…?

Being curious and having growth mindset is a key to be relevant in any profession, especially in HR where hyper speed of technology enables changes in HR practices

Pursue continuous learning: While online courses, webinars, and professional networks are valuable, don't forget to tailor your learning to your organization's specific needs. Stay attuned to industry trends but also understand your company's unique challenges and align your learning accordingly.

I definitely agree with this point. Being a strategic partner means you are always learning and committed to continuing improvement. There’s a lot of platform where information, insights and ideas are readily available for us to leverage on.

Apply your learning: Application is key, but it's also essential to create a learning culture within your organization. Encourage employees at all levels to continuously develop and apply their skills. This not only benefits HR but also drives overall company growth and innovation.

I am a big ambassador of lifelong learning and 70-20-10 model. In most of the companies I worked we did an educational sessions about how to learn and embrace that not only trainings (10%) is a part of your development

Innovate and experiment: Innovation doesn't always require complex methodologies. Simple changes can make a significant impact. Moreover, innovation should be a collaborative effort, involving cross-functional teams, not just HR. Make sure you have mechanisms in place for idea generation and feedback from all employees.

Embracing Agile HR is key, it brings creative ideas and also space for experimentation when you try, learn, fail, succeed. I like to use double diamond approach for projects

As HR we often assume ourselves as Subject Matter Experts (SME) who knows the human dimension better than the hardcore business people. The opposite is also true. Business leaders who are not hardcore HR professional per-se have for years mastered the art of deriving results while managing the human emotions component. If anything, we as HR have a lot to learn about the people dynamics from the line/business managers/leaders. They have a real-time connect and that intelligence can be immensely useful for HR to "not" start from zero. So the bottom-line is, reflection should not just be self-reflection but it should be backed by business leaders intelligence of people dynamics for HR to learn/course correct and evaluate the approach.

Feedback and Evaluation: Seek feedback from managers, colleagues, and stakeholders to gain insights into areas that need improvement. Be open to constructive criticism and incorporate it into continuous development plans.

Reflect and evaluate: Self-reflection is valuable, but it should also extend to your HR processes. Regularly assess the effectiveness of HR initiatives and be willing to make changes based on feedback. Consider implementing regular pulse surveys to gauge employee satisfaction and gather insights for improvement.

Celebrate and reward: Recognizing and rewarding achievements is vital, but it should be an ongoing practice, not just a final step. Create a culture of appreciation within your organization by encouraging peer-to-peer recognition. Also, ensure that recognition aligns with your company's values and goals to reinforce the desired behavior and outcomes.

Remember that as an HR strategic partner, your role extends beyond HR processes. You're an enabler of organizational success, and your approach should be holistic, focusing on both the people and the business objectives. Stay agile, adaptable, and open to change to remain effective in this dynamic role.

All the skills building, self-evaluation, and innovation in the world will not replace the one thing that you absolutely need...TRUST. If your executives don't trust you, then you can expect to stay at the little kid table. I do agree that doing all the things mentioned in the article will help build credibility and lead to trust, but I have found that all the executives I have worked for want to be able to have unfiltered conversations so they can express their strategic needs and preferences without feeling judged or the EEOC is coming for them. Much of your job is making sure they communicate what is intended, not what was said.

Keep yourself up to date. As Business partner is it mandatory to keep up with trends, new knowledge, new tools related to business. Spending time in Social media for understanding the update info is one of the way besides reading news, joining HR community and upskilling yourself continuously. A lot of HR community is out there, choose the community that offered a lot of learning, sharing and discussion. This will help us getting more information, update and up and re skilling

To learn and keep yourself updated is not only in the field of HR. As a HR business partner who helps with the business transformation, we need to be abreast with the industry in which your organization operates in, the country economy and other external factors which have an impact on the company and industry you operate in.

As a HR business partner, we all have a responsibility to fulfil be it to the business or to the people hence we have to ensure we are fully equipped with the right knowledge, tools and human skills to do our job and it will definitely pay off.