Transactional roles are no longer enough in a disrupted world
- Are you expected to proactively engage with business leaders about their priorities and goals, rather than waiting for them to come to you with requests?
- Do internal stakeholders rely on you to co-create solutions, drive change, or improve decision-making in areas beyond your traditional scope?
- Do you work closely with other departments to align your expertise with their business needs and long-term goals?
If you answer "yes" to these three questions, there’s a strong chance you work in HR, IT, Finance, Risk, Legal, Procurement, or another corporate function often referred to as support or enabling functions.
Everyone in these roles—and I mean everyone, this is a standard conversation with every client—is being asked to be more "consultative," "proactive," and "strategic," to have a "service mindset," and to be "(internal) client-centric." There is a growing expectation to be a "better business partner," to focus on "solutions over transactions," and to "manage multiple stakeholders." Rings a bell?
There are good reasons to expect your corporate function to behave as such:
Why the Shift?
- Technological Disruption: Cloud platforms, AI, and data analytics empower functions like HR and Finance to automate transactional tasks and focus on strategic initiatives.
- Globalization and Complexity: Organizations increasingly rely on cross-functional and cross-border collaborations to navigate regulatory, cultural, and market challenges.
- Demand for Value: Stakeholders expect internal functions to contribute directly to profitability. For instance, Finance teams now provide scenario-based financial modeling to guide executive decisions.
The Essential Skills for Effective Business Partnering
What skills are essential for business partnering, and how can you develop them in your function(s)? Beyond technical and functional expertise, business partnering typically requires a mix of three categories of skills: Interpersonal, Cognitive, and Personal Effectiveness.
1. Interpersonal Skills
Focus on building strong relationships, effective communication, and navigating social dynamics.
- Effective Communication: Delivering clear, concise, and engaging messages while actively listening and using storytelling to connect with audiences.
- Collaboration: Building and maintaining strong, trust-based relationships with diverse stakeholders to achieve shared goals.
- Emotional Intelligence: Demonstrating self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to understand and manage emotions in oneself and others to navigate complex situations.
- Stakeholder Management: Identifying, engaging, and aligning with stakeholders to ensure shared understanding and support for goals.
- Facilitation: Leading productive discussions, workshops, and decision-making sessions that drive alignment and outcomes.
2. Cognitive Skills
Focusing on strategic thinking, problem-solving, and understanding the business environment.
- Strategic Thinking: Applying critical, creative, and long-term thinking to align actions with organizational goals and anticipate future challenges.
- Business Acumen: Understanding key business principles, financial drivers, industry dynamics, and market trends to make informed decisions and align with business priorities.
- Problem-Solving: Analyzing complex situations, identifying root causes, and developing practical, innovative solutions to business challenges.
- Systems Thinking: Understanding how different parts of the organization interact and considering the broader context when making decisions.
3. Personal Effectiveness
Skills that enable individuals to adapt, learn, and perform under pressure.
- Resilience: Maintaining composure, optimism, and flexibility in the face of setbacks and challenges.
- Learning Agility: Continuously seeking and applying new knowledge, skills, and approaches to stay relevant and effective.
- Adaptability: Adjusting to changing environments, priorities, and challenges with ease.
- Self-Awareness: Understanding personal strengths, weaknesses, and biases to improve interactions and decision-making.
In the latest Future of Jobs report, the World Economic Forum identifies skills that are both on the rise and critical for the future: leadership and social influence, curiosity and lifelong learning, systems thinking, and talent management. These trends highlight the continued relevance of human-centric skills amid rapid technological advances, underscoring that we are—and will increasingly be—in a "partnering economy."
However, the exact skills your function or team will need vary based on your organization’s context. Some functions, such as HR or IT, have already been working for years to develop professionals skilled in engaging stakeholders and anticipating problems. Others may still be transitioning.
Developing the Business Partner of the Future
To build better business partners, consider the following steps:
1. Agree on a Partnering Skill Model
Start by defining what "partnering" means in your organization. Develop a clear skill model either within a specific function or, ideally, across support functions. This step alone will provide clarity and encourage stakeholder engagement—a valuable exercise in itself.
2. Assess Skill Gaps
Conduct a skills assessment to identify gaps and opportunities for development. Options include:
- Self-Assessments: Tailored tools for individuals to evaluate their own competencies.
- Peer Feedback: Structured sessions where colleagues assess each other's skills.
- Behavioral Interviews: Discussions exploring past experiences to identify skill gaps.
- Stakeholder Surveys: Anonymous feedback from internal clients on collaboration and impact.
- Competency Frameworks: Comparing employee skills to established standards.
- Skill Benchmarking: Evaluating skills against top-performing peers or organizations.
- Psychometric Tools to uncover development needs.
- Focus Groups: Group discussions to identify common challenges and gaps.
3. Tailor Development Programs
Based on the assessment, design initiatives that address the identified gaps. Examples include:
- On-the-Job Experiences: Encourage team members to work on cross-functional projects or shadow business leaders to gain practical exposure.
- Mentoring and Coaching: Establish mentorship programs to help individuals refine their consultative approach and build relationships.
- Self-Directed Learning: Offer access to resources such as online courses, books, and industry events to encourage continuous learning.
- Targeted Training Programs: Offer workshops focused on critical skills like communication, data analysis, or leadership.
- Cross-Functional Projects: Encourage participation in projects involving multiple departments to build collaboration and problem-solving skills.
- Shadowing Opportunities: Allow employees to observe senior leaders or peers to learn best practices in action.
- E-Learning Platforms: Provide access to online courses and certifications in areas relevant to partnering.
- Stretch Assignments: Assign challenging tasks outside employees' comfort zones to build resilience and adaptability.
- Knowledge Sharing Sessions: Organize regular team discussions where employees share insights and learn from each other.
- Networking Events: Facilitate internal or external networking to expose employees to new ideas and approaches.
- Book Clubs and Study Groups: Foster learning through group discussions on relevant books or articles.
4. Build a Feedback Loop
Implement regular feedback mechanisms to monitor progress and refine development strategies. This could include:
- Quarterly reviews focused on skill development.
- Stakeholder surveys to measure the perceived impact of changes.
- Team discussions to share lessons learned and best practices.
5. Recognize and Reward Growth
Celebrate and reward individuals and teams who demonstrate strong partnering behaviors. Recognition reinforces the importance of these skills and motivates others to develop them.
A New Era of Partnership
Becoming a better business partner isn’t just about improving individual skills; it’s about transforming how internal functions operate and collaborate. As organizations continue to navigate complexity and disruption, the ability of enabling functions to partner effectively will be a key differentiator for long-term success.
