Why being promoted to HR Business Partner is harder than it looks. Tips for making the step up easier:

Moving from an operational role to a more strategic role is one of the biggest career moves you can make. In a recent poll I ran on LinkedIn 49% of HR professionals said the move from HR Advisor to HRBP ?was their hardest move. ?It is overwhelming and scary. Here are some tips to help you make the transition.

1.??????? Get really clear on what is expected of you. A job spec is useful but is not always the full picture and the role can vary massively from company to company. Have a conversation with your manager about what they expect from you, it is helpful to get really clear on their priorities, how they like to be communicated with, what they want you to escalate and what decision-making sits with you. This is an ongoing conversation. Check in regularly to see if things are working for you both

2.??????? Understand the business priorities and then make sure the things you are planning to work on fit in and support what the business is trying to achieve. This is the most straight forward way to make sure you are being “strategic”.? I have put strategic in inverted commas because it is such an overused phrase that I think scares the life out of us when we have just been promoted. Which is a shame because it is not as complicated as it sounds. Strategy simply means “a plan of action designed to achieve a long term or overall aim”. This works for recruitment planning, reducing retention along with projects to increase engagement. All things you can do.

3.??????? Have a plan. A simple people plan, broken down by activity for each month has many uses. It helps you communicate what you are working on, gives purpose to you and your team and helps you stay on track. I have lost count of the time I have got side-tracked by someone suggesting an idea that sounds great but isn’t in the plan and it isn’t going to take you closer to the business goals you have committed to. Being able to say what you are working on and objectively look at whether this new idea should replace an existing one helps you stay focused and avoid coming across as defensive.

4.??????? Ask yourself some key questions to make sure you are thinking more broadly about the day-to-day challenges you face

·??????? Is there a wider implication to this decision?

·??????? Do we need to investigate further?

·??????? What is the root cause of the problem? (5 why’s works really well here)

·??????? What possible options could we try?

·??????? Which one do we want to work on?

·??????? Who will be accountable for what?

These sorts of questions help you make sure you are thinking longer term and considering a range of options and get clear on who is accountable for which part. HR work is often in partnership with others people which makes clarity of role very important.

5.??????? Celebrating success is a key part of making the move to a bigger role, and enjoying it! If you have been used the getting job satisfaction from helping managers out of a difficult situation or being able to tick things off your to-do list, a promotion can make you question what you have done all day and whether you are adding value. It’s important to keep a list of what you have been working on and give yourself credit for moving part of a project forward, for having a conversation that challenged a colleague’s thinking, for investigating potential options for a new L&D provider. Keeping a note of these successes will make it easier for you to communicate your contribution and to remind yourself of the value you are adding. Remember to reward yourself. If you do something that is a challenge for you, treat yourself to a coffee, or a walk. The more senior you get the less positive feedback you get from others, so you have to learn to give yourself a pat on the back.

6.??????? Get some back up. Other HR people will understand how you feel. Speak to any HR person in a business partner role and they will tell you a list of challenges, sad situations, tricky decisions and difficult things they have dealt with. These things can be hard to talk to others about for fear of issues with confidentiality and can play on your mind. Get to events with other HR professionals where you can, you will be surprised what a relief it is to talk to others in the same position. If you can get a mentor or coach to support your development, it gives you a safe space to develop and come up with ways to deal with the challenges that the HRBP role will undoubtedly throw at you. This helps you deal with the worry that you aren’t adding value or doing enough which in turn gives you the confidence to be a really valuable partner to your business.

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We all question ourselves, we all feel there are things we “should” know but don’t, we all need some reassurance. You will be making more of a difference than you know. If you would like to chat further about mentoring and coaching from someone who has been there, I would love to chat to you.

Click here to book a free 30 minute call https://tidycal.com/jennie1/30-minute-meeting

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