I had the pleasure of attending Joe’s mega session on “How to be a better Business Partner.” For all of you who could not attend the session or the #SHRM18 Conference, below are some of the key takeaways from his session:
- NEVER say you are just an HR professional. By you saying that, you are limiting yourself to just HR. If you want to be a business partner, always define yourself as a “business professional with expertise in HR.”
- The best way to convince your management to include you (HR) in the business decisions is by explaining to them the importance of your role. Make them realize that the most important asset an organization have is its people, and HR is the primary department managing that asset. Therefore, it is important that HR should be included in the strategic business planning decisions.
- In order to be a business partner, keep your ego aside. When you have ego, your strength can become your biggest weakness. Lose that ego!
- Once you lose ego, you become humble. Humility is the cure for ego. When you are humble, people would like to talk to you more and share their problems. You become more approachable.
- Promote Curiosity. Ask questions because what you know could hurt you. What you know might not be true. It is important to ask questions and dig deeper to know the truth. Be careful of the collective belief your team have.
- Learn the business. This is extremely important. You’re meant to be an expert in business. If you do not understand the business, how will you help it grow? Build partnership across the organizations, go out with other departments for lunch and ask them what they do.
- Understand the business issue. The key is to focus on underlying business issue that your company is trying to solve. Ask questions until you get to the real problem. Digging a bit around soft evidence can help you find hard evidence i.e. facts and figure.
The key is to get to the end and find the purpose! That is what defines a great business partner. Thanks Joe for this awesome session.
Kiran Ali is a master’s degree holder and a PHR certified professional working at Edward Jones in the talent analytics space. Kiran has extensive years of multinational experience working in the HR industry. What sets her apart is her diverse background and passion for writing; she wants to share her knowledge & experience with the world. Kiran is a firm believer that hard work pays off!
Kiran has been known for breakthrough innovation, challenging the status quo, and her never-ending love for the HR field. In her free time, you’d find her watching inspirational videos & reading articles related to HR. You can follow her on LinkedIn and ask her any questions regarding HR.
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