Human resource business partner lifecycle model: exploring how the relationship between HRBPs and their line manager partners evolves

• Author: Mark McCrory,Martin McCracken,Travor C. Brown,Paula O'Kane
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12125
• Date: 01 January 2017
• Published date: 01 January 2017

Human resource business partner lifecycle model:

exploring how the relationship between HRBPs and

their line manager partners evolves

Martin McCracken,Ulster University Business School, Ulster University

Paula O’Kane, Department of Management, Universityof Otago

Travor C. Brown, Faculty of Business, Memorial University

Mark McCrory, Ulster University BusinessSchool, Ulster University

Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 27,no 1, 2017, pages 58–74

The human resources business partner (HRBP) role is advocated as a way for human resource (HR) professionals

and the HR profession to become more strategic and less transactional, necessitating the development of different

competencies. Few researchers have examined how the HRBP Model plays out in practice, over time, from the

perspective of HR professionals and their line manager partners (LMPs). We collected data through interviews

and focus groups with both these stakeholders at three UK organisations to understand the dynamics of the

individual HRBP–LMP relationship. After analysing the data, we propose an HRBP Lifecycle Model. The

model suggests the relationship between the parties is dynamic, complex and dependent upon the

organisational culture as well as the skills and competencies of the main stakeholders in the partnership.

Contact: Dr. Martin McCracken, Ulster University Business School, Ulster University,

Newtownabbey, N. Ireland, UK. Email:m.mccracken@ulster.ac.uk

Keywords: humanresources business partner; linemanager; competencies; Strategic HRM

INTRODUCTION

The role of the human resource (HR) professional has changed significantly from the

days of personnel departments, where the focus was on transactional tasks (Guest,

1991; Lawler, 2011), to the prevailing wisdom of today which suggests HR

professionals must partner with line managersby aligning their work with the organisation’s

strategic direction (Dany et al., 2008; Jackson et al., 2014). The first movement toward this

partnership approach was the HR generalist role, where the practitioner was ‘the first point

of contact for employees while also liaising with business managers regarding HR matters’

(Pritchard, 2010: 179). More recently, wehave seen movement to the human resource business

partnership (HRBP) role (Ulrich, 1998). The essence of the HRBP approach is that an HR

professional can become a strategic partner with line managers to facilitate the attainment of

business goals (Ulrich, 1998; Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2014). The

influence of the HRBP approach is widespread, with some authors claiming it is ‘centre stage

…with significantlyless attention paid to other [HR] roles’(Pritchard and Fear,2015: 1). Thus,

we wanted to understand how the HRBP role plays out in practice, over time, through the

voices of thoseinvolved in the relationship,namely the HRBPs and their line managerpartners

(LMPs). In doing so,we sought to explore key skills andcompetencies, their relationshipsand

the cultural influences at various points throughout our proposed HRBP Lifecycle.

The lifecycleconcept has often been usedto examine organisationaltransitions. For example,

the stages organisations go through over the course of their life (Quinn and Cameron, 1983;

Smith et al., 1985;Lester et al., 2003) and product (or service)lifecycles from initialdevelopment

to ultimate decline (Thietart and Vivas, 1984). In the present study, we use data from three

Pleasecite this artic le in press as: McCracken, M., O’Kane, P., Brown, T. C. and McCrory, M. (2017) ‘Human resource businesspartner lifecycle model: exploring

how the relationship between HRBPs and their line manager part ners evolves’.HumanResource Management Journal 27:1,58–74

58 HUMAN RESOURCEMANAGEMENT JOURNAL, VOL27, NO 1, 2017

©2016 John Wiley& Sons Ltd

doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12125

bs_bs_banner

organisations whose HR functions are at various stages of sophistication to illustrate the

evolution of the relationships between the key stakeholders as they attempt to enact HR

Business Partnering. In so doing, we highlight various issues and tensions, which emerged at

what we saw as the critical stages of HRBP development. By understanding the relationship

and cultural shifts,which occur as this approach unfolds,we suggest the key stakeholders will

be better able to successfully managethis change. Such transitions havebeen noted in lifecycle

theories as ‘crises’. For example in Quinn and Cameron’s (1983) much cited organisation

lifecycle theory, it is proposed that after an initial period of creative expansion a ‘leadership

crisis’may occur where tough decisions have to be taken regarding the future direction of

the immature organisation. A key aim of this article is to illustrate that, similar to the

organisational lifecycle model, as HR business partnering is adapted and evolves a myriad of

difficulties and tensions, as well as opportunities for the participants, can arise.

While Ulrich’s (Ulrich et al., 2012) HRBP model does not explicitly reference obstacles to

developing HR competencies, other studies have done so. Factors such as encouraging

LMP buy-in to the HRBP approach and upskilling HR professionals to become more ‘business

savvy’are noted as problematic (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2012,

2014; McCracken and Heaton, 2012). Similarly, authors have identified the importance of

balancing both transactional and strategic HR duties (Beer, 1997; Caldwell, 2003; Lawler,

2011) as well as tensions associated with the HRBP’s dual role as both partner to management

and employee advocate (Kochan, 2004; Francis and Keegan, 2006; Pritchard and Fear, 2015).

In many ways, such tensions are intrinsically related to the organisational context or cultural

circumstances faced by the main stakeholders. Thus, we also suggest that organisations need

to consider what role culture plays when considering the operation of the HRBP approach.

With this in mind, we utilise the work of Goffee and Jones (1998) and Garrow and Martin

(2012), whose perspective on culture can help us to understand key issues at the heart of the

HRBP approach. Organisational culture has received significant attention and many authors

have attempted to categorise its key ‘ingredients’(see, for example, Schein, 1985; Handy,

1993; Deal and Kennedy, 2000; Martin, 2002). Given the importance of partnership and

relationshipbuilding between HRprofessionals and line/functionalmanagers Goffeeand Jones

(1998) Double S Cube model provides a useful lens from which to understand the HRBP

process, because of its emphasis on how task and social relationships between stakeholders,

in this case HRBPs and LMPs, can affect an organisation’s culture. This article contributes to

the literature by examining in-depth, qualitative data from three organisations (one with a

longitudinal dimension) where the HRBPs and their LMPs are at different stages of their

individual relationships or lifecycle.

HRBP transition:considering competencies

Ulrich et al.’s (2012,2013) model of HR professional competency domains is a comprehensive

theoretical framework and, therefore, grounds this study. This model presents six key HR

professional competency domains, which evolved from the analysis of over 20,000 survey

responses and employed a multi-stakeholder approach. These domains are: (a) strategic

positioner,which focuses on understandingthe business context,the implications of that context

and the creation of business goals; (b) credible activist, which includes the individual’s

interpersonalskills and results-oriented behaviourthat builds trusting relationships;(c) change

champion, where they demonstrate the ability to drive change, overcome resistance and build

commitment; (d)capability builder, which involves strategicallyaligning HR to business drivers

and creatinga meaningful work climate; (e)being a HR innovator and integrator,with the aim of

Martin McCracken,Paula O’Kane, TravorC. Brown, and Mark McCrory

HUMAN RESOURCEMANAGEMENT JOURNAL, VOL27, NO 1, 2017 59

©2016 John Wiley& Sons Ltd.