For the past five years I have wondered: what is an “HR business partner”? This seems like a recent (ca. 2015? earlier?) euphemism for HR goon, or at more charitably an HR fixer. Is this indeed a new term for an existing job, or a new role? Where dig this term come from? SHRM? B-school academics?
HR business partner is assigned to a specific department/division/whatever of the company to be their “HR person”. If you’re in that division you talk to your HR BP, they’re the one who will do the yearly baselining exercise with the managing director etc. So basically the public face of HR for that division
As opposed to the people working on company-wide stuff like salary guidelines, rulebooks, “the way we work” brochures, recruitment, etc
Some HR departments gets so large and fluffy that a significant amount of employees do "HR for HR". Internal stuff that is completely disconnected from the rest of the business.
Those that sometimes actually do talk to the business are called "HR business partners".
