Human Resources

HR as a Business Partner

When you hear the term HR professional you tend to think of a department within an organization that deals with paperwork and benefits. This is actually how the HR departments were viewed in the past, which caused many organizations to view the HR department as a waste of time, effort, and money. Organizations started to believe that anyone could do this job and would either outsource this work or eliminate the HR department completely. The HR department and/or professionals were never viewed as business partners because the HR department did not bring any source of profit to the company. (Krishna, 2012) Times are changing and HR departments are becoming more involved with the company’s goals and visions. (Krishna, 2012) HR professionals are starting to become more knowledgeable about the strategic business aspects of the company and how they can apply their skills to better the company in the long run. Although HR professionals are making changes, getting educated, and turning towards strategic business practice, they do continue to face barriers when it comes to being viewed as business partners. Although there are these barriers that can cause some challenges, there are things that a HR professional can do to position him- or herself as a business partner. When a HR professional makes an effort to be viewed as a business partner they have a better chance at having that place at the table. Tis place at the table is a very important place for a HR professional.

As HR professionals start to change to become more of a strategic business partner, they have to overcome barriers. The fact that the HR department doesn’t produce any financial gain causes barriers for HR professionals. The HR department has become more involved with the organizations goals, but they will always be viewed as non-profitable. The only way they can overcome this is to continually show that their services to the organization save the business money by creating...