Dear Tech Manager, this is why you need an HR BP
HRBP stands for Human Resource Business Partners. These individuals are HR professionals whose job is to partner closely with a company’s senior leadership to develop an effective HR agenda. The agenda should support the organization’s overall aims.
So, you are a Tech Manager (in Docplanner it means having leadership in IT, Product or Data teams) and you look at the definition mentioned above you think — ok, but what can I get from working with an HR Business Partner? My work is strictly connected with technology/product, and I don’t think someone without a technical background can understand my work or support me.
Hi there! I am an HR BP in Docplanner Tech, and I am here to give you some answers :)
- I care, but I will challenge you
I know that sometimes as a manager, you don’t get that much recognition — you focus so much on your team that sometimes you lack feedback about yourself. So I do my best to tell you when I think you did something amazing. I do that by looking at data in Officevibe (a pulse survey that we use to check people’s happiness) or I simply observe by myself and talk to your team. I celebrate all the successes (both yours and your team’s) and I am super happy when things are going well. I often have this “proud Mom” feeling.
But… If I don’t agree with you — I am going to challenge you. Believe me — I will. No matter if it’s a matter of recruitment or team management. Of course, in the end, it’s a matter of discussion, and it doesn’t mean I am right. But my role as a HR BP is to give you different perspectives on many topics and to challenge your decision. So, after the meeting with me, you will go out of the room and say “phew! talking with Marta was not easy but I am happy with the decision we made together”.
2. Knowing people and the business
What allows me to challenge you is the fact that I have recruited a big part of Docplanner Tech. So I might know who will be a fit to which team and I can propose some changes between them. But also — with the people I have recruited –we have a relationship that makes some of them come to me just to talk about something important to them. So I am often aware of many things happening in the team. And I can let you know — of course, if the person didn’t ask that it stay between us or would rather tell you themself.
It’s not only about knowing people that I have recruited myself or their colleagues. Just as working with you — I work with different managers. I know their struggles and work with them on different things. Sometimes, I can suggest you to go to talk to another manager in the company who is going (or has gone) exactly through what you are going through. Of course, again, if the topic is not confidential.
Every once in a while I (or someone else from the People Experience team) can organize some workshops on topics like communication or people management for you just to exchange experience with other leaders and develop yourself to become a better manager.
Besides knowing people — I do my best to be updated with what is going on in the business. I am fully aware that you are the expert within your field. But I try to have a broader perspective, which allows me to not only suggest solutions best for people but make the solutions right for the business itself. I read business summaries, but also look at data connected with the company and again — talk a lot with other people within the company :)
3. Confidentiality
As mentioned before — people tell me about a lot of things. Not only managers. I do my best for them to trust me. My role is to be someone people can rely on. Even if you share with me some hard decisions (like thinking about firing someone), I will go through the topic with you and if we decide that that is the best decision — I will support you in it. And all that while maintaining 100% confidentiality. I believe that the ground for a good partnership between us is to trust each other and of course I expect the same from you :)
4. Focus on solutions, not problems
I am not only here to challenge you, but also to look for solutions. Knowing people and business gives me the possibility to search for ways to make your team happier/more effective/more integrated. There are some topics you might need help with, and I can do that: having someone demotivated in the team, giving hard feedback or making hard decisions regarding a person. It might happen that you will see only the problems without the hope that it will change.
So here I am — again!
I put on my superhero coat, I gather all the data I have and do my best to suggest a solution. Let me give you an example: at the end of last year, one of our Tech Managers came to me with the topic of feedback in his team. He was concerned because, although he felt he was providing it to his team frequently, the Feedback score in Officevibe was not only low but falling. The Manager felt there was nothing more he could do.
We talked about all the things he did, and I started to look for solutions. Some time ago, we had the same problem in another tech team, and back then we tested a hypothesis that although people got feedback from the manager daily — they didn’t see it as feedback because it was not “named”. We called the project “putting a Feedback hat on”. The Manager started naming some of the meetings with the team members “Feedback Sessions” (instead of just “1:1 meetings”) or simply underlined in the meeting agenda and at the beginning of the sessions that today you are going to focus on feedback. You might think “Come on, it’s silly…”
But you know what? It worked with the second manager as well! :)
5. Recruitment
In some companies, an HR BP doesn’t recruit — there is a dedicated team of recruiters. In Docplanner we do. Why?
First of all, to be a partner for you. As an example: I have recruited about 40 people in the past 3 years — for different positions, teams and seniority levels. That means I am not only familiar with the profile of a person that will fit into our company (both in terms of skills and values) but also I know what the job market looks like. I can give you suggestions on the job description or the best way of searching for talent (I am familiar with many recruitment sources). Also, I can do research about salaries in the market — just to let you know if the one you want to propose for candidates is consistent with what other companies offer. In the end — when it comes to recruitment, I am taking care of everything from sourcing to making the offer. So you can just prepare for the interview, go with me and give your feedback about the candidate. I will take care of the rest.
Believe me, quality of recruitment is critical for me (just look at the chart below). Not only to find great talent for your team but also to ensure good Candidate Experience during the process. You might ask: why should Candidate Experience matter to me? Good question! The truth is that in Docplanner, we have some team members that we didn’t hire the first time they applied (mainly because of too low technical skills), but they made it the second time. And you know what made them apply and work hard to get into our company after a while — amazing Candidate Experience :)
The second reason why I am recruiting is to be close to the teams. I am aware of who is joining Docplanner, and that allows me to have knowledge on people and be able to support and challenge you, which makes us go back to all the points mentioned above.
So, next time you are facing a challenge — look for your HR BP. We are here to help :)
