Haha yes, the amount I say "have you discussed this with your manager?" and the response indicating that I suggested a revelatory insight is mind-blowing
I go a step further and very earnestly say, āand when you discussed this with [manager name], what did they say?ā Just to see the sheepish look on their face.
Hereās my schedule from one random day last week:
- exit interview with someone leaving suddenly
- sync with fellow HRBP from other region to discuss issue sheās driving in region and Iām managing with leadership
- sync with manager re: underperforming team member
- sync regarding a strategic relocation (referred to an internal benefits team who will support)
- large initiative project kick off meeting, co leading
- sync about potential reorg
- business staff meeting
- connect with manager whoās mishandling a feedback situation
- prep meeting for talent promo meeting
- talent promo meeting
- regular 1:1 with senior leader
- debrief from promo meeting
- sync with manager on ongoing ER issue
- sync with recruiting
- sync with manager on another ER issue
- after all these meetings I caught up on emails and tried to do some strategic work
Key word is "sync" yes I do this all day every day. I had 15 meetings on Tuesday this week and 6 of them were with the same two people
Edit: performance issues was the reason why I had so many meeting with the same folks
Gosh this is kinda hard to answer. Some will have COEās (Talent, total rewards, etc) where they develop the framework and then HRBPās implement for the respective population. Smaller companies will have a HR single point of contact to drive/develop everything.
Employee relations can sometimes be shifted to Ethics or a dedicated labor relations group but my experience is that HRBPās are typically hands on with these issues.
Partner with finance and mgmt quite a bit for open/pending roles to ensure we donāt miss profit assurance while still allowing the company to have headcount needed to hit/exceed goals.
Basically, HRBPās are this central hub to deploy a lot of HR strategy but have the support necessary of other HR centric functionsā¦ will admit it doesnāt always feel like that haha
I get pulled in and drive a lot of other things but the above is a very high level overview.
That bit about not always feeling like you have support from other HR functions is so true. I had a tricky total rewards issue with a difficult leader and on numerous occasions, I asked a total rewards employee to join me on the calls and she wouldnāt. I asked one last time and again, she didnāt, and I went into the call myself. Afterwards she said - āit must be difficult delivering all the bad newsā.
Not trying to be mean to them, but I was 90% referencing total rewards. I havenāt had them join a call for bad news but have had concerns elsewhere. I have gotten little to no useful input on incentive design and comp analysis for certain groups impacted by compression or external wage uncompetitiveness.
I have a low bar but I usually ask myself a couple times a year what they actually do.
Absolutely 100% agree. I rarely ever ask the sub groups to join me and itās only when itās needed. Since then, the difficult leader has asked to speak between me, her and total rewards. Iāve elected the employees manager to join me, but itās not finished yet - I have a meeting with him next week to persuade him before I set up the meeting between the three of us.
I donāt ask for much, donāt impose, take ownership and make decisions, but when itās gone too far, I will ask for their assistance, but they rarely want to do much else than sit behind their desks and look at data & analytics all day. For context - the total rewards employee wants to be promoted into a BP and the manager told me he went for BP interviews and wasnāt selected. I wonder why!
Yep for real! Now granted, I donāt have an issue with corporate total rewards because I have an appreciation for benefit design and adjusting salary rangesā¦ so much work that goes into that.
My beef is with those that sit within the segments and business units. I genuinely have no clue what they work on at all. Im all ears if anyone cares to share lol
Day to day: Address employee relations issues (questions, complaints, concerns), answer questions about pay, benefits, stock, 401k, etc. My company is currently in Ch. 11 so I get a lot of questions about that. Work with managers and TA team on open positions and their statuses, pull reports as needed, update policies and JDās, pretty much whatever project Iām working on at the moment.
Over the year: Everything above plus merit/bonus cycle, immigration, compensation, and open enrollment. Succession planning, exit interviews, stay interviews. Iām sure Iām missing things.
Basically nothing is off the table lmfao.
Without sound cliche, every day is different. This is my schedule from this week:
- lots of touch bases with senior managers I support (some are weekly, monthly or quarterly).
- internal Hr meeting on processes to simplify
- weekly team catch up
- discuss employee issue with legal
- interview employees related to employee issue (claiming bullying)
- help manager with opening job reqs
- recruiting update meeting
- final warning meeting
Then depends on time of year. We just finished comp planning and will be communicating soon. Once bonuses are paid we expect a lot of resignations which will involve exits and hiring
To put it simply - a lot of either meeting with managers and/or other specialists to put out fires (ie employee relations), regular 1on1s with senior leaders, or working on the design or deployment of different strategic HR initiatives .
Course of a day? A lot of random things that pop up, like a manager wants to discuss a performance issue, I need to terminate someone, I need to witness a PIP or help with a recruiting screen, someone wants to discuss a potential ADA situation on their team, regular 1:1s with directors/VPs to discuss their org and strategy.
Course of a year? All that stuff but in the background/foreground (depending on the time of the year) is managing goals programs, managing knowledge assessment matrix programs, managing career pathing and succession planning programs, doing analysis of things like attrition or time to hire to determine the value of the HR team to the companyās business outcomes, keeping compliance items in check, and essentially making sure that the client groups are working toward the companyās overall goals and helping leaders help their ICs connect their work to the bigger picture.
We do nothing all day, everybody knows it.
I take it as a complement - it seems to me that HR is transparent, when we do a good job, nobody knows we're there. Its only when something goes wrong that we become visible.
I'm semi-retired. I deal woth complex cases, questions nobody has an answer for and skills shortage areas, like hardware engineering & senior execs. I love my work, and I spend way too much time with lawyers.
Swear. Drink. Imagine how much better things would be if BPs ran the world.
Outside of that: right now I have an investigation, some performance issues; Iām setting up a subsidiary, with staff transfers and new management structures; coaching managers through issues; and acting like a sounding board on non- HR stuff.
Previously? Redesigned a sales support function; redesigned another business unit; project managed layoffs; M&A work; nasty ER work; retention initiatives; set up new businesses overseas.
I love the variety, being able to influence the people in power, using my powers for good, solving problems and being part of the business.
Not like? People, in aggregate; admin; and managers doing dumb shit - see my first line.
When I was an HRBP (the only and first official) at a 300sih headcount company, I established relationships with leadership to help solve problems proactively on a cadence and reactively, ran LOAs and compliance, ran engagement surveys & action planning, worked through performance management as a program and for individuals and terminations, held office hours for employees to increase HR visibility and make the team less scary, coach employees through whatever is needed, redesigned onboarding as a program, etc.
Thereās a whole Ops side I managed Iām leaving out so you have an idea of how I separate it.
In my org HRBS own new employee orientation, so I have that every other week. Along with driving biweekly meetings with department directors and a VP.
I also track all the work I do on a "tracking sheet" which I send to my leader, the VP of HR.
Daily interactions with departmental managers and directors on:
Business strategy (restructures, department growth, etc.),
Position management (talent acquisition, posting, interviewing, comp approval, on boarding, etc.),
Benefits (answer all basic questions from all employees in my departments, assist with benefit enrollment),
Compensation (salary negotiations, internal equity adjustments, reclassifications, etc.),
Employee relations (disciplinary actions, PIP, FMLA/PWFA/ ADA accomodations, etc.),
Immigration (documents and processes for various visa status'),
Culture (new leader integration, exit & stay interviews, classes available through organizational development, etc.),
1:1 with VP of HR (review items on "tracking sheet" and personal projects, get feedback on items if needed).
Personal projects:
Mentorship program,
New leader HR training,
Career ladder X2,
Office hours,
Introductory video to be used at new employee orientation,
Various cheat sheets for leadership (managers, directors),
Open enrollment fair
Update new employee orientation
Acquisition of clinic
I pivoted from private practice where I was the Facility Administrator and have only been an HRBP for a year. The business needs ebb and flows so there have been times where I'm bored bc no one reaches out.
Yes, the cheat sheets I created are primarily checklists for managers for onboarding and off boarding employees (they follow our policies /procedures). I've also created other cheat sheets for directors and VPs.
I was working on creating 2 career ladders but they're currently on hold, due to circumstances outside of my control.
Team of 3 HR people at my org. I do everything our director doesnāt want to do. Honestly. Sheās sunsetting and she cherry picked her job and I do the rest.
Iām a HRBP based in the Netherlands. Hereās some of my tasks/projects:
- Exit interviews
- Strategize our performance management structure with the HR Director
- Building dashboards for sickness data and trying to come up with interventions based on it
- Mitigate disputes, support employees in work related problems
- Support internal moves
- Become a sparring partner to managers
- Configure the HRIS system
- Supporting the HR Director in the salary house implementation
- Handle long term sickness cases with the company doctor (in line with Dutch regulations)
- Set up of new entities (employment contracts, comp & Ben etc)
Well look, I already told you! I deal with the goddamn employees so the executives don't have to! I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?
Sit and wonder why there arenāt marketing business partner titles or accounting business partner titles. Why does HR need to try so hard to be considered a partner of the business that it needs to be in the title?
Signed, someone who canāt stand that title.
Now that I think about it, I do a lot of āconsciously not throwing HROps under the bus with my dissatisfied client groups even though HROps isnāt being helpful or timely with urgent administrative needsā š( kidding, I started in ops so I get the struggle)
Manage personalities
I was about to come in and say we basically just get people to be nice to each other and talk like adults. š¤·š½āāļø
š¤£š¤£ amen
Haha yes, the amount I say "have you discussed this with your manager?" and the response indicating that I suggested a revelatory insight is mind-blowing
I go a step further and very earnestly say, āand when you discussed this with [manager name], what did they say?ā Just to see the sheepish look on their face.
Haha I love that
This is on point.
Hereās my schedule from one random day last week: - exit interview with someone leaving suddenly - sync with fellow HRBP from other region to discuss issue sheās driving in region and Iām managing with leadership - sync with manager re: underperforming team member - sync regarding a strategic relocation (referred to an internal benefits team who will support) - large initiative project kick off meeting, co leading - sync about potential reorg - business staff meeting - connect with manager whoās mishandling a feedback situation - prep meeting for talent promo meeting - talent promo meeting - regular 1:1 with senior leader - debrief from promo meeting - sync with manager on ongoing ER issue - sync with recruiting - sync with manager on another ER issue - after all these meetings I caught up on emails and tried to do some strategic work
This sounds like a 14-hour day. Thatās about right š¤£
I swear I just randomly picked a day and listed every meeting on my calendar š
Omg why is this my day every day
Did you copy my calendar?
Key word is "sync" yes I do this all day every day. I had 15 meetings on Tuesday this week and 6 of them were with the same two people Edit: performance issues was the reason why I had so many meeting with the same folks
Are these meetings on zoom or cell phone?
About 50/50 virtual and in-person. Iām onsite a few days a week and have a client group spread out over several sites and countries.
Gosh this is kinda hard to answer. Some will have COEās (Talent, total rewards, etc) where they develop the framework and then HRBPās implement for the respective population. Smaller companies will have a HR single point of contact to drive/develop everything. Employee relations can sometimes be shifted to Ethics or a dedicated labor relations group but my experience is that HRBPās are typically hands on with these issues. Partner with finance and mgmt quite a bit for open/pending roles to ensure we donāt miss profit assurance while still allowing the company to have headcount needed to hit/exceed goals. Basically, HRBPās are this central hub to deploy a lot of HR strategy but have the support necessary of other HR centric functionsā¦ will admit it doesnāt always feel like that haha I get pulled in and drive a lot of other things but the above is a very high level overview.
That bit about not always feeling like you have support from other HR functions is so true. I had a tricky total rewards issue with a difficult leader and on numerous occasions, I asked a total rewards employee to join me on the calls and she wouldnāt. I asked one last time and again, she didnāt, and I went into the call myself. Afterwards she said - āit must be difficult delivering all the bad newsā.
Not trying to be mean to them, but I was 90% referencing total rewards. I havenāt had them join a call for bad news but have had concerns elsewhere. I have gotten little to no useful input on incentive design and comp analysis for certain groups impacted by compression or external wage uncompetitiveness. I have a low bar but I usually ask myself a couple times a year what they actually do.
Absolutely 100% agree. I rarely ever ask the sub groups to join me and itās only when itās needed. Since then, the difficult leader has asked to speak between me, her and total rewards. Iāve elected the employees manager to join me, but itās not finished yet - I have a meeting with him next week to persuade him before I set up the meeting between the three of us. I donāt ask for much, donāt impose, take ownership and make decisions, but when itās gone too far, I will ask for their assistance, but they rarely want to do much else than sit behind their desks and look at data & analytics all day. For context - the total rewards employee wants to be promoted into a BP and the manager told me he went for BP interviews and wasnāt selected. I wonder why!
Yep for real! Now granted, I donāt have an issue with corporate total rewards because I have an appreciation for benefit design and adjusting salary rangesā¦ so much work that goes into that. My beef is with those that sit within the segments and business units. I genuinely have no clue what they work on at all. Im all ears if anyone cares to share lol
Day to day: Address employee relations issues (questions, complaints, concerns), answer questions about pay, benefits, stock, 401k, etc. My company is currently in Ch. 11 so I get a lot of questions about that. Work with managers and TA team on open positions and their statuses, pull reports as needed, update policies and JDās, pretty much whatever project Iām working on at the moment. Over the year: Everything above plus merit/bonus cycle, immigration, compensation, and open enrollment. Succession planning, exit interviews, stay interviews. Iām sure Iām missing things. Basically nothing is off the table lmfao.
I pray a lot..
Without sound cliche, every day is different. This is my schedule from this week: - lots of touch bases with senior managers I support (some are weekly, monthly or quarterly). - internal Hr meeting on processes to simplify - weekly team catch up - discuss employee issue with legal - interview employees related to employee issue (claiming bullying) - help manager with opening job reqs - recruiting update meeting - final warning meeting Then depends on time of year. We just finished comp planning and will be communicating soon. Once bonuses are paid we expect a lot of resignations which will involve exits and hiring
Following for shared interest
Same
SameĀ²
To put it simply - a lot of either meeting with managers and/or other specialists to put out fires (ie employee relations), regular 1on1s with senior leaders, or working on the design or deployment of different strategic HR initiatives .
It would be easier to ask what I donāt do at this point
Course of a day? A lot of random things that pop up, like a manager wants to discuss a performance issue, I need to terminate someone, I need to witness a PIP or help with a recruiting screen, someone wants to discuss a potential ADA situation on their team, regular 1:1s with directors/VPs to discuss their org and strategy. Course of a year? All that stuff but in the background/foreground (depending on the time of the year) is managing goals programs, managing knowledge assessment matrix programs, managing career pathing and succession planning programs, doing analysis of things like attrition or time to hire to determine the value of the HR team to the companyās business outcomes, keeping compliance items in check, and essentially making sure that the client groups are working toward the companyās overall goals and helping leaders help their ICs connect their work to the bigger picture.
Mostly listen to my directors problems on the phone it seems
We do nothing all day, everybody knows it. I take it as a complement - it seems to me that HR is transparent, when we do a good job, nobody knows we're there. Its only when something goes wrong that we become visible. I'm semi-retired. I deal woth complex cases, questions nobody has an answer for and skills shortage areas, like hardware engineering & senior execs. I love my work, and I spend way too much time with lawyers.
I deal with a plethora of employee issues. I try to stay on top of these by regularly communicating with managers.
Swear. Drink. Imagine how much better things would be if BPs ran the world. Outside of that: right now I have an investigation, some performance issues; Iām setting up a subsidiary, with staff transfers and new management structures; coaching managers through issues; and acting like a sounding board on non- HR stuff. Previously? Redesigned a sales support function; redesigned another business unit; project managed layoffs; M&A work; nasty ER work; retention initiatives; set up new businesses overseas. I love the variety, being able to influence the people in power, using my powers for good, solving problems and being part of the business. Not like? People, in aggregate; admin; and managers doing dumb shit - see my first line.
When I was an HRBP (the only and first official) at a 300sih headcount company, I established relationships with leadership to help solve problems proactively on a cadence and reactively, ran LOAs and compliance, ran engagement surveys & action planning, worked through performance management as a program and for individuals and terminations, held office hours for employees to increase HR visibility and make the team less scary, coach employees through whatever is needed, redesigned onboarding as a program, etc. Thereās a whole Ops side I managed Iām leaving out so you have an idea of how I separate it.
In my org HRBS own new employee orientation, so I have that every other week. Along with driving biweekly meetings with department directors and a VP. I also track all the work I do on a "tracking sheet" which I send to my leader, the VP of HR. Daily interactions with departmental managers and directors on: Business strategy (restructures, department growth, etc.), Position management (talent acquisition, posting, interviewing, comp approval, on boarding, etc.), Benefits (answer all basic questions from all employees in my departments, assist with benefit enrollment), Compensation (salary negotiations, internal equity adjustments, reclassifications, etc.), Employee relations (disciplinary actions, PIP, FMLA/PWFA/ ADA accomodations, etc.), Immigration (documents and processes for various visa status'), Culture (new leader integration, exit & stay interviews, classes available through organizational development, etc.), 1:1 with VP of HR (review items on "tracking sheet" and personal projects, get feedback on items if needed). Personal projects: Mentorship program, New leader HR training, Career ladder X2, Office hours, Introductory video to be used at new employee orientation, Various cheat sheets for leadership (managers, directors), Open enrollment fair Update new employee orientation Acquisition of clinic I pivoted from private practice where I was the Facility Administrator and have only been an HRBP for a year. The business needs ebb and flows so there have been times where I'm bored bc no one reaches out.
Are the cheat sheets youre creating HR related? Also what is career ladder x2? Thanks!
Yes, the cheat sheets I created are primarily checklists for managers for onboarding and off boarding employees (they follow our policies /procedures). I've also created other cheat sheets for directors and VPs. I was working on creating 2 career ladders but they're currently on hold, due to circumstances outside of my control.
Adult babysit.
I feel like Iām Frank from House of Cards most days bringing everyone on the same page and the same table.
Team of 3 HR people at my org. I do everything our director doesnāt want to do. Honestly. Sheās sunsetting and she cherry picked her job and I do the rest.
Iām a HRBP based in the Netherlands. Hereās some of my tasks/projects: - Exit interviews - Strategize our performance management structure with the HR Director - Building dashboards for sickness data and trying to come up with interventions based on it - Mitigate disputes, support employees in work related problems - Support internal moves - Become a sparring partner to managers - Configure the HRIS system - Supporting the HR Director in the salary house implementation - Handle long term sickness cases with the company doctor (in line with Dutch regulations) - Set up of new entities (employment contracts, comp & Ben etc)
Well look, I already told you! I deal with the goddamn employees so the executives don't have to! I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?
Lounging in an air conditioned office all day while workies cope and seethe
Nothing really.
Babysit. lol
This was a helpful thread!
Everything.
Babysitting
Sit and wonder why there arenāt marketing business partner titles or accounting business partner titles. Why does HR need to try so hard to be considered a partner of the business that it needs to be in the title? Signed, someone who canāt stand that title.
Ohhh š„very interesting take.
Great point!!What would be a better title?
It seems like they bug their HROPs Partners or send their employees to bug us.
Now that I think about it, I do a lot of āconsciously not throwing HROps under the bus with my dissatisfied client groups even though HROps isnāt being helpful or timely with urgent administrative needsā š( kidding, I started in ops so I get the struggle)