What Does A HR Partner Do?

WHAT DOES A HR PARTNER DO?

Published: Jul 25, 2025 - The Human Resources (HR) Partner drives key human resources initiatives and strategic processes, managing essential aspects of the employee life-cycle, including talent acquisition, performance management, compensation, employee relations, and training. This role acts as a trusted advisor to leadership, ensuring consistent and legally compliant employment practices while championing communication and change management across the business. The partner also leads transversal human resources projects and fosters employee engagement through proactive consultation and implementation of inclusive and developmental human resources policies.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for HR Partner

1. HR Partner Duties

Career Consulting: Consult on matters related to career development, management of people, training, performance management, and leader effectiveness.
Trust Building: Build relationships and trust with employees and leaders to effectively influence people's impact on the business.
HR Advisory: Consult with leaders on approaches for resolving business challenges using sound HR management practices.
Problem Solving: Proactively identify and address people's challenges and opportunities, which may affect the execution of the business.
Workday Management: Develop and maintain a thorough understanding of Workday to enter and retrieve people-related data.
Data Reporting: Use data analytics and reporting to advise and guide leaders towards effective and insightful decision-making.
Insight Generation: Distill complex information into key insights, clear recommendations, and action.
Program Administration: Manage company HR-related programs such as education assistance, employment referral bonuses, and corporate charitable activities.
Change Support: Support internal client groups with change management initiatives.

2. HR Partner Details

Change Management: Implement change management best practices, particularly as it relates to people impacts and internal processes.
Leadership Coaching: Advise, coach, and partner, with diversity in mind, with leaders as they consider management capabilities and talent gaps within their respective teams while leveraging training and development.
Employee Relations: Assist with the investigation of employee issues or complaints.
Leadership Consulting: Consult with leadership on findings and appropriate actions.
Exit Interviewing: Conduct and document employee exit interviews.
Trend Analysis: Compile and analyze interview data for workplace trends and opportunities to improve employee retention, working conditions, or practices.
Team Collaboration: Collaborate with Cor Partners’ People team for best practices, tools, and templates to assist in the delivery of high-quality people strategies to the organization.
Data Confidentiality: Safeguard the confidentiality of employee information and records, following proper protocols for disclosure of information.
Business Acumen: Continuously develop business acumen by participating in business meetings, job shadowing, and staying abreast of industry trends.

3. HR Partner Responsibilities

People Prioritization: Define the key people's priorities for the business area needed to support the delivery of the business plan.
Org Design: Working with the leadership team, design and implement the appropriate organizational structure and operating model on a global basis.
Value Identification: Identify the key value drivers, strategic goals and objectives, and operational performance metrics from a people perspective.
Performance Culture: Build a high-performance and service quality mindset across the business.
Action Planning: Working with the senior leadership, develop plans and implement specific actions.
Talent Development: Ensure the identification and development of leadership talent within the respective business area.
Management Initiatives: Support the implementation of various management development initiatives.
Leadership Pipeline: Build the pipeline of management capability across the business.
HR Collaboration: Work closely with the various HR specialists.
People Tools: Ensure the effective use of key people management tools and processes.
Capability Management: Performance Management, Compensation Review, Talent Management, Learning and Career Development, and Recruitment capabilities, Culture and Engagement.
Org Health Assessment: Proactively assess the organizational health of the respective business areas.
Culture Engagement: Implement various interventions to drive the development of the desired culture and increase the level of people engagement.

4. HR Partner Job Summary

HR Reporting: Responsible to the Head of HR (UK Manufacturing) and through this role to the Group HR Director.
Team Leadership: Direct reports (HRO Bradford, HR Administrators, Bradford and Glasgow, Receptionist, Bradford).
Stakeholder Management: Key relationships are with the Site General Manager, Site Leadership Teams, Payroll and Shared Services functions, Group Learning and Development, and Operational HR team.
HR Planning: Shape and deliver the HR plan for the Bradford and Glasgow sites to ensure site and manufacturing performance levels are achieved (MWBP’s/TIP’s/QCDSP principles).
Site Collaboration: Delivered by working closely with the site senior leadership teams whilst being mindful of the Group business requirements.
Strategy Implementation: Support the Head of HR in translating the functional strategy into plans and actions to achieve department/site objectives.
Talent Pipeline: Appropriate training, mentoring and coaching ensure there is a sustainable pipeline of operational management talent across the sites capable of driving ongoing manufacturing improvements.
Succession Planning: Fully utilize and embed the Company’s succession planning and performance management tools to ensure continued growth and development of in-house talent and use it as a platform to attract talent to the sites going forward.

5. HR Partner Accountabilities

HR Leadership: Provide the HR lead in terms of strategic and tactical expertise to the sites’ senior leadership teams.
Project Support: Provide HR support to business improvement and growth projects across the Bradford and Glasgow sites.
Culture Improvement: Support the site senior leadership teams in challenging the status quo, driving a culture of best practice and continuous improvement that focuses on the elimination of waste in all forms by initiating and facilitating the development of a team working culture in pursuit of a highly participative and highly motivated team, in order to reinforce the continuous improvement culture at the Bradford and Glasgow sites.
Wage Negotiation: Support the annual wage negotiation process with the site General Manager and site leadership teams.
Union Partnership: Continue to develop a partnership approach with the recognized union to support the delivery of change across the sites.
Communication Management: Ensure effective use of communication mechanisms throughout the sites.
Policy Implementation: Effective implementation of policies and procedures ensures that the consistency of HR controls across the sites is maintained and best practices.

6. HR Partner Functions

Change Program Support: Support the site HR teams in delivering strategic change programs and Group HR projects that impact the sites.
Values Promotion: Promote company values within the departments/sites through the appropriate operation of systems, policies and working practices.
Talent Coordination: Using appropriate mechanisms to coordinate all aspects of the employee life-cycle to ensure new and developing talent is managed within the sites.
Training Implementation: Implement the training and development strategy in line with company requirements, site-accredited standards and site visions.
HR Compliance: Ensure the basics of HR are in place and firmly adhered to so that standards are maintained and policies and procedures are followed.
Output Quality: Ensure all outputs from the HR teams are delivered to the right specification and to the correct standards as deemed by the business.
Team Culture: Facilitate a culture of high standards, teamwork and learning, with clear accountabilities and ownership.
Leadership Motivation: Promote the highest levels of motivation, demonstrating effective leadership and communication.

7. HR Partner Job Description

Employee Relations: Advising managers and colleagues on complex employee relations queries and guiding managers through the resultant formal processes.
Letter Writing: Writing outcome letters for employee relations matters.
Tribunal Attendance: Attending Employment Tribunals for any cases within remit.
Project Delivery: Project management and delivery of restructuring and redundancy activity in conjunction with line managers.
Service Integration: Work with the Centers of Excellence, such as Reward, Payroll and People Services, to deliver a seamless end-to-end service to the business.
Manager Coaching: Advising and coaching line of managers and Functional Directors on all people-related matters.
Manager Training: Delivering line manager training and helping to upskill managers in all areas of the employee journey.
Engagement Projects: Deliver project work such as employee engagement activities.
Meeting Participation: Attending and contributing to operational meetings to ensure the business area gives priority to people-related topics.
Union Relations: Manage the union relationship and pay negotiations in conjunction with the Service Director.
Succession Planning: Support function in developing and maintaining a robust succession and talent plan.
HR Strategy: Work with the Senior HRBP to determine the strategy for the Retail Group business.
Senior Recruitment: Support the recruitment process for senior appointments within the client group.
Team Development: Support, coach and develop the People Services team in their support role.

8. HR Partner Overview

HR Initiatives: Drive key Human Resources initiatives and strategic processes and directly handle several key areas relating to the employee life-cycle while partnering with internal stakeholders, such as talent development, inclusion, talent acquisition, employee/labor relations, compensation, training and development, disability and workers’ compensation.
HR Advisory: Provide advice and guidance to line management concerning HR matters.
Policy Implementation: Ensure all processes and policies are implemented within the assigned area.
Relationship Building: Develop strong and influential relationships within the business to understand best practices and influence the future development of the function.
Strategy Communication: Champion communication of the HR strategy, initiatives and policies across the business.
Engagement Promotion: Foster employee engagement through proactive employee relations and performance management.
Compliance Assurance: Ensure consistent, fair and legally compliant employment practices.
Performance Guidance: Provide day-to-day performance management guidance to leadership teams and resolve employee relations issues.
Project Management: Manage HR team transversal projects.
Change Leadership: Work along with the leadership team to drive change management.

9. HR Partner Details and Accountabilities

Strategic Input: Provide strategic input on human resource matters.
Decision Support: Contribute to strategic decision-making by maintaining up-to-date knowledge of HR practice and employment law.
Process Improvement: Make recommendations for improvements in processes and practices.
Stakeholder Service: Deliver an HR service to all pertinent stakeholders.
Service Quality: Take responsibility for delivering a high-quality professional HR service.
Disciplinary Leadership: Take a lead in the final stage of discipline/capability issues, including dismissals and appeals.
Grievance Handling: Take the lead in complex grievance or dispute procedures.
Investigation Support: Undertake employment-related investigations for HR colleagues in other Divisions and commission HR colleagues.
Division Investigations: Undertake investigations within the Division.
Change Projects: Contribute to or lead corporate HR/cultural change projects.

10. HR Partner Tasks

Inquiry Response: Promptly respond and address employee and management inquiries, and advise management of potential areas of concern.
Program Support: Support the Human Resources department with the management of various HR programs, benefits and procedures across multiple locations within the company.
Offer Management: Create offer letters and communicate important new hire information to candidates.
Onboarding Coordination: Maintain the new-hire process, including ensuring the timely processing and completion of new-hire paperwork and mandatory training.
Admin Tasks: Handle administrative tasks for onboarding, personnel data files, and offboarding.
Data Entry: Enter data into information systems and audit for accuracy and compliance.
Situation Management: Manage sensitive situations professionally, with discretion, confidentiality, and a positive attitude.
HR Communication: Handle HR communications efforts as assigned.
Documentation Processing: Process, verify, and maintain documentation related to personnel-related data.
Team Support: Provide the HR team and management with support.
Information Management: Organize and prioritize large volumes of information, emails, and calls.
Inquiry Handling: Handle employment-related inquiries from employees and supervisors, referring more complex and/or sensitive issues to higher levels.
Legal Compliance: Ensure legal compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
Application Usage: Utilize basic word processing, spreadsheet, and database computer applications.
Project Work: Work independently and within a team on special nonrecurring and ongoing projects.

11. HR Partner Roles

Executive Collaboration: Collaborate with the C Suite and Functional Leadership to drive towards the goals outlined in the Talent and Leadership Agenda and the business's Key Results.
HR Leadership: Act as a key member of the People Experience Leadership team to mature the HR function, better positioning it to serve the business.
Alignment Diagnosis: Diagnose and ensure the people levers are aligned to enable critical business outcomes.
Change Management: Drive change through the proven ability to envision, develop, and implement new strategies to address competitive, complex business issues.
Program Development: Build new programs and processes to advance people strategies and organizational effectiveness.
Complexity Navigation: Navigate complexity, ambiguity, and manage regional stakeholders in an ethical and business-like professional manner.
Talent Expertise: Provide expertise in talent management, career planning, performance management, coaching, data analysis and insights, compensation and rewards, engagement, learning and development, recognition, and overall organizational effectiveness.
Continuous Improvement: Identify and oversee opportunities for continuous improvement.

12. HR Partner Additional Details

Relationship Building: Develop strong working relationships with line managers, providing sound advice and guidance on all HR matters, including employee relations, HR policy and process, culture and engagement.
Manager Coaching: Challenge, coach and support managers with practical resolution of employee relations matters, including grievance, disciplinary, performance and absence management.
Data Analysis: Produce and analyse relevant MI and be able to identify trends and patterns and use this to inform a course of action or advice.
Policy Coordination: Work with the policy team to act as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the corporate office to ensure that HR solutions developed are fit for purpose and meet the customers’ needs.
Project Support: Provide support on key strategic Group HR projects, partnering with stakeholders to achieve business objectives.
Engagement Survey: Take the lead on the annual Employee Engagement Survey, supporting the business areas in understanding their results and developing engagement action plans.
Talent Facilitation: Facilitate leadership discussions on talent, ensure talent is attracted and retained and robust succession plans are in place.
Capability Identification: Identify people's capability required to meet short-term and longer-term business needs, embed PDPs and Talent Reviews.
Talent Initiatives: Work with business leaders and HR centers of excellence to create and drive talent initiatives, and to resolve concerns.
Performance Solutions: Review and analyze data to identify trends and recommend solutions to improve performance, retention, and employee experience.

13. HR Partner Essential Functions

Org Development: Support implementation and sustainment of the company's Supply Chain vision via organizational development action plans.
Business Evaluation: Assist in the evaluation of reports, decisions, and results of the assigned Supply Chain business units in relation to established objectives, goals, strategies and measures (OGSMs).
KPI Reporting: Prepare and maintain reports that provide data to support HR Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other related initiatives.
Legal Advisory: Advise management in areas of employment law, policies and regulations.
HR Support: Serve as the HR contact for compensation, payroll, benefits, leave, immigration, workers' compensation, and various other associate issues.
Issue Navigation: Navigate ambiguous, complex and/or sensitive issues and promote conflict resolution.
Investigation Management: Conduct investigations and appropriately document employee relations issues regarding employment practices.
Performance Support: Support performance management process by communicating information and providing training, coordination and follow-up.
Morale Promotion: Direct and maintain various activities designed to promote and maintain a high level of colleague morale.
Exit Interviewing: Conduct exit interviews and provide feedback to the team to ensure analysis and enhance the organization.
Inclusion Promotion: Promote a culture of inclusion, diversity, belonging and engagement.
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with state and federal regulations related to employment, such as FLSA, EEOC, ADA, and FMLA.

14. HR Partner Role Purpose

HR Partnership: Acts as a strategic HR business partner to Executive/Management team members and provides employee relations, compensation, recruiting, and organizational development support.
Performance Feedback: Provides feedback to managers to improve individual and team performance.
Performance Strategy: Develops strategies to address performance-related issues.
Senior Support: Provides exceptional service through partnership with senior leaders on business decisions related to Inova's strategic human capital management needs.
Program Support: Effectively supports program efforts, partners in organization assessments and planning, supports training initiatives, handles employee relations, and assists in the talent and performance management process.
Policy Compliance: Ensures compliance with organizational policies and relevant laws.
Compensation Review: Reviews and recommends compensation strategies within the organization's philosophies and strategies for new hires, promotions, transfers and equity/merit adjustments.
Manager Coaching: Provide management coaching to build leadership capabilities.
Org Planning: Provide guidance and input on organizational design, role design, workforce planning and succession planning.
HR Operations: Lead day-to-day HR activities, including employee relations, corporate policies/programs/procedures, change management, incident management, etc.

15. HR Partner General Responsibilities

Business Partnership: Acting as a key business partner by driving and embedding Human Resources strategies, providing professional HR expertise and supporting and coaching internal client groups who are located in 8 countries.
Relationship Management: Building strong relationships with leaders and colleagues, offering HR expertise and coaching on people issues, assisting leaders to gain a better understanding of employees' needs and career aspirations.
Capability Analysis: Working closely with leaders to analyse, anticipate and outline present and future organisational capabilities.
Talent Management: Providing relevant tools and programmes to attract, develop and retain talents and implementing HR practices on talent management, leadership development and talent acquisition.
Performance Coaching: Driving processes such as performance, development and career and serving as a facilitator and coaching managers on performance management.
Operational Delivery: Ensuring the execution and delivery of HR operational activities in an effective and efficient manner.
Policy Review: Reviewing the internal and external environment to improve the HR policies and initiatives, thus enhancing overall business performance.
Engagement Planning: Works with Senior Leaders to co-create engagement plans, and support initiatives to embed the values and culture.
Leadership Development: Coaches and develops leaders at all levels, manages and mitigates people-related risks to ensure retention of key employees, develops leadership succession plans, manages capability and high performance and overall healthy churn.
HR Management: Brilliantly manages HR activities such as recruitment, resourcing, absence, performance, and employee relations in conjunction with matrixed specialist HR teams to deliver the people plan and its strategy.

16. HR Partner Key Accountabilities

People Planning: Design and develop a local people plan to enhance the success of the business unit and provide HR leadership to senior leaders and their teams.
Business Insight: Provides business insight to CoEs and HR Services to facilitate continuous improvement in the business unit.
Strategy Support: Support the delivery of the people strategy and plan defined by the Senior HR Manager, GBS.
Org Alignment: Works with functional leaders and their DRs to review their structure and ways of working so that it aligns with the business's strategic goals.
Strategy Execution: Consults and executes business strategy for a function or region.
Reporting Support: Takes direction from Sr. HRBP through direct or matrix reporting relationship.
Issue Investigation: Investigate employee relations issues that have reached the escalation point.
Issue Resolution: Identifies any underlying issues and recommends solutions to the client group.
ER Partnership: Partners with ER.
Business Integration: Becomes an integrated partner to business unit managers.
Improvement Influence: Identifies opportunities for improvement and influences line managers to make changes in organizational structure or processes.
Policy Knowledge: Demonstrates broad knowledge of HR policies, regulations and practices and is familiar with operational issues relevant to the client group.
Guided Judgment: Given broader latitude to exercise judgment, but continues to work under the guidance of a more senior manager.

17. HR Partner Roles and Details

Stakeholder Management: Building and maintaining effective stakeholder relationships.
Case Management: Managing employee relations cases, including leading on complex cases and business change.
Project Support: Supporting wider HR People Strategy projects and engagement initiatives.
Process Enhancement: Collectively working with the HR team to further enhance, modernise and promote HR processes and maximise HR system functionality for the benefit of all business users.
Team Building: Working closely with HR colleagues to build a strong team ethos and high-performing team culture.
Workforce Planning: Work independently with key stakeholders in workforce planning, culture promotion, hiring, training, employee engagement, annual compensation management, KPI setting, recognition, driving consistency and high impact.
HR Support: Provide local HR support in the office, deploy any HR solutions and execute the delivery.
System Utilization: Expertly use all HR systems, follow processes and policy for global teams.
Manager Support: Support managers on ER.
Value Identification: Identify new opportunities where HR can add value to the business position.

18. HR Partner Responsibilities and Key Tasks

Capability Maintenance: Working with Departmental Managers to ensure the organisational capability of the Station is maintained to enable safe, reliable generation in line with the business plan.
Succession Planning: Working with Managers to ensure talent and succession plans are up-to-date and initiatives are implemented.
Data Analysis: Analysis of people-related data to identify trends and insights, as well as supporting the development of board papers.
Case Management: Working closely with the Manager, site Occupational Health and Regional Case Advisors, to ensure the appropriate management of absence, disciplinary/grievance and performance management issues.
Wellbeing Support: Support the development and implementation of site Health and Well Being plans and work with colleagues to support fleet-wide initiatives.
Change Partnership: Partner with HR stakeholders to help drive organizational change in an acquisition environment, and contribute to growth and transformation activities.
Social Partnership: Support HR VP Global social partnership in business leaders in preparing all relevant documents, tracking timeline and communication plans, linking them to global social partnership communication.
Legal Support: Support cyclical legal activities such as the preparation of formal documents and reports.
Project Support: Provide support on a variety of strategic HR projects.

19. HR Partner Duties and Roles

HR Prioritization: Define and plan the HR priorities to support the business strategy.
Talent Development: Provide HR solutions and lead the delivery effort for organization and talent development.
Learning Program Design: Design and organize learning programs based on business needs.
Communication Building: Build the communication mechanism to provide feedback, coaching and information to the management team.
Employee Relations: Deal with complex employee relations issues and drive initiatives to build up employee engagement.
Recruitment Management: Manage the recruitment activity alongside the Talent Acquisition team and advise line managers on the hiring progress, work with them on hiring decisions to identify and attract the right talent.
Program Implementation: Implement HR programs effectively by collaborating with functional HR teams.
Employee Retention: Participation in the processes of adaptation and retention of employees.
Interview Coordination: Conducting Welcome and Exit Interviews.
Survey Analysis: Conducting and analyzing internal online surveys.
Process Analysis: Analysis of HR processes, reports and procedures.
Document Management: Keeping records, development and updating of HR documents and procedures.
Project Participation: Maintaining or participating in HR projects upon request from the Talent Business Partner and managers

20. HR Partner Roles and Responsibilities

Stakeholder Interaction: Interacting with key regional or country stakeholders, providing feedback on HR process optimization-related topics.
Subject Expertise: Acting as a subject matter expert for projects within their own area of responsibility.
Quality Improvement: Interacting with DPDHL HR CoE and engaging with BPO Country or region counterparts to drive improvements in quality and consistency.
Process Design: Collecting and documenting the existing process, designing improvements and ensuring compliance by embedding internal controls.
Process Ownership: Contribute to process improvement topics on HR projects and take ownership of their own work packages.
Risk Management: Identify and analyze risks, propose mitigation actions and suggest solutions for the resolution of escalations.
Motivation Leadership: Motivate all colleagues and act as a role model.
Strategy Development: Proactively come up with HR strategies, policies, and practices.
Engagement Building: Actively work on building and fostering employee engagement.
Productivity Monitoring: Work with leads to improve and monitor employee productivity.
Onboarding Improvement: Develop, monitor, and continuously improve employee onboarding and exit.
Compensation Management: Build and improve compensation and benefit packages.
Recruitment Support: Work with talent acquisition to drive recruitment efforts as per the plan.

Relevant Information

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