WHAT DOES A HUMAN RESOURCES PARTNER DO?

Published: Aug 05, 2025 - The Human Resources Partner serves as a subject matter expert on core HR functions, including performance management, organizational design, succession planning, and leadership development. This role collaborates with cross-functional teams to drive business initiatives, manage internal movement, ensure compliance with leave policies, and analyze HR data to guide strategic decision-making. The partner also supports policy interpretation, conducts exit interviews, and leads plant-level projects while acting as a liaison between associates and the legal team during proceedings.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Human Resources Partner

1. Human Resources Partner Duties

  • Employee Interaction: Greet employees as they come into the department
  • Applicant Screening: Assist the talent acquisition staff by sourcing and screening applications
  • Interview Coordination: Assist the talent acquisition staff by setting up interviews
  • Communication Support: Assist the department with employee mailings and communications
  • Meeting Participation: Attend and provide input at meetings with all levels of employees and co-workers
  • Customer Service: Provide customer service to those visiting the HR department
  • Employee Correspondence: Handle employee correspondence such as verification of employment, file requests, letters, and others
  • Meeting Documentation: Attend labor management meetings, take minutes, and follow up on open items
  • Reporting: Complete ad hoc or scheduled report requests from HR or outside associates
  • Correspondence Coordination: Coordinate unemployment correspondence
  • Office Management: Manage and maintain appropriate office supplies for the department
  • Tuition Tracking: Coordinate and track tuition programs
  • Incentive Processing: Track and process incentive acknowledgements and payments
  • Team Support: Provide support to all team members

2. Human Resources Partner Details

  • Recruitment Management: Coordinate end-to-end recruitment cycle for all regular staff positions including sourcing, applicant screening, resume distribution, disposition, job offer preparation and letters
  • Candidate Pool Monitoring: Monitor candidate pools to ensure diversification based on university and unit goals
  • Interview Scheduling: Collaborate with the shared services center to prepare interview schedules and itineraries
  • Onboarding Documentation: Prepare new hire and reappointment paperwork for regular staff, visiting scholars, visiting graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and extensions
  • Leave Policy Interpretation: Provide information and interpret the university’s leave policy through partnership with work connections
  • Leave Administration: Generate leave of absence letters and forms including FMLA, maternity, paternity and furloughs
  • Visa Coordination: Collaborate with the shared services center and the international center to prepare and coordinate visa processing for staff, faculty, postdoctoral fellows and visiting researchers and scholars
  • Timekeeping Management: Perform timekeeping functions and serve as point of contact for related issues and assist with correcting and resolving complex payroll issues
  • Compensation Preparation: Prepare compensation information for job and equity requests for HR director’s review and approval
  • Job Data Monitoring: Monitor job data to ensure timely and accurate changes are made to appointments
  • Classification Guidance: Provide guidance to hiring managers to determine appropriate classification
  • Compensation Compliance: Provide appropriate compensation elements to ensure compliance with SEAS and central HR

3. Human Resources Partner Responsibilities

  • HR Leadership: Operate in core activities as an HR partner and specialist, leading projects in line with HR strategy and organizational goals
  • HR Functions Execution: Maintain a strong focus on and execute main HR functions such as recruitment and selection, employee relations, performance management, engagement, career development and training
  • Relationship Building: Build relationships with supervisors and team members to implement and enforce HR-associated activities
  • Employee Relations Support: Provide responses to requests related to employee relations issues, following internal rules and regulations
  • Feedback Management: Secure feedback mechanisms to promote the continuous development of careers and team effectiveness within assigned departments and units
  • HR Project Implementation: Develop and implement HR projects with a strong focus on HR analytics
  • Organizational Analysis: Identify trends, patterns and gaps across the organization and suggest solutions
  • Policy Compliance: Ensure compliance with INL policies, regulations and procedures

4. Human Resources Partner Job Summary

  • HR Expertise: Act as subject matter expert in human resource initiatives including performance management, organizational structure and succession planning
  • Policy Management: Support associates with overall policy management including revisions, communication and interpretation
  • Business Partnership: Partner with production and support departments regarding implementation and reporting of business plan themes or initiatives that create associate impacts
  • HR Data Analysis: Collect and analyze human resource data to identify trends and establish action plans to execute the company vision
  • Initiative Communication: Communicate company initiatives and projects to associates and management at every level
  • Leadership Development: Provide support and resources to drive the development of current and future members of the leadership team
  • Leave Coordination: Coordinate with leave administrator regarding policy adherence of associates’ FMLA, worker’s compensation and other leaves of absence
  • Exit Interviewing: Conduct exit interviews for exempt and non-exempt associates and utilize feedback to understand trends to drive improvements across the organization
  • Project Management: Act as project lead and project support for plant-level initiatives
  • Internal Movement Management: Manage and support associate internal movement process including evaluation of documentation and ensuring alignment with company policies, budgets and others
  • Legal Support: Support legal team with court hearings and depositions

5. Human Resources Partner Accountabilities

  • Operations Support: Support business unit operations on all levels including department and unit meetings, performance reviews, interviews, employee counseling and coaching, creating a safe work environment, execution and participation
  • HR Resource: Act as a resource for business unit manager and employees for day-to-day HR-related questions
  • Facility Communication: Function as the facility communication link for corporate policies, events and training
  • Hiring Coordination: Coordinate with talent acquisition team on hiring needs and hiring process
  • Leadership Advising: Advise leadership on unique discipline, investigation and performance issues
  • Culture Consistency: Work with other employee relations partners to ensure consistency of culture between buildings
  • Resource Referral: Provide referrals to appropriate outside resources for team members’ personal issues
  • Compensation Management: Work with business unit leadership and shared services HR to maintain equitable compensation practices
  • Policy Input: Provide input on company policies and practices that directly impact employees
  • Policy Training: Communicate and support policy training initiatives
  • HR Metrics Communication: Communicate and discuss HR metrics including turnover, attendance, performance and survey results
  • Benefits Administration: Maintain general understanding of FMLA, 401(k), compensation issues and assist in the benefits open enrollment process and wellness programs
  • Morale Activities: Participate in positive morale boosting activities and events including engagement survey coordination
  • Employee Retention: Focus on employee retention through new hire checkpoints, employee interaction and exit interviews

6. Human Resources Partner Job Description

  • Business Collaboration: Collaborate with the local team to fully understand business needs at the site, support all day-to-day HR people operations and ensure a positive employee experience
  • Employee Lifecycle Management: Manage the full employee life cycle including hiring, onboarding, offboarding, contract changes, compensation and benefits administration, absence management and employee relations
  • HR Data Management: Manage, organize and upload employee information into appropriate HR systems while ensuring data integrity
  • Cross-Functional Liaison: Act as a liaison between US functions including HR, IT and finance and other internal partners to ensure timely and accurate responses to all inquiries
  • External Relations: Ensure smooth interactions with authorities, external partners and providers related to compensation and benefits, social security and taxes
  • Benefits Assistance: Assist staff with benefits, retirement plans, payroll, systems or employment contract questions
  • Onboarding Offboarding Support: Ensure a smooth onboarding and offboarding experience for employees
  • Stakeholder Guidance: Assist and guide internal stakeholders through sensitive conversations and transitions
  • HR Process Support: Support HR initiatives and processes including training and development, performance management, diversity and inclusion and others
  • Culture Ambassador: Act as ambassador for the company’s culture and support internal communications and employee engagement activities

7. Human Resources Partner Overview

  • Lifecycle Consultation: Manage and provide consultation to team leaders on employee life cycle including interviewing, hiring, transfers, demotions, relocations, promotions, terminations and surplus issues
  • Workplace Guidance: Support HR director by guiding team leaders through managing and resolving workplace concerns
  • HR Administration: Manage administrative tasks of HR function including processing transactions in WorkDay, maintaining HR share drive, handling payroll inquiries, supporting disability and leaves of absence for team members, tracking headcount and people movement, processing employee requests quickly, creating PowerPoint presentations and regularly updating HR data analytics
  • Concern Resolution: Assist with investigating escalated concerns, recommend solutions and follow up to ensure resolution
  • Internal Communication: Distribute necessary communication within workgroups to leaders and team members to ensure alignment of people philosophy and company objectives
  • Process Support: Assist with the company people philosophy by guiding team leaders and members on people processes including My Contribution, My Development, Hilti People Review and Year End Review
  • Succession Planning: Assist HR director and HR partners with Hilti People Review, succession planning sessions throughout the year, update the system and actions based on calibration action points
  • Talent Development: Co-own components of the HNA Strategic Organizational Development Portfolio for assigned customer groups including assessment centers and talent days, emerging leadership development and internships and co-ops to identify and develop high potential employees
  • Documentation Management: Maintain up-to-date documentation on employee related matters and provide data and support to the legal department in employment law related matters
  • Performance Support: Support HR director with performance and conduct related matters to ensure equitable, consistent and lawful treatment of all employees in employment actions

8. Human Resources Partner Roles

  • Compliance Research: Research, learn and work with HR director on impact of compliance programs affecting workgroups such as EEO, AA, ADA, FMLA and workers’ compensation to ensure legal and corporate policy compliance in all Hilti North America employment practices
  • Compensation Management: Ensure employees are compensated appropriately and equitably when completing salary workups and recommendations
  • Talent Acquisition: Participate in talent acquisition process by assisting in recruitment for US and Canada
  • Training Facilitation: Help facilitate training and development initiatives relating to customer group needs
  • Records Maintenance: In conjunction with the People Experience Center, ensure necessary employment records are maintained in accordance with legal requirements
  • DEI Advocacy: Advocate, participate and provide input for HNA DEI initiatives
  • Exit Follow-up: Follow up with exiting team members to gain insights on workplace culture, day-to-day processes, management solutions and employee morale for HR directors to create actionable plans fostering positive work environment and relationships
  • Employer Branding: Promote Hilti through professional networking opportunities virtually and in person
  • Engagement Activities: Help facilitate team member engagement activities throughout the annual people cycle to foster engaging and inclusive work environment
  • Engagement Session Facilitation: Facilitate team engagement sessions such as Fast Leaps, GEOS sessions and actively participate in Culture Journey
  • Mentorship and Coaching: Serve as mentor, trainer and coach for new HR partner team members
  • Process Execution: Partner with Centers of Excellence as a team player to execute processes and achieve objectives

9. Human Resources Partner Essential Functions

  • HR Support: Provide support, problem solving and human capital guidance to all managers and employees
  • Compliance Assurance: Ensure all internal HR operations follow federal and state employment laws
  • Data Tracking: Track and report on relevant employee data such as turnover and retention
  • Benefits Administration: Partner with the full HR team on benefits administration, operations and other necessary projects
  • Recruitment Improvement: Work closely with recruiting team to improve existing programs and processes
  • Candidate Management: Manage candidate screening, scheduling and phone and video interviews
  • Recruitment Strategy: Develop and implement a diverse recruitment and comprehensive retention strategy
  • Talent Development: Lead the facilitation of talent development processes and programs including performance management, leadership development and succession planning
  • Engagement Programs: Implement programs and advise on matters pertaining to employee engagement, employee and labor relations
  • Coaching and Resources: Provide coaching and resources to employees and managers with respect to delivery of comprehensive HR programs and support
  • Program Administration: Support the administration of HR programs and policies

10. Human Resources Partner Duties and Roles

  • Benefits Coordination: Act as a point of contact for employees’ insurance benefits and awards
  • Reward Process Support: Support total reward review and performance appraisal process
  • HR Process Delivery: Proactively support the delivery of HR processes
  • Survey Facilitation: Facilitate the employee survey process and the successful deployment of employee engagement programs across the organization
  • Business Support Collaboration: Work closely with HR shared services team, global people services, and HR centres of excellence in total rewards, talent acquisition and talent management to ensure effective business support and increase employee experience
  • Continuous Improvement: Proactively seek continuous improvement to achieve business objectives and strengthen employee experience
  • Recruitment Support: Support the business and clients with recruitment process and structure, feedback, interview management and streamlining processes
  • Employee Development: Develop candidates through the probationary stage, employee onboarding, retention, continued development, bespoke learning and commercial support
  • Team Building: Brainstorm initiatives to build teams effectively with a direct focus on hires required to support business growth and attract new talent
  • Onboarding Support: Support interview and selection process and onboarding of new team members
  • Employment Documentation: Prepare, draft and issue relevant employment documents including offers, contracts, changes to terms and conditions and letters and correspondence
Relevant Information
What Does An HR Partner Do?