Hiring Guide
Human Resources Business Partner
Specific duties of a Human Resources Business Partner (commonly known as HRBP) can vary from business to business — along with factors like company culture, work environment, and team dynamics — it’s vital to tailor any job description and interview content to your company’s needs and expectations.
Hiring Guide: HR Business Partner
HR Business Partner interview templates
HR Business Partner
Skills Interview
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HR Business Partner
Skills Interview
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HR Business Partner
Skills Interview
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Why you should hire a HR Business Partner
Human Resources Business Partners are responsible for supporting managers and senior leadership to help the business succeed and achieve its strategic goals. They often focus on developing strategy versus implementing policy and will help your business ensure your HR strategy is optimized for organizational success.
In this hiring guide, we'll provide everything you need to hire a great a HR Business Partner.
Top skills for HR Business Partners
Leadership and Navigation
Supporting/Advising Internal Stakeholders
HR Strategy Development and Execution
Communication
Sample HR Business Partner job description
HR Business Partners are responsible for aligning an organization’s people strategy with its business strategy. Often knowledgeable about business processes, they interact mostly with high-level executives and collaborate with the HR department to ensure that HR functions and initiatives are reflecting business objectives and needs. Their role does not include administrative, compliance and management HR tasks. Rather, HR Business Partners steer and develop HR strategy, coach/consult leadership about HR issues, and leverage company culture and talent expertise to build a competitive organization. Performing this role requires excellent knowledge of business processes and HR functions as well as strategic thinking, relationship management, and communication skills.
Sample interview questions for HR Business Partners
Question 1
Can you tell me about a time where you disagreed with a request from someone senior to you but implemented it anyway. Why did you follow through with their request, and what impact did it have on you and your work?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to prioritize relationships and concede when strategic/appropriate
Answer tips
- Discusses the request and explains why they follow through
- Notes that sometimes it’s necessary to concede to preserve a relationship
- Prioritizes relationships in their role as HRBP to engender trust
- Did not allow the decision to accommodate their request affect them emotionally or professionally
Question 2
Tell me about a time where you were involved with improving an HR or business process for a previous company. What role did you contribute to ensure the improvement was successful, and how did it impact the business?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to manage process improvements to HR systems
Answer tips
- Identifies the primary needs and goals of the improvement initiative
- Involves relevant stakeholders in designing the improvements
- Considers any potential adverse effects the updates might cause (e.g., learning curves in adoption)
- Creates a system of communication to inform affected members of the changes
- Explains how success was defined and shares examples of how it helped the business
Question 3
Imagine you have just joined our company and are required to design a coaching and mentoring program for our new hires. How would you design the program and what would the most important elements be?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to design a coaching and mentoring program
Answer tips
- Clarifies the program goals (succession planning, learning, development, etc.)
- Promotes involvement with the program among existing employees
- Determines how to assign coaches/mentors to the new hires
- Determines the structure of the program (when, where, how it will be run, etc.)
- Identifies metrics to track and validate the program's performance
