HR Business Partnership is really a model of conducting HR rather than a role distinct from an HR Advisor. If you are currently working as an HR Advisor, the best pathway from there to an HRBP role is simply applying for HRBP jobs.

That said, an HRBP would normally be expected to be a minimum Lvl 5 or with equivalent experience, with a broad exposure to challenging employee relations case management and some knowledge of applying HR strategy to business units. Coaching and supporting managers is also key to the role, but that should emerge organically from the employee relations casework.

Thanks Robey that's very helpful and at least I know I'm on the right track.

I've found TUPE and union experience to be a common requirement for HRBP roles - this is where I fall down in my interviews as my experience in these areas is limited.

Hi Paula,

I appreciate that this is late response however if you are still on the path towards an HRBP - i hope that the following is useful:

To translate across to an HRBP - the main things are to use the technical skills and knowledge that you have and apply these at a more strategic level. The role of an HRBP is about working closely with stakeholders in the organisation to support decision making and planning in the short, medium and long term. It isn't a narrow role in that most HRBPs have experience in ER, Recruitment, L&D, Reward and it's about knowing how to support the business with that generalist knowledge to achieve business goals. So as an HR Advisor you may give generalist advice in terms of ER case work, as an HRBP you may only be involved in more complex cases and you would assessing risk, looking at trends, using data to support the business to make evidence based decisions. You would normally be comfortable dealing with TUPE, complex ER, succession planning, recruitment trends, dealing with the Tribunals Process. It's a challenging and very rewarding role and one that requires great communication, time management and project management skills along with the technical knowledge. Also keep yourself up to date with changes in legislation and the impact that that would have on the sector that you want to work in. I would encourage you to be aware of data and how to analyse data - looking at HR metrics and KPI's and how to translate these into objectives which in turn shape strategy.

Good luck!