What is Business
Partnering?
‘Business Partnering’ is a term used
to describe how corporate support and professional service functions
align themselves with organisational strategy to provide value-add
services through true partnership with the business.
What benefits are organisations
seeking from business partnering?
While all organisations are different, the following goals are common:
- Improved business decision-making through the pro-active involvement
and support of functions that genuinely understand short and long-term
drivers of organisational performance
- Improved focus on business outcomes rather than processes
- Enhanced line manager capability across the organisation through
making the shift from being traditional ‘support’
functions to being true ‘enabling’ functions for managers
- Reduced costs or improved value for money through achieving
a better balance between strategic, operational and transactional
activities and putting work in the right place
- Enhanced accountability, credibility and reputation of the function
How do they do this? Whilst there is no ‘one model’
for business partnering, certain key roles or areas tend to emerge
once the principle of partnering is taken on board
- The Business Partner – is responsible for operating as
a strategic partner and member of the senior management team in
a specific unit to enhance the quality of business decision-making.
The Business Partner understands business drivers and manages
key stakeholder relationships to ensure business needs and service
requirements are met. The Business Partner may also work closely
with colleagues in the function to input into corporate strategy
and champion corporate initiatives in the business
- Technical Specialists – deliver their
area of expertise through advice or services, closely matching
business requirements. They work with Business Partners to ensure
overall alignment across the organisation
- Support Services – also known as ‘Shared
Services’ deliver routine and transactional services efficiently
and cost-effectively. One of the key drivers in many organisations
for introducing a ‘business partnering model’ is to
reduce costs and drive efficiencies through a centralised, lean
shared service centre.
In large organisations, structures may comprise the
three distinct areas, although roles and functional areas sometimes
merge depending on needs. Geography, sector, size and culture all
play a part in how the function might be organised and operate.
The foundations to partnering, however, are the organisation’s
responses to the questions:
- What does the Business need from its Corporate
Support and Professional Service functions now and in the future
to meet its goals and deliver the strategy?
- How, therefore, should these functions be organised
and work together to meet those needs and achieve the right balance
between strategic, operational and transactional activities?
For some organisations, adopting a partnering approach
has been the next step on an existing journey, but for some it has
meant making some significant changes to mindset and organisation.
For more information contact Judith.strange@develop.uk.com
or telephone +44(0)7866 676230.
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