Do HR Business Partners become professionals after the HR transformation?

Abstract

This master thesis is both a contribution to the academic and practical field of human resource management, with a comparative study at two multinational companies in Sweden. The report focuses on HR Business Partners (HRBPs), if and how they have become professionals after the HR Transformation. Furthermore questions like what are they working with, how are they formed and what kind of professionalism form describes HRBPs best, is answered. Limited amount of previous studies have been made to look at HR from the professionalism perspective. Hence, in the Swedish context there has not been made any case studies about HRBPs as professionals. The contribution of this study is to explore HRBPs and to map them with professional ground. As a theoretical framework, professionalism concepts are used to understand in depth the aspects of what makes professionals. These are terms of power, knowledge, trust and adding value. In addition practical concepts as roles, strategic and operative work are presented. This master thesis is a qualitative case study collecting in-depth data to illustrate a detailed synopsis of a particular phenomenon to give a holistic view of the HRBP role. Two multinational companies, based here in Sweden, are presented in a comparative manner. Similarities and differences are outlined to bring rich understanding of the phenomena. 15 interviews were carried out in the companies and are analysed with content analysis. Research results show that HRBPs are partly becoming professionals depending on how many years have passed since the launch of the HR transformation. From the case study, HRBPs are defined by the body of knowledge and by the organizational factors. Meaning how many resources they have to manage and the overall mindset of the companies that allow mastering a strategic role of HR. Main hindrance towards ideal professionalism is explained by the lack of full mandate in decision making, lack of competencies and too much focus on administrative tasks. However,