Dive Brief:

• 8 out of 10 HR practitioners believe their HR departments are strategic business partners, according to a recent survey. 
• However, in its poll, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) found that while "the majority of HR functions today have become significantly important elements of the business today, there still is room for improvement," reports Human Resources Online.
• The IPMA-HR report highlighted that becoming a strategic business partner is a serious challenge for HR, especially when an employer lacks a comprehensive strategic plan, or if HR lacks management support for becoming more involved in decision-making and plan implementation.

Dive Insight:

A close look at relevant responses revealed that whether an HR department participates in strategic planning "explains 25% of the variance in how high or low HR practitioners rated their own department as being a strategic business partner,” the report stated.

IPMA-HR members said skills that HR practitioners need to improve their analytical and cross-functional business skills. But to become a true strategic business partner, HR needs to start the workforce/succession planning conversation, because 42% of respondents estimated that 20% or more of the employees at their organizations will retire within the next five years.