The role of HR Business Partner is often a tale of two experiences. On the one hand, HRBPs are some of the most empathetic and passionate people you’ll ever meet. On the other hand, they’re stuck on the hamster wheel of busywork, bouncing from crisis to crisis without the authority to prioritize their energy—and without the respect from leadership to make a real difference. Look up “burnout” in the dictionary and odds are you’ll find a picture of an HRBP.

In this miniseries, Brave New Work’s Rodney Evans is joined by friend-of-the-pod and Ready OG Sam Spurlin to dive into how HR can become more resilient, efficient, and equitable.

Today on episode 5, they explore how this critical role took a hard left turn from it’s intended purpose, what its future-of-work glow-up (hello, HR Business Coach) could look like, and how HR Business Coaches + Mission-Based Teaming = unlimited potential.

References mentioned:

• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Episode 1481 "Talks about Competition" (1981). "How People Make Crayons" begins at 05:20.
• American Gladiators
• Dave Ulrich, of the Ulrich HR model

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Learn more about The Future of HR at our website.

Curious where your company sits on our 5-stage maturity model? Take our assessment and find out!

Have a burning HR question for Rodney and Sam to answer? Email us at fohr@theready.com.

Ready to get started moving your HR department into the future? Email us at fohr@theready.com or hello@theready.com.

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00:00 Intro + Check-In: What was your favorite show to watch as a small child?

04:05 Why the HRBP role isn’t working

10:41 Why Future of HR requires rethinking the HRBP

12:53 Skill overlap between HRBP and HR Business Coach

21:03 Shifting from “service mindset” to “product mindset”

25:07 HR Business Coach’s point of view

27:20 Recap of Level 3 and what’s changed

29:26 Who does the HR Business Coach report to?

34:55 Wrap up: Send us your burning HR questions!