HR business partner competency models: re-contextualising effectiveness

Citation

Caldwell, R. (2009), "HR business partner competency models: re-contextualising effectiveness", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 17 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2009.04417cad.003

HR business partner competency models: re-contextualising effectiveness

Article Type: Abstracts From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 17, Issue 3

Caldwell R.Human Resource Management Journal (UK), July 2008, Vol. 18 No. 3, Start page: 275, No. of pages: 20

Purpose – Uses survey and interview data to examine the effectiveness of human resource competency models believed to provide a mechanism for reinventing traditional human resource and improving the effectiveness of human resource professionals as business partners. Design/methodology/approach – Reviews the use of competency models. Describes the survey methodology using a combined online and postal questionnaire of UK organizations (118 responses being received). Studies the effectiveness of the human resource business partner competency models in relation to achieving organizational change; management development and training; the reduction of transactional human resource management activities; and adoption of human resource centralization/decentralization. Findings – Suggests that the effectiveness of competency models is disappointing and they appear to be particularly weak at predicting performance in a business partner role. Finds there are significant contextual variations in effectiveness based on the degree of change experienced by the human resource function, how consistently business partnering is implemented, overall levels of reduction in transactional HR and the patterns of centralization-decentralization of the human resource function. Research implications/limitation – Describes the research methods and data analysis. Originality/value – Raises important questions about the future direction of human resource business partnering.ISSN: 0954-5395Reference: 37AZ035DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-8583.2008.00071.x

Keywords: Business strategy, Human resource management, Management development, Organizational change, United Kingdom