Tel: 0844 394 8877

Boulden Management Consultants

Professional Capabilities  >  Modular Courses

The Professional ‘Business Partner’

Boulden Management Consultants

Deliver a high quality, ‘value added’ service

12 month programme

Course Brochure Download
Professional Business Partner brochure
  • How to create value in the eyes of your client
  • Being recognised as a ‘trusted advisor’
  • Managing stakeholders’ expectations

Overview

This year-long programme (consisting of six half-day training modules, plus five group coaching sessions and a Closure Workshop) provides practical help to enable participants to become outstanding Business Partners. It helps people in HR, IT and Finance to understand what is required of the role and provides the tools and techniques to deliver an outstanding service to their clients.

Learning objectives

By attending this highly interactive and practical course you will:

  • Appreciate the role of the Business Partner
  • Discover techniques for building rapport with your client group
  • Acquire language skills that will enable you to communicate ideas with precision and power
  • Learn how to develop a mandate for your initiatives
  • Understand how to coach internal stakeholders and provide feedback to them

Who should attend?

All new and existing Business Partners be they in HR, IT, Finance or Science (or any other function) who want to acquire a methodical and professional approach to delivering a value added service to their client group.

Programme structure

The Professional Business Partner Programme is a twelve month long development cycle that consists of a series of half-day, interlinked training modules, interspersed with group coaching sessions and ending with a Closure Workshop


Workshops

Month

Coaching Sessions

The Role of the Business Partner
Half-Day Master Class

   1    
    2  

Group Coaching
Mentoring & Support

Networking & Influencing Strategies
Half-Day Master Class

   3    
    4  

Group Coaching
Mentoring & Support

Internal Consultancy Skills
Half-Day Master Class

   5    
    6  

Group Coaching
Mentoring & Support

Coaching and Feedback
Half-Day Master Class

   7    
    8

Group Coaching
Mentoring & Support

Conflict Management
Half-Day Master Class

   9    
    10  

Group Coaching
Mentoring & Support

Working with the Wider Team
Half-Day Master Class

   11    
    12  

Closure Workshop
Formal review of the programme

Module 1

The Role of the ‘Business Partner’

Understanding what the role of the business partner is and the attitude and mind set that is needed for success in that role.

  • Defining the role of the business partner
  • Understanding the key beliefs and attitudes of the expert business partner
  • Analysing client requirements
  • Defining key measures for success (financial acumen, external focus, getting success recognised)
  • Appreciating how the business partner’s strategy can influence organisational performance

Module 2

Networking and Influencing Strategies

Developing an understanding of the methods by which stakeholders can be influenced and the sources of authority that the business partner can call upon to make sure that their voice is heard.

  • Understand why networking is a key skill for a professional business partner
  • Realise the importance of power and how to develop ‘power bases’
  • Analyse different types of influencing tactics and when to use them
  • Appreciate how lobbying can help to set the scene for successful influencing

Module 3

Internal Consultancy Skills

Grasping the processes and methods by which programmes and initiatives can be developed and successfully implemented. Also considering how ‘buy in’ to projects can be achieved.

  • Understanding the consultancy cycle
  • Building a business case
  • The nature of ‘Contracting’
  • Setting ‘well formed outcomes’
  • Developing a mandate for initiatives
  • Mastering the consultancy process

Module 4

Coaching and Feedback

Becoming a ‘trusted advisor’ to the business, and mastering coaching and feedback techniques.

  • The components of good quality feedback
  • Positive feedback
  • Direct feedback
  • Indirect feedback
  • Tailoring your feedback
  • The coaching process

Module 5

Conflict Management

Gaining an awareness of the sources of conflict that can arise when performing the business partner role and acquiring tools for defusing tension and reaching a solution.

  • Sources of conflict
  • 5 core conflict resolution strategies
  • Self-confidence in conflict situations
  • Conflict resolution meetings process

Module 6

Working with the Wider Team

Maintaining good working relationships with the wider team and understanding what each function or area has to offer your client group. Keeping up-to-date with the technological, legal and other developments within your area and being able to run well structured communication meetings to share information and ideas.

  • Understanding role of specialists vs. generalists
  • Keeping up-to-date with developments
  • Running communication meetings
  • Facilitated structured brainstorming sessions

Final Module

Closure Workshop

We conclude the programme with a Closure Workshop, during which each participant gives a presentation on how they have applied the lessons from the training in ‘real life’ over the past year. In this way the impact of the training on the business can be evaluated.

  • Presenting on what has been learnt and identifying the benefits gained from the programme
  • Reviewing any unanswered questions about becoming a high performing employee
  • Writing a personal development plan

Left
Right

Support

Group Coaching (Action Learning)

Each half-day workshop is followed by an Action Learning phase, which involves the participants trying out the skills in ‘real life’ situations and then formally discussing how they are getting on in a group coaching session, facilitated by the Boulden consultant. The key principle that underpins this work is simply the notion that ‘practice makes perfect’; so people need to be helped to implement what they have learnt into their daily work routines. The group coaching allows the delegates to get access to guidance from a professional facilitator and receive support from their colleagues, as they try out their new skills in the work environment. The group coaching also provides an opportunity for the Boulden consultant to run ‘micro teaching sessions’ on topics of interest that arise out of the debates that take place between the participants as they discuss what happens when they attempt to use the tools ‘in action’. In addition, this ‘group mentoring’ helps to develop the participants’ analytical skills, builds team spirit and encourages what psychologists call ‘deliberate practice’, which is a key element of mastering a new skill.


Remote Training

All of our workshops can be delivered as Remote Training via e-learning modules plus Zoom based virtual workshops. Please see our Virtual Training page for more information.


Contact

To talk to us about our range of courses contact
Boulden Management Consultants:
via our Contact form
Tel: 0844 394 8877