Blog: Why “Being Strategic” Isn’t Just a Buzzword for HRBPs Anymore

By Nick Holley, Director of CRF Learning

Let’s be honest – most HRBPs don’t wake up in the morning thinking, “Today I will be strategic.” You’re juggling fires, dealing with processes, supporting leaders, and somewhere in the mix you’re supposed to “step up” and be more commercial, data-driven and strategic.

But what does being strategic actually mean?

According to CRF’s latest short on demand course – The Strategic Role of the HRBP – it’s not about learning to say “strategy” in every meeting. It’s about lifting your head up, raising your eyes 30° from the ground, and seeing where your business is really trying to go – and how HR can help it get there.

And crucially, it’s not about having an HR strategy. (In fact, the course argues you probably don’t need one). It’s about using the business strategy – really understanding it – to shape and prioritise what HR does.

So what is strategy, really?
Strategy is not just a document, a PowerPoint or a bold mission statement. It’s a game plan for winning – a set of choices about how the business will outsmart competitors, keep customers loyal and deliver long-term value.

It’s not cast in stone. It evolves. It adapts. It needs translating into action, everywhere – from the executive floor to the frontline. And that’s where HR comes in.

The HRBP’s strategic sweet spot
The course explores where HR can – and should – be involved in the strategy process. Not just at the end, implementing what’s already been decided. But from the start, helping the business figure out if it even has the capabilities it needs to deliver the plan.

That includes:

• Challenging whether the organisation has the leadership, skills, or culture to deliver its promises
• Helping the business define and develop the organisational capabilities it needs for the future
• Acting as the honest broker in the strategy room – asking the tough questions others avoid
• Bringing in insights from outside the business, and from the front line
• Ensuring that strategy gets translated into real, practical people actions and plans

Capability is the name of the game
One of the biggest messages from the course is this: strategy without capability is just a fantasy. It doesn’t matter how bold the strategy sounds if the business can’t actually deliver it.

Building capability – the right people, in the right context, with the right culture – is HR’s strategic superpower. That’s not a side gig. That is the job.

From reactive to reflective
The course is full of practical tools and frameworks to help HRBPs shift their mindset – from being stuck in “today” to thinking “future back”; from inside-out to outside-in.

It also helps you assess how well your business’s strategy stacks up – and what HR needs to do depending on whether the strategy is strong, average or non-existent. And maybe most importantly, it helps you figure out your own role in the strategy process. Are you an implementer? A subject matter expert? A facilitator? Or a full contributor to strategy development? (Clue: ideally, a bit of all four – depending on the context).