At Essex County Council, we are committed to building a world-class workforce. With over 9,000 employees and 1.8 million residents, our HR People Business Partner team is integral to this mission, focusing on developing strategic approaches to enhance future capability across the council. The team also helps build critical relationships within business functional areas, and drives people strategies to ensure improved performance and deliver the workforce strategy and associated initiatives.
We spoke with Fiona, who has been at Essex County Council for 15 years, to really understand the complexities and diversity of this rewarding role. Read on to find out more.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a People Business Partner (PBP) at Essex County Council, working as part of the People & Organisation Development function.
I have worked at the council for 15 years, but for the last 8 years I have been a PBP supporting Adult Social Care (ASC). I have over 30 years’ experience working in HR across both private and not for profit organisations, prior to joining the public sector.
Can you tell us a bit more about the role of a HR business partner and what a typical day in your role looks like?
As a PBP you work as a Head of HR for your specific function, directly supporting your Executive Director and the Functional Leadership team who are all at Director level. This is a big senior role, as demonstrated by the salary within the organisation, and a key business partner, where you sit alongside the Functional Leadership team.
The role is strategic. You are responsible for developing the Strategic Workforce Plan for your area, which aligns to the function’s business plan. This will cover all areas of a HR portfolio, including:
- Recruitment
- Attraction
- Employee relations
- Reward and recognition
- Succession and talent management
- Leadership and management development
- Employee experiences
- EDI
- Performance Development
- Change
- HR metrics and organisational development (OD)
People and OD have various SMEs within all these areas who support in the implementation of the plan. However, you will be required to own the various activities across your functions, to support the delivery of the SWFP, which does require you to have an overview of everything and have the ability to dive into detail where needed. There are various corporate People & OD issues that you will also be required to roll out within your function to support overall organisational delivery.
What projects or initiatives are you currently working on?
I’m finalising our Your Voice Survey functional action plan. Every other year, the council complete a robust employee survey, and we completed this in Autumn last year. We have been analysing the results and developing an action plan. Our goal is to continue with the areas that received positive feedback and to focus on improving the areas that need enhancement.
I have a couple of key design projects in progress at the moment. This involves working as part of a project team with our Organisational Design team, reviewing current activity, understanding future need, then reviewing and analysing the current structure and agreeing if any changes are needed to support this. This can often involve linking with our People Consultant team to develop and evaluate job descriptions and then lead consultation to implement any necessary changes.
Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is our hot topic at present, and we are starting to think through plans of how we transition in 2028.
I also have a couple of interesting ER cases, which with the size of our organisation is no surprise. But we have a great HR Case and People Consultant team who support on all cases. Working in the public sector certainly provides some great learning for case work.
What are the most challenging aspects of your role?
Like all roles post pandemic, I would say time is probably the most challenging and being able to juggle many meetings that you are included in. But you do quickly learn how to prioritise and best utilise colleagues to support you.
It is important to remember that you are part of a political organisation, so there are set process and procedures, which may feel one too many at times, but they are key for an organisation of this size and complexity.
What do you find most rewarding about being a HR People Business Partner?
The most rewarding part of my role is supporting and enabling our workforce who really make an impact to the lives of the residents we serve. Being aligned to the function really keeps you grounded in this area.
What skills or qualities do you think are essential in this role?
Relationship management is key. You will not feel you are making any impact without it. And being able to lift yourself up out of the nitty gritty into the strategic space is really beneficial, thinking wider than your function and understanding the public sector challenges within Essex as a whole.
We have some excellent benefits at Essex County Council, including access for all workers to our wellbeing portal, employee network and financial support. How do you maintain a work-life balance?
I will be honest, at times I don’t, but that is my choice. The services are very supportive, and any time you need to use them, it’s not a problem.
What would your advice be to anyone considering joining the council as a HR People Business Partner?
Apply – but remember these are big strategic roles. Think wider and bigger than operational HR activity.
I look forward to welcoming you to the team!
