What is a Business Partner?

There are various types of Business Partners and finding a good one can be a difficult but worthy task. No matter whether their speciality lies in Business, IT, HR or somewhere else, each Partner is involved, either deeply or within certain limits and in certain ways, in choosing the direction that the company is moving in the future. In practice, this position also requires meeting with new people, working on programs within and outside of the company and may be more about managing and working with other higher-up employees.

There are no specific academic requirements to become a Business Partner but different companies look for different things. While some value experience over education, it is a smart career move nonetheless to earn a Bachelor's or a higher degree in business, finance, or a related subject.

What Does a Business Partner Do

There are certain skills that many business partners have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, creativity and interpersonal skills.

Learn more about what a Business Partner does

How To Become a Business Partner

If you're interested in becoming a business partner, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 65.1% of business partners have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 16.8% of business partners have master's degrees. Even though most business partners have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Business Partner
Top Business Partner Jobs Near You

Business Partner Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a business partner can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as owner, progress to a title such as sales vice president and then eventually end up with the title executive vice president of sales.

Business Partner

Average Salary for a Business Partner

Business Partners in America make an average salary of $96,324 per year or $46 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $140,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $66,000 per year.
Average Business Partner Salary
$96,324 Yearly
$46.31 hourly
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What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Business Partner

The role of a business partner includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general business partner responsibilities:

  • Serves as the information technology (it) focal point for corporate business application development initiatives
  • Detailed description) drive information services and technology value creation
  • Strategic partnership with key internal customers such as hr business partners

There are several types of business partner, including:

Partner

Role:

The role of a partner varies from organization to organization. What a business partnership entails is defined by the industry the companies are active in, their size, and revenue strategies. A partner has various responsibilities from generating sales to discovering further partnership opportunities and cultivating the existing ones.

There is no one path that leads to becoming a partner manager. It goes without saying that this is not an entry-level position, unless perhaps you are born into a business dynasty. In which case, you would not be browsing job search engines anyway.

So for the rest of us, there is a lot of groundwork and networking that goes into acquiring this position. Needless to say, if you do make it there, it is a lucrative career, with a yearly income averaging anywhere from $68,000 to $133,000.

  • Average Salary: $76,119
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Business Owner

Role:

Congrats! You opened your own business. Now what? Now, you get to sit back, relax and let everyone else do the hard work, right? Wrong. During the beginning stages of a new business it is so important that the boss is around for the day-to-day operations.

Typically, business owners put in well-above the regular 40-hour week. In fact, you might even have to put in 60 hours a week. At least until your business is extremely successful and can continue to survive without you around all the time. It's hard work as a business owner, but at least you get to be the boss.

Speaking of being the boss, don't forget to hire some people so you don't have to boss yourself around. Once your business starts to take off, you'll want to hire employees to help out. You'll find out quickly that you, indeed, cannot be everywhere all at once.

  • Average Salary: $50,934
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Human Resources Business Partner

Role:

HR business partners serve as a bridge between upper management, the human resources department, and employees. Your role is highly dynamic. You are to develop and initiate HR programs. It's a necessity that you develop and act on HR regulations that support business objectives. Also, it is expected that you consult with executives and managers to outline the human resources goals of the organization. In addition, one of your duties is to prepare contracts and training materials. Addressing employees' concerns and advising HR personnel happen to be another of your responsibilities.

HR business partners, in general, must have at least a bachelor's degree in business administration or human resources. An MBA gives you an edge as well. Skills you must possess are team coordination, strategy development and execution, communication, and presentation. The average annual salary for HR business partners is $65,806.

  • Average Salary: $86,363
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Business Partner Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active business partner jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where business partners earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Business Partner Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California5,433$115,473
2Texas2,534$91,377
3New York2,196$118,238
4Illinois1,759$95,405
5Ohio1,644$92,749
6Massachusetts1,564$102,475
7Florida1,481$79,841
8Virginia1,317$92,038
9Pennsylvania1,289$107,527
10New Jersey1,261$118,078
11Minnesota1,247$86,747
12Michigan1,137$97,667
13North Carolina1,122$88,078
14Washington1,082$125,035
15Georgia1,055$86,772
16Missouri969$74,333
17Indiana898$87,434
18Wisconsin882$95,199
19Tennessee875$89,039
20Oregon683$108,882
21Arizona628$89,050
22Maryland570$95,384
23Kentucky546$89,285
24South Carolina543$84,235
25Colorado542$82,019
26Kansas509$72,858
27Iowa505$83,716
28Arkansas474$85,494
29Alabama469$75,664
30Utah446$82,786
31Louisiana408$70,448
32Nebraska398$72,879
33Nevada396$88,551
34Connecticut390$96,683
35Oklahoma362$71,095
36New Mexico261$87,236
37Montana223$103,167
38Rhode Island217$98,786
39New Hampshire215$101,261
40Mississippi208$74,850
41Idaho180$88,454
42West Virginia176$97,124
43South Dakota166$81,508
44Alaska138$99,568
45Maine137$92,362
46Delaware108$95,337
47North Dakota106$85,571
48Vermont103$86,552
49Hawaii65$76,228
50Wyoming45$82,161

Business Partner Education

Business Partner Majors

Business
32.5 %
Accounting
7.4 %
Marketing
6.5 %

Business Partner Degrees

Bachelors

65.1 %

Masters

16.8 %

Associate

9.4 %

Top Colleges for Business Partners

1. University of Georgia

Athens, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,830

Enrollment

29,474

2. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

3. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

4. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

5. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

6. Ohio State University

Columbus, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,726

Enrollment

45,769

7. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

9. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

10. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

Top Skills For a Business Partner

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.3% of business partners listed analytics on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and creativity are important as well.

  • Analytics, 8.3%
  • Project Management, 7.1%
  • Customer Service, 5.6%
  • Human Resources, 5.1%
  • Performance Management, 4.9%
  • Other Skills, 69.0%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Business Partner Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Business Partner templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Business Partner resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Business Partner diversity

Business Partner Gender Distribution

Male
Male
56%
Female
Female
44%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among business partners, 43.8% of them are women, while 56.2% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among business partners is White, which makes up 74.6% of all business partners.

  • The most common foreign language among business partners is Spanish at 47.6%.

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Best States For a Business Partner

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a business partner. The best states for people in this position are Washington, New York, New Jersey, and California. Business partners make the most in Washington with an average salary of $125,035. Whereas in New York and New Jersey, they would average $118,238 and $118,078, respectively. While business partners would only make an average of $115,473 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New York

Total Business Partner Jobs: 2,196
Highest 10% Earn:
$171,000
Location Quotient:
1.21

$118,238

Avg. Salary

View 2,196 Business Partner Jobs In NY

2. Washington

Total Business Partner Jobs: 1,082
Highest 10% Earn:
$182,000
Location Quotient:
1.05

$125,035

Avg. Salary

View 1,082 Business Partner Jobs In WA

3. New Jersey

Total Business Partner Jobs: 1,261
Highest 10% Earn:
$171,000
Location Quotient:
1.12

$118,078

Avg. Salary

View 1,261 Business Partner Jobs In NJ
Full List Of Best States For Business Partners

How Do Business Partners Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Business Partner Employers

Most Common Employers For Business Partner

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Meta$147,739$71.0354
2Google$141,140$67.8621
3Microsoft$127,133$61.1222
4Autodesk$117,267$56.3820
5Anaplan$111,745$53.7215
6Guidehouse$106,806$51.3550
7Salesforce$104,006$50.0013
8Bank of America$101,690$48.8947
9U.S. Bank$101,542$48.8239
10Kimberly-Clark$101,006$48.5620
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Business Partner Videos

How to Choose the Right Business Partner
What Does It Mean to Be an HR Business Partner?

Becoming a Business Partner FAQs

How Do Business Partners Get Paid?

Business partners are typically paid either through profit sharing or guaranteed payments. In a partnership, two or more individuals will share the profits and pay income taxes on those profits.

What Are The Four Types Of Partnership?

The four types of partnership are general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, and limited liability limited partnership. These four types of partnership all have different strategic pros and cons and specific ways that they operate.

Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.

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Updated April 6, 2023