The shifting role of the human resource (HR) department towards a more strategic function than the routine administrative function is of major importance in the ever-changing business across the globe. Likewise, the banking sector reforms of the 1992 that allowed domestic private investors to invest in the banking sector brought change in the face of the financial platform and competitiveness of the banking industry. Although the history of private commercial banks in the country is very short, the banks have managed to contribute their part in provision of banking services and sharing the monopolies enjoyed formerly by the state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. As a result, a competent people in the HR department to ensure the attainment of organizational goals and boost the competitiveness of the bank are vital. The aim of this study is to assess the strategic role of HR managers and the major barriers that hinder HR managers in their role of strategic partner. The study employed a cross-sectional survey in which self-administered questionnaires were designed and distributed to sampled respondents in different banks. The results of the study confirmed that level of education of HR managers, benefits for HR managers and company sizes are significantly correlated to strategic partner role of HR managers. Moreover, strategic partner and change agent are significantly related to bank‘s performance, even though administrative expert obtained highest mean score. Thus, HR managers in banking sector are predominantly play administrative role.
Administrative role, Change agent‘s role, Employee champion role, organization performance
