Cocoon’s new Human Resource Business Partner (HRBP) role is designed to help your organization mirror its internal structure in the platform—giving the right HR partners the right level of access. This new feature enables HRBPs to support departments and teams with greater precision, making leave planning and communication more seamless for everyone involved.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how HRBP roles work in Cocoon, how to configure them, and how they can make a difference in your organization’s leave strategy.
30 second summary: HRBP Dashboard access gives strategic HR partners targeted visibility into employee leaves for their assigned departments or teams. Workspace Admins can easily assign HRBPs to specific employee groups using data from your HRIS. Once configured, HRBPs receive the same emails and dashboard access as managers. This feature requires the use of our Merge integrations.
What is an HRBP?
Human Resource Business Partners (HRBPs) are strategic consultants within HR who partner with managers and business leaders across specific departments or units. While they’re part of the broader HR team, their role is often more focused and consultative. HRBPs are the go-to resource for both managers and employees—especially when navigating complex topics like employee leave.
With Cocoon’s HRBP Dashboard access, organizations can now grant these HR leaders targeted visibility into the employee leave process, enabling them to support their teams more effectively.
How it works in Cocoon
Step 1: Add a new HRBP admin
Workspace Admins can navigate to the “Admins” section of the Employer Dashboard settings page.
Click “Add admin.”
Enter the HRBP’s name and email
Select “HRBP” as their role
Step 2: Assign Employee Groups
After choosing the HRBP role, you can assign visibility using employee groups from your HRIS—such as departments or locations.
Example: If you choose “Department,” you can assign an HRBP to “Design,” “Product,” or any other relevant unit in your organization. Please note that the naming of these groups is based on the data within your HRIS, so the options you see may look slightly different.
You can also assign multiple groups (e.g., Design and San Francisco), which will give the HRBP visibility into all employees that fall within the selected categories.
Once saved, the Workspace Admin will see a list of HRBPs along with their assigned employee groups and associated employees.
Step 3: Manage HRBP access
Workspace Admins can edit assigned groups:
And update or revoke access at any time:
This ensures continued alignment with internal team changes.
What HRBPs see in Cocoon
HRBPs receive all the same emails and updates as managers (e.g., leave approvals, return-to-work dates)
They have dashboard visibility into their assigned employees’ leave journeys, including:
Employee name
Leave type
Cadence
Start and end dates
Leave status
Leave Timeline
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How are HRBPs mapped to employees?
Workspace Admins map HRBPs to specific employee groups using HRIS data. The accuracy of the mapping depends on how your census data is structured and used.
What emails will HRBPs receive?
They’ll receive the same emails as managers. You can see the full list of emails HRBPs will receive for parental leaves here and for medical leaves here.
Which HRIS providers are supported via Merge integrations (and can use HRBP roles?)
Cocoon supports the following HRIS providers through Merge:
AlexisHR
BambooHR
Clay HR
Dayforce
Gusto
HiBob
Justworks
Namely
Paychex
Paycom
Paycor
Paylocity
PeopleHR
Personio
SageHR
Sesame
UKG
Workday
Zenefits
What if an HRBP already has an account from taking leave with Cocoon?
If a new HRBP account is created and there isn’t already an employee account associated with that email, an employee account will be automatically created.
However, if the HRBP already has an existing employee account, they’ll need to reach out to our Support team at [email protected] and we can merge their HRBP and employee accounts.
Once linked, they’ll be able to switch between accounts seamlessly. You can learn more here: Switching between your Admin and Employee accounts in Cocoon.
Get the support you need
Cocoon’s HRBP role is designed to reflect how your organization functions—making leave support more strategic, precise, and aligned with your internal structure.
Have questions or need help configuring HRBP access?
We’re here for you—reach out anytime at [email protected].