Human Resource Specialist Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a human resource specialist. Feel free to use our job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a human resource specialist.
Who is a Human Resource Specialist?
Human resources specialists have been trained in all areas of human resource management. They can manage personnel issues, hire and promote new talent, as well as facilitate onboarding and training. They are specialists because they specialize in a specific area of human resources and can use a higher level of technical skill and specialized knowledge for the benefit of their company.
An HR professional, in the grand scheme of things, is responsible for ensuring the success of a company or organization over the long term by ensuring it has the talent it requires.
Also known as HR specialists, they are responsible for finding, hiring, and retaining qualified employees that meet the organization’s requirements.
Additionally, HR specialists are responsible to administer their company’s benefits and compensation plans. They need to keep up-to-date with the latest employment regulations and ensure compliance for their companies. HR professionals are increasingly being asked to support companies’ professional and training development.
The jobs of senior-level and entry-level HR professionals are very different. A senior HR professional is likely to have a managerial position. An entry-level HR specialist, on the other hand, will focus mainly on the administrative aspects of the business. The HR business partner, or generalist, serves as the intermediate-level HR specialist before moving up to senior-level HR management.
Human Resource Specialist Job Description
Below are the human resource specialist job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a job description for your employee. The employer can use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The Job role of a Human Resource Specialist will depend largely on the type of organization he works in. Below is the typical job description of a Human Resource Specialist working in an NGO or Government Agency.
- Assisting individuals and families who need to access community-based services and programs
- Making sure people are aware of community resources that can improve the lives of people with disabilities.
- Functioning with other community agencies, if applicable.
- Working with local, state, and federal entities; other service providers; schools; mental healthcare
- Providing ongoing training for community members.
- Recommending programs and services that you think might be of benefit to the general public
- Providing training and resources for County employees to provide better services to all
- Offering individual client consultation to County staff and peers regarding housing options and creativity.
- Solving problems based on complicated situations
- Organizing outreaches for community partners, people with disabilities, low-income, or housing instability.
- Participating in the development and implementation of new housing programs/services.
- Creating new services through collaboration with agencies and organizations and learning from them
- Ensuring data collection, analysis, and reporting on the program area.
- Participating in the applicable task force, committee, or task-oriented workgroup activities
- Engaging in regional planning to achieve housing goals
- Executing the Human Resource Policies and Procedures
- Investigating personnel issues, concerns, and problems and recommending the best solution following standard human resource principles and practices.
- Assisting in the administration of human resources transnational issues such as the post of vacancies, position classification, and supervision of employee exams.
- Preparing job descriptions that outline the official record of work assignments made by management to employees.
- Classifying positions based on their common characteristics, difficulty level, degree of responsibility, qualifications requirements, and other factors.
- Performing job analysis to identify duties, responsibilities, and working conditions.
- Determining the pay rate, and job duties, and performing a job evaluation.
- Providing inputs for annual forecasting and reports.
- Forming and recommending policies and procedures that are consistent with appropriate personnel practices and classification standards.
- Obtaining data about their human resources requirements, and sending out annual questionnaires to supervisors and managers.
- Getting together with human resource personnel to discuss personnel procedures, principles, and guidelines.
- Training on classification, rules, regulations, and human resource guidelines.
- Conducting skills audits, job evaluations, and organization reviews.
- Establishing qualifications standards for the recruitment and promotion of candidates to staff schools, activity centers, and other educational institutions of the Department of Education
- Ensuring that the Division meets its overall goals.
- Developing job selection criteria and performance criteria.
Other important tasks are:
- Recruitment of employees
This involves screening candidates, conducting interviews, and inviting potential employees to company tours. Human resource specialists may be assigned to work at job fairs, post-employment ads, and manage recruitment campaigns.
- Planning for departments
This involves the analysis of how many employees are employed in each department, as well as the organization chart. These components can then be evaluated by HR specialists to determine if they are supporting the company’s overall mission.
- Onboarding and training
The HR management team often handles onboarding new employees. They review the employee handbook and explain key information to new hires.
- Employee evaluations
The HR specialist also sets the schedule for employee appraisals. They work closely with department supervisors to resolve issues and manage paperwork related to pay increases, promotions, and demotions.
- Forms for insurance claims
The HR department may need to keep up-to-date on the latest information regarding providers, laws, and paperwork to ensure a company’s efficiency. This includes managing health, dental, and compensation insurance.
- Conflict resolution
Human resource specialists act as mediators between employees and employers. This could include negotiation techniques, analytical thinking, and decision-making.
- Labor relations
The HR management is familiar with labor laws and can revise policies as needed. They update their staff on the latest laws and make changes to company processes.
- Accounting
HR specialists often collect timesheets to analyze payments and distribute funds to retirement accounts, insurance, taxes, and other deductions. They also take into account time off, pay rates, and pay schedules.
- Formal complaints and legal issues
Human resources specialists are responsible for researching and documenting common legal issues.
Qualifications
Employers may require different levels of education depending on the job you are applying for. These are the requirements for becoming a human resources specialist.
Experience
You won’t be a specialist when you start your career in human resource management. It is important to gain experience in the field before you can become a specialist in human resources. You can learn about human resources strategies and how to work with others, and also build relationships and leadership skills.
Certification and licensure
You may be eligible for additional certifications and licensing depending on your industry. You may benefit from certain accounting and business certifications.
Degree
A bachelor’s degree is required to become a human resources specialist. A master’s degree may be required depending on the job and the responsibilities. Degrees in business, economics, and human resources are all possible.
Essential Skills
- Leadership skills
The human resources specialist must be able to take initiative and make quick decisions. A human resource specialist must inspire employees to implement programs that align with the company’s goals and help them grow professionally.
- Organizational skills
Human resources specialists need to be able to organize and prioritize tasks so that they can allocate enough time to them. If you are dealing with large amounts of data related to applicants’ resumes or compensation, you must be able to organize. Double-check your work to determine if automation is possible and whether you will need to set up a project management program to visualize your tasks.
- Effective communication skills
This skill is essential for a human resource specialist. Every day, you communicate with managers, executives, and front-line staff. You must be present with the people you are interacting with, and mindful of your upcoming tasks. There may be situations where you have to speak publicly about an incident that has affected your company. It is important to be open to the feelings of your employees and be understanding. If you spend more time listening and observing employees, your chances of achieving a productive dialogue are higher.
- Collaboration skills
Human resources specialists rely heavily on their team members. They collaborate with employees to improve performance at work and communicate with managers about their goals for the coming year. To show interest in their development, you can mentor interns and entry-level employees within your department.
- Problem-solving skills
Employees might approach you when they have a problem or witness an incident at work. To accurately record all perspectives and take action, you need to use your communication skills as well as your problem-solving skills. If you want feedback from your CEO or executive staff, you can work with them. However, you must use your best judgment to achieve the best results for your organization and your employees.
- Coaching
HR professionals can often offer guidance and advice to employees to improve their performance. This coaching might be offered to employees from other departments, or their team members.
- Technology
Many human resource departments heavily rely on technology to achieve their goals. An HR department can function efficiently using online job boards, virtual hiring, and evaluation software. The most successful human resources specialists can learn the technology tools within their department and make informed decisions about their applications in different situations.
- Expertise and knowledge in HRM
It is not surprising that HRM expertise and knowledge are essential skills. It is very beneficial to have previous work experience in Human Resource Management, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, or to have an educational background in this field.
Many of the skills and competencies are essential to understanding the processes involved in recruitment, selection, absence, and data reporting.
- Priorities Management
You need to have more than organizational and HR knowledge to ensure that your initiatives and projects succeed.
It doesn’t matter how important or valuable a project may be, stakeholders likely have many different opinions, priorities, motivations, and perspectives. You can avoid project pitfalls by being able to work with different stakeholder groups to resolve conflicts and prioritize tasks.
- Proactivity
Proactivity is more often a personality trait than an ability. You are the link between the employer, employee, and HR professional. Proactivity is key to avoiding potential problems from becoming worse.
This is why proactive Human Resource Management is preferable to reactive HRM. You must be aware of current trends in HR and technology to stay proactive as an HR professional. Your career development should include continuous training in HR skills.
Strategic and proactive HRM can help you plan and align your core HR tasks in a manner that is most beneficial to the business.
- Analytical and data-driven
The majority of HR professionals must be data-driven and analytical. An HR manager’s competencies must include an ability to analyze key HR metrics such as employee performance, retention, recruitment, engagement, and retention. Excel knowledge is an advantage.
All departments are encouraged to use data analytics to make better business decisions. This could involve complex predictive analytics of HR data or the simpler use of data to make more informed decisions. This latter option is commonly referred to as evidence-based human resources.
- HR reporting skills
The importance of HR analytics is growing, so the demand for HR reporting skills has increased. These skills include the ability to create, read and interpret HR reports using data coming from various Human Resource Information Systems.
Strong HR reporting skills allow HR professionals to not only understand and interpret data but also to create compelling messages through storytelling.
Effective reporting on key metrics will help you better advise employees and managers, improve people policies and make more evidence-based decisions.
How to Become a Hama Resource Specialist
- Obtain a bachelor’s degree
You will be in the best place to obtain an entry-level job with a bachelor’s degree. Check the requirements of the program to make sure it is the right fit. It can lead to internships at top companies in the region. To see how the program helped professionals in human resources, it’s a good idea to use it to network.
- Work experience in human resource management is a professional qualification
Having work experience as a human resources specialist or assistant is an advantage. This position involves the administration of tasks like filing records regarding an employee’s compensation package or facilitating training programs.
- Get Certified
If you are interested in becoming a specialist in human resources, such as labor relations, business management, or talent acquisition, certification is a great option. You will be able to keep up with current industry trends, which can help you make future decisions for your organization. A certification from the Society of Human Resources and Management can help you to identify the metrics that are needed for an employee’s evaluation.
- You can tailor your resume for managerial positions and apply to a position as a human resource manager.
For a position as a human resource specialist, your most recent experience should be highlighted on your resume. However, your resume should include a list of all your accomplishments in each position.
Where to Work
Most human resources specialists work in offices. Recruitment specialists may travel to meet applicants, attend job fairs and visit colleges campuses. Human resources specialists usually work full-time during business hours. Some people work 40+ hours per week.
Human Resources Specialist Salary Scale
The average annual salary for a US human resource manager is $69,370. Human resource managers may earn up to $5,000 in bonuses. On average, human resource managers with more than 10 years of experience earn $74,585 annually.