Human resources professionals balance many tasks on any given day and must be comfortable with multitasking to succeed. A typical day will include both planned and unplanned meetings and activities, as managers and employees look to the human resources department for guidance on a number of issues. An HR representative’s specific responsibilities may vary depending on her job title and the structure of the organization for which she works, but in general, the most common tasks include recruitment and selection, benefits, payroll and employee relations investigations, all of which require a high level of organization and multitasking ability.
Recruitment
In most organizations, the recruitment and selection process is coordinated by the human resources department. An HR individual creates job postings, sources for applicants, conducts interviews and hires the most qualified candidates to fill various job vacancies within the organization. Other multitasking duties that pertain to recruitment are attending career fairs and community networking events, tracking applicant data for Affirmative Action Programs and sending out correspondence to those individuals who were interviewed but not selected to fill positions.
Also Read: HRCI Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR)
Benefits
The human resources professional coordinates with benefits providers to enroll and perform maintenance on group health benefits plans such as medical, dental and vision insurance and short- and long-term disability plans. This includes collecting and reporting all required information for new enrollments and changes to the appropriate provider, verifying qualifying life-change events and coordinating the company’s annual benefits enrollment. The human resources department also implements wellness programs, reviews and approves requests for tuition assistance and ensures compliance with all record-keeping requirements for insurance documents.
Employee Relations
When an employee has a work-related issue that cannot be independently resolved, the human resources representative serves as a mediator to obtain a fair resolution. This includes meeting with all persons involved in the situation, obtaining all relevant documentation and written statements of witnesses and using this information to make a decision. It is imperative that employee complaints be handled in a timely and efficient manner to maintain a safe working environment for the employees during the investigation process and to prevent possible legal issues from arising later on. This is especially common when allegations of harassment or discrimination are not handled appropriately and are later escalated to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for review.
Payroll
In some companies, the human resources department is responsible for processing employee payroll. This includes obtaining and reviewing all employee time sheets to ensure that each worker’s compensation is compliant with Fair Labor Standards Act requirements regarding minimum pay, overtime and deduction requirements. The payroll process also includes the multitasking duties of balancing the appropriate general ledger accounts and calculating the correct amounts each pay period for items such as paid time off accrual and payroll deductions for items such as retirement plan contributions and wage garnishments.
Miscellaneous
There are other miscellaneous tasks and responsibilities that a human resources professional handles on a regular basis. One such item is creating and analyzing several reports involving items such as employee turnover, compensation and annual performance reviews. The HR department may also be responsible for implementing and conducting employee training and career development programs and conducting new hire orientations. Each day consists of a combination of duties with various deadlines and legal and administrative requirements that must be appropriately handled by multitasking and prioritizing your day.
2016 Salary Information for Human Resources Managers
Human resources managers earned a median annual salary of $106,910 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, human resources managers earned a 25th percentile salary of $80,800, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $145,220, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 136,100 people were employed in the U.S. as human resources managers.
