Personnel managers conduct and supervise the employment functions of a company. These include recruiting, hiring, and training employees; developing wage and salary scales; administering benefit programs; complying with government labor regulations; and other responsibilities that affect the employees.
In a small company, a personnel manager performs all these functions, usually assisted by one or two workers who help with interviewing and perform clerical duties related to the personnel department. In a large company, the personnel manager supervises a staff of trained personnel workers that includes a variety of specialists.
A personnel recruiter searches for promising job applicants through advertisements and employment agencies. A recruiter may also travel to college campuses to talk to students who are about to graduate. Employment interviewers talk to job applicants, sometimes administer and interpret tests, and may make some final hiring decisions.
Job analysts collect and analyze detailed information on each job within a company to prepare a description of each position. These descriptions include the duties of a particular job and the skills and training necessary to perform the job. Position descriptions are used by salary and wage administrators when they develop or revise pay scales for a company. They also use information gathered in surveys of wages paid by other local employers or by other companies within the same industry. Wage and salary administrators also work within government regulations such as minimum wage laws.
Training specialists may supervise or conduct orientation sessions for new employees, prepare training materials and manuals, and handle in-house training programs for employees who wish to upgrade existing skills or gain promotion. In some companies, a training specialist may handle details concerning apprenticeship to management trainee programs.
An employee benefits supervisor provides information and counseling to employees regarding the various fringe benefits offered by a company. The supervisor is also in charge of the administration of these programs which may include health, life, and disability insurance and pension plans. Other employee services such as cafeterias, newsletters, and recreational facilities are also covered.
Some companies now employ a special personnel worker to handle all matters pertaining to the government's equal employment opportunity regulations and the company's affirmative action programs.
Personnel workers in federal, state, and local government agencies have the added duties of devising, administering, and scoring the competitive civil service examinations that are administered to all applicants for public employment. Others oversee compliance with state and federal labor laws, health and safety regulations, and equal employment opportunity programs.
Personnel specialists also work for private employment agencies, executive search organizations, and offices of temporaries agencies. A few work as self-employed management consultants, and others teach at the college and university level.
Related jobs include employment counselor and labor relations specialist.
Job opportunities for personnel specialists and personnel managers exist throughout the country with the largest concentrations in highly industrialized areas.
Qualifications, Education, and Training
Integrity and fair mindedness are important qualifications for those interested in personnel work because they are often called on to act as the liaison between the company and its employees in the day-to-day administration of company policies. Personnel workers must be able to work with people of many educational levels and must have excellent written and oral communications skills. In high school, a college preparatory course should include emphasis on English and social studies.
Some personnel workers enter the field as clerical workers in a personnel office and gain experience and expertise in one or more specialty areas over a period of time. In some small and medium-sized companies, they may advance to personnel manager positions on the basis of experience alone, but most employers require a college education even for entry-level jobs in personnel.
People in personnel work come from a variety of college majors. Some employers prefer a well-rounded liberal arts background; others want a business administration degree. A few insist on a degree in personnel administration or in industrial or labor relations. Government agencies prefer applicants who have majored in personnel administration, political science, or public administration. Any courses in the social sciences, behavioral sciences, and economics are valuable.
Graduate study in industrial or labor relations is necessary for some top-level jobs in personnel work.
Potential and Advancement
About 122,500 people are employed in the overlapping fields of personnel and labor relations. These fields are expected to grow quickly with the largest growth in the private sector as employers try to provide better training and employee relations programs for the growing work force. Slower growth is expected in labor unions and organizations as well as in the area of public personnel administration. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that, overall, the demand for personnel managers will grow by 9%—faster than average—between 2014 and 2024.
Income
Personnel managers earn a median annual salary of $104,440, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Additional Sources of Information
American Society for Personnel Administration, Alexandria, VA 22314
American Society for Training and Development, Alexandria, VA 22313
International Personnel Management Association, Alexandria, VA 22314
