What is the HR department hierarchy?

• HR assistant. HR assistants assist HR managers with basic tasks and administrative responsibilities. These include payroll, recruitment, data entry, and assisting current employees of the company.

• HR associate. These HR professionals answer employee questions concerning payroll and employee benefits. They often have to organize HR paperwork and job applications as well.

• HR representative. Representatives help job candidates and current employees fill out the necessary paperwork. They often have a strong understanding of company employee benefits and policies.

• HR administrator. These HR employees manage and maintain employment records at a company. This includes specific employee data, such as performance reviews, contracts, and other employee-related databases.

Mid-level HR roles. Mid-level HR employees may oversee teams of lower-level HR employees. They might also specialize in a certain area of the HR department. They often report to the HR director or another senior HR official. Mid-level roles include:

• Personnel manager. These HR employees recruit, hire, and train new employees. They also conduct employee performance reviews annually or after a probationary period.

• HR specialist. HR specialists assist in new employee recruitment. They also may hire job candidates and manage job orientations.

• HR generalist. HR generalists perform every kind of task that supports a company's staff. This includes recruiting for open roles, screening and interviewing candidates, writing descriptions for new roles, and many other responsibilities.

• HR supervisor. HR supervisors manage new employee hiring, regulate employee dynamics and interactions, and oversee payrolls.

• HR analyst. HR analysts track, record, and manage different employee data forms for a company. They review and compare salaries to national averages and also between industry-specific roles.

Senior-level HR roles. These high-level HR roles are responsible for all the decisions made in a company's HR department. These employees generally report directly to the CEO of a company. Some senior-level HR roles include:

• HR manager. HR managers oversee a team of HR generalists and often interact with benefits specialists, payroll coordinators, and trainers. They also oversee all recruitment, training, and employee dynamics and relations.

• HR director. HR directors, also called deputy directors, oversee and manage all employee dynamics and relations, payroll, employee benefits, staffing, and compliance.

• Chief human resources officer. These high-level HR officials manage the entire human resources department at a company. They also develop different strategies for hiring the most qualified candidates and strategies on how to train them.

• Vice president of human resources. The company's vice president of human resources oversees and directs all recruiting, hiring, budgeting, employee relations, and more.