What is the HR hierarchy?

The HR hierarchy is the structure of authority in an HR department at a company. It consists of entry-level HR roles, mid-level HR roles, senior-level HR roles, and specialized HR roles.

Here is a breakdown of those levels and the jobs within them:

• Entry-level HR roles. Most of these positions are administrative in nature and report to the HR manager. Entry-level roles can vary in job title and description, depending on the company, but can include positions like:

Staffing coordinator

Staffing coordinators assist in the recruitment of employees. They screen candidates for different jobs within the company and help in new hire orientation and administrative duties like managing time-off requests.

Staffing coordinators make an average wage of $17.92 per hour in the United States.

Staffing specialist

These HR professionals create job descriptions used for online job postings. They also assess applications and resumes. Staffing specialists often are the HR employees that schedule interviews with job candidates and may also manage employee schedules.

Staffing specialists make an average wage of $17.52 per hour in the United States.

HR assistant

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

An HR assistant makes an average wage of $18.60 per hour in the United States.

HR associate

These HR professionals answer employees' questions concerning matters such as payroll and employee benefits. They often have to organize HR paperwork and job applications as well.

An HR associate makes an average wage of $19.40 per hour in the United States.

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

An HR representative makes an average wage of $20.84 per hour in the United States.

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.

An HR administrator makes an average wage of $20.96 per hour in the United States.

• Mid-level HR roles. Generally speaking, after two to three years of work in an entry-level HR position, an HR employee will move up to a mid-level role. These jobs have more responsibilities but also come with higher salaries. 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 HR roles include:

Personnel manager

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

Personnel managers make an average salary of $39,965 per year in the United States.

HR specialist

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

An HR specialist makes an average salary of $52,517 per year in the United States.

HR generalist

HR generalists perform every kind of task that supports a company's staff. This includes recruiting qualified professionals for open roles, screening and interviewing candidates, writing descriptions for new roles, performing background checks, creating and implementing training and orientations for new employees, and executing performance reviews.

They also administer employee benefits, compensation, and bonuses and evaluate staff complaints.

An HR generalist makes an average salary of $60,176 per year in the United States.

HR supervisor

HR supervisors manage new employee hiring, regulate employee dynamics and interactions, and oversee payrolls. HR supervisors are often the HR officials that lead training events, such as job orientations.

An HR supervisor makes an average salary of $65,818 per year in the United States.

HR analyst

HR analysts track, record, and manage different forms of employee data for a company. They review and compare salaries to national averages and also between industry-specific roles. They also may conduct surveys and share their findings with their HR managers.

An HR analyst makes an average salary of $62,290 per year in the United States.

• Senior-level HR roles. These high-level HR roles are responsible for all of the decisions made in a company's HR department. The level of prior experience can vary, depending on how large or small a company's HR department is. Most senior-level HR employees have between five to ten years of experience.

  Some of these positions also require a master's degree. 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 aspects of recruitment, training, and employee dynamics and relations.

They make sure these employees perform all the necessary functions of a well-operating human resource department by overseeing and guiding them in many of their duties.

An HR manager makes an average salary of $75,256 per year in the United States.

HR director

HR directors, also referred to as deputy directors, oversee and manage all employee dynamics and relations, payroll, employee benefits, staffing, and compliance.

An HR director makes an average salary of $93,887 per year in the United States.

HR business partner

HR business partners oversee the entire human resources department at a company. They work with HR managers to develop plans to hire the right candidates.

They also serve as the liaison between human resources and the business by aligning people management activities with organizational strategy.

An HR business partner makes an average salary of $96,583 per year in the United States.

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, as well as strategies on how to train them.

A chief human resource officer makes an average salary of $126,230 per year in the United States.

Vice president of human resources

The vice president of human resources at a company oversees and directs all recruiting, hiring, budgeting, employee relations, and more.

A vice president of human resources makes an average salary of $129,047 per year in the United States.

• Specialized HR roles. Large companies may have specialized HR positions that focus on one area of human resources. These may fall in different levels of an HR hierarchy. Some specialized HR roles include:

Benefits administrator

These professionals oversee and manage employees' healthcare benefits, such as their medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans. They also assist with employee retirement plans, employee profit sharing, and other benefits.

A benefits administrator makes an average salary of $56,936 per year in the United States.

Staffing manager

Staffing managers oversee all of an HR department's staffing needs; this includes recruitment, hiring, training, and employee termination.

A staffing manager makes an average salary of $51,241 per year in the United States.

Recruiter

Recruiters, as their title suggests, participate in the recruitment of new and qualified employees for a company. Recruiters are also referred to as interviewers. They develop and administer recruitment plans and look for new talent through a network of professional contacts, social media, industry-related organizations, events like job fairs, and more.

A recruiter makes an average salary of $54,129 per year in the United States.

Employee relations manager

Employee relations managers oversee employee dynamics and relationships. They may assist in conflict resolution between co-workers or deal with challenges between employees and their superiors.

An employee relations manager makes an average salary of $69,633 per year in the United States.

Development manager

These professionals are sometimes also called training managers. They are in charge of organizing employee training programs and materials. This includes job orientations for new hires and employee development programs for current workers.

A development manager makes an average salary of $69,685 per year in the United States.

Safety manager

Safety managers are tasked with making sure a company stays in compliance with state and federal laws concerning employee safety. They also observe employees' working conditions and attempt to improve them in terms of safety. Safety managers also give special training courses on safety protocol to current and new employees.

A safety manager makes an average salary of $86,426 per year in the United States.