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Business partner vs generalist

The differences between business partners and generalists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a business partner, becoming a generalist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a business partner has an average salary of $96,324, which is higher than the $46,518 average annual salary of a generalist.

The top three skills for a business partner include analytics, project management and customer service. The most important skills for a generalist are sales floor, store sales, and customer loyalty.

Business partner vs generalist overview

Business PartnerGeneralist
Yearly salary$96,324$46,518
Hourly rate$46.31$22.36
Growth rate10%7%
Number of jobs106,2518,585
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age3947
Years of experience106

What does a business partner do?

A business partner is an individual who is involved in a legal business partnership with other individuals to manage a business as co-owners. Business partners invest their money into the business, and each partner benefits from any profits and sustains part of any losses. They must file with the state in which they do business and are governed mostly by state laws. Business partners can also be either liable or not for the actions taken by the company.

What does a generalist do?

A generalist, also known as a human resource generalist, is responsible for overseeing the operations in a human resource department, focusing on employees' welfare and working conditions. They are primarily involved in the hiring and laying off processes among employees, handing training and benefits programs, and coordinating with every department in the company. Furthermore, a generalist must perform administrative tasks that mostly revolve around producing reports and processing paperwork, conducting research and analysis, and responding to correspondence.

Business partner vs generalist salary

Business partners and generalists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business PartnerGeneralist
Average salary$96,324$46,518
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $140,000Between $29,000 And $72,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyZSMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyFinance

Differences between business partner and generalist education

There are a few differences between a business partner and a generalist in terms of educational background:

Business PartnerGeneralist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaNorthwestern University

Business partner vs generalist demographics

Here are the differences between business partners' and generalists' demographics:

Business PartnerGeneralist
Average age3947
Gender ratioMale, 56.2% Female, 43.8%Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 70.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage10%18%

Differences between business partner and generalist duties and responsibilities

Business partner example responsibilities.

  • Manage publicity online, in medias such as Facebook and Instagram.
  • Negotiate and manage vendor relations using SLA's and metric management.
  • Lead the establishment of key ERP, database and java applications environments.
  • Implement and manage social media strategies and blog content as well as customer relationships on Salesforce.com.
  • Lead all operational, financial and customer relationship aspects of MMI's largest global OEM customer, IBM.
  • Plan, manage, supervise and lead the development, QA, UAT and deployment efforts towards on time delivery.
  • Show more

Generalist example responsibilities.

  • Manage and maintain PBX and VoIP phone systems at multiple locations.
  • Manage multiple lab projects for the implementation of new lab analyzers as well as LIS functionality.
  • Plan, install and manage new locations build outs with complete VPN connectivity and VOIP utilization for the multiple locations.
  • Manage UAB and HSF faculty recruitment, staffing needs, terminations, compensation, records management, employee relations and retention.
  • Manage data process flow to ensure employee timekeeping, attendance and payroll objectives are effectively and efficiently maintain.
  • Perform chemistry, microbiology, urinalysis, hematology, and blood bank laboratory tests, equipment calibration and quality assurance reports.
  • Show more

Business partner vs generalist skills

Common business partner skills
  • Analytics, 8%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Human Resources, 5%
  • Performance Management, 5%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 4%
Common generalist skills
  • Sales Floor, 21%
  • Store Sales, 17%
  • Customer Loyalty, 14%
  • Sales Growth, 12%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Processing Customer Transactions, 4%

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