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What does a compensation and benefits manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Compensation and benefits managers oversee and coordinate a company's compensation and benefits department. They are responsible for ensuring accurate and fair compensation, including bonuses, pensions, and salaries. Other duties include coordinating and supervising the work of staff, developing the company's compensation and benefits structure, and selecting and managing outside partners such as insurance brokers, investment managers, and benefits vendors. Compensation and benefits managers are also responsible for overseeing the disclosure of compensation and benefits information to employees and ensuring that they comply with state and federal regulations.

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Compensation and benefits manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real compensation and benefits manager resumes:

  • Recommend and lead critical HRIS initiatives including database integrity, verification, and efficiency efforts.
  • Manage payroll deductions, responsible for monthly insurance premium payments, and coordinate/communicate annual open enrollment.
  • Lead departmental PeopleSoft projects and initiatives; involve in systems testing when additional system upgrades are implemented.
  • Execute employee enrollments, terminations, membership changes, cobra and handle claim resolution.
  • Respond to any queries from sales people regarding their commission statements or any other question relating to the commission calculation process.
  • Prepare incentive calculation for management and staff programs.
  • Perform additional project management including developing selection criteria for selecting new HRIS system
  • Managed/Audite input and data integrity of employee master file database, including payroll deductions.
  • Recommend and lead critical HRIS initiatives including database integrity, verification, and efficiency efforts.
  • Represent community specialty and general practice physicians in the formation of a physician-driven PPO.

Compensation and benefits manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Compensation And Benefits Managers are proficient in HRIS, Human Resources, and Compensation Programs. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Analytical skills, and Business skills.

We break down the percentage of Compensation And Benefits Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • HRIS, 9%

    Led Compensation Benefits HRIS function for this professional services environmental consulting company with 22 offices nationwide.

  • Human Resources, 8%

    Advised and counseled internal human resources staff, line management and company executives on day-to-day and strategic compensation issues.

  • Compensation Programs, 7%

    Researched, analyzed, developed, and implemented new management compensation program increasing job title integrity and administrative effectiveness.

  • Open Enrollment, 6%

    Organized global projects including Total Compensation Statements, annual benefit notice mailings, benefit renewal process and Open Enrollment communications.

  • Life Insurance, 5%

    Manage the insurance information on active and inactive employees; this includes medical insurance, dental insurance, and life insurance.

  • HIPAA, 4%

    Researched complex benefit issues to insure regulatory and legal compliance regarding HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA and ADA.

"hris," "human resources," and "compensation programs" are among the most common skills that compensation and benefits managers use at work. You can find even more compensation and benefits manager responsibilities below, including:

Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a compensation and benefits manager to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "compensation and benefits managers coordinate the activities of their staff and administer compensation and benefits programs, ensuring that the work is completed accurately and on schedule." Compensation and benefits managers often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assisted in the development comprehensive executive compensation studies, conducted complex analysis and prepared analytical reports for presentation to executive leadership. "

Analytical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling compensation and benefits manager duties is analytical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "compensation and benefits managers analyze data on wages and salaries and the cost of benefits, and they assess and devise programs that best fit an organization and its employees." According to a compensation and benefits manager resume, here's how compensation and benefits managers can utilize analytical skills in their job responsibilities: "analyze and monitor the effectiveness of existing compensation policies, guidelines and procedures recommending plan revisions and/or new plans. "

Business skills. This is an important skill for compensation and benefits managers to perform their duties. For an example of how compensation and benefits manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "these managers oversee a budget, build a case for their recommendations, and understand how compensation and benefits plans affect an organization’s finances." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a compensation and benefits manager: "played key leadership role in the continued development of the company wide hris/payroll system, including identification of hr business requirements. ".

Communication skills. compensation and benefits manager responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "compensation and benefits managers direct staff, give presentations, and work with colleagues." This resume example shows what compensation and benefits managers do with communication skills on a typical day: "set up compensation policies, processes and communications to increase credibility, transparency and effectiveness. "

See the full list of compensation and benefits manager skills

The three companies that hire the most compensation and benefits managers are:

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Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume
Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume

Compare different compensation and benefits managers

Compensation and benefits manager vs. Plan administrator

A plan administrator's duties depend on their line of work or place of employment. Still, they typically include understanding the client or the project's needs, developing plans, performing research and analysis, liaising with internal and external parties, setting goals, establishing guidelines and timelines, and developing strategies to optimize procedures. They must also respond to issues and concerns, resolving them efficiently. Moreover, as a plan administrator, it is essential to monitor the daily operations and manage staff, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

We looked at the average compensation and benefits manager salary and compared it with the wages of a plan administrator. Generally speaking, plan administrators are paid $30,616 lower than compensation and benefits managers per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both compensation and benefits manager and plan administrator positions are skilled in hris, open enrollment, and life insurance.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, compensation and benefits manager responsibilities require skills like "human resources," "compensation programs," "hipaa," and "flsa." Meanwhile a typical plan administrator has skills in areas such as "payroll," "hr," "plan administration," and "database." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Plan administrators tend to reach lower levels of education than compensation and benefits managers. In fact, plan administrators are 10.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Compensation and benefits manager vs. Benefit director

Benefits directors are professionals who plan and direct the overall design, implementation, and administration of an organization's health and welfare benefits programs. To support the decision making of the management, these directors are required to analyze benefit options and predict future costs. They should study programs so that they can identify benefit options as well as obtain advice from consultants. Benefits directors must study existing and new legislation so that they can comply with federal, state, and legal requirements and advise the management on needed actions.

Benefit director positions earn higher pay than compensation and benefits manager roles. They earn a $11,516 higher salary than compensation and benefits managers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both compensation and benefits managers and benefit directors have skills such as "hris," "human resources," and "compensation programs. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real compensation and benefits manager resumes. While compensation and benefits manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "flsa," "salary surveys," "executive compensation," and "plan design," benefit directors use skills like "oversight," "employee engagement," "vendor management," and "state laws."

In general, benefit directors achieve lower levels of education than compensation and benefits managers. They're 5.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Compensation and benefits manager vs. Benefits consultant

Benefits consultants are executives who carry out many services for individuals and businesses. The consultants draft and organize policies within the organization. They handle vendors and manage the renewal of negotiations of HMO plans. It is their job to establish agency relationships with marketing representatives. They coordinate programs that involve self-funded or administered long-term and short-term disability, life insurance, and a cafeteria plan. Also, they prepare enterprises to meet health care law changes.

An average benefits consultant eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of compensation and benefits managers. The difference in salaries amounts to benefits consultants earning a $19,983 lower average salary than compensation and benefits managers.compensation and benefits managers and benefits consultants both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "hris," "open enrollment," and "life insurance," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, compensation and benefits managers are more likely to have skills like "human resources," "compensation programs," "flsa," and "salary surveys." But a benefits consultant is more likely to have skills like "hr," "customer service," "strong analytical," and "health insurance."

Benefits consultants typically earn lower educational levels compared to compensation and benefits managers. Specifically, they're 10.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Compensation and benefits manager vs. Hris manager

An HRIS manager or commonly known as a human resource information system manager, is responsible for supporting and maintaining the company's HR systems. They primarily perform the complex task of making sure all HR systems are compliant with labor regulations and regularly updated. Typically, they oversee employee data information, including processing, HR-related report generation, system upgrades, and maintaining data integrity. They supervise the implementation and daily HRIS operation. Moreover, this job requires excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.

Hris managers typically earn higher pay than compensation and benefits managers. On average, hris managers earn a $6,944 higher salary per year.While both compensation and benefits managers and hris managers complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like hris, compensation programs, and open enrollment, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between compensation and benefits managers and hris managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a compensation and benefits manager might have more use for skills like "human resources," "life insurance," "salary surveys," and "government regulations." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hris managers require skills like "project management," "business processes," "process improvement," and "hr. "

In general, hris managers hold similar degree levels compared to compensation and benefits managers. Hris managers are 4.6% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of compensation and benefits manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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