What does a director of human resources do?
A human resources director is responsible for managing the overall operations of the human resources department, ensuring smooth operations while meeting the company's goals of successful profitability and services. Human resources directors' duties include providing staff consultation, addressing staffing concerns, managing compensation and benefits plans, reviewing plans for training and development programs, and reporting future actions to the management. A human resources director must have excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills to help lead the business to its growth and development.
Director of human resources responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of human resources resumes:
- Recruit, negotiate new benefit contracts, manage compensation budget with department managers, process and oversee payroll.
- Develop a structure interview process, implement online background investigation, integrity surveying applications, and manage the HRIS system.
- Adopt mediation as a prefer means of reduce cost employee dispute resolution.
- Design performance management training program and develop and deliver sexual harassment and EEO training to production show staff.
- Maintain affirmative action and OSHA documentation.
- Lead responsibility for all employment litigation and administrative charges.
- Brief senior leadership weekly on status of manpower requirements.
- Prepare and report all documentation in accordance with OSHA regulations.
- Represent Alltel in mediation and settlement negotiations across multiple venues.
- Recommend plans to enhance manpower utilization and cost effectiveness throughout areas assign.
- Resolve associate relation issues including FMLA, terminations, performance counseling and daily attendance management.
- Monitor and maintain attendance activities including FMLA, vacations and unexcuse absences using occurrence system.
- Implement performance management processes, using integrate banding structure, job profiling system, and pay-for-performance program.
- Spearhead design and implementation of compensation analysis tool within HRIS resulting in streamline assessment and contract renewal processes.
- Select candidates for positions taking into consideration skills and qualifications, mission requirements, and EEO and diversity objectives.
Director of human resources skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Directors Of Human Resources are proficient in Performance Management, HRIS, and Employee Engagement. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Leadership skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Human Resources that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Performance Management, 8%
Launched career development program integrating professional development priorities into the performance management cycle; program features technical and manager career paths.
- HRIS, 5%
Developed a structured interview process, implemented online background investigation, integrity surveying applications, and managed the HRIS system.
- Employee Engagement, 4%
Completed specific project based work including compensation studies, strategic recruitment and organizational effectiveness support, increasing employee engagement and retention.
- Payroll Processing, 4%
Championed/implemented a five-step payroll process, targeted a billable time-transfer and attendance issue, and streamlined/optimized payroll processing accuracy/efficiency.
- Customer Service, 4%
Developed HR infrastructure/policies/procedures/handbook, recruitment process/orientation/crafted & executed customer service/team building programs.
- Succession Planning, 4%
Integrated first site performance management system and training of comprehensive set of human resource systems including succession planning and career development.
Most directors of human resources use their skills in "performance management," "hris," and "employee engagement" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential director of human resources responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of human resources to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of human resources do because "human resources managers regularly interact with people, such as to collaborate on teams, and must develop working relationships with their colleagues." Additionally, a director of human resources resume shows how directors of human resources use interpersonal skills: "facilitated interpersonal discussions and revised personnel policies and procedures in order to incorporate new corporate culture and japanese ownership. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform director of human resources duties is leadership skills. Directors of human resources responsibilities require that "human resources managers must coordinate work activities and ensure that staff complete the duties and responsibilities of their department." Directors of human resources also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide hr leadership during multiple acquisitions, completing due diligence and organizational integration. "
Organizational skills. directors of human resources are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to director of human resources responsibilities, because "human resources managers must be able to prioritize tasks and manage several projects at once." A director of human resources resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "assisted with due diligence and integration of purchased companies' employees into organizational structure resulting in no voluntary turnover. "
The three companies that hire the most director of human resourcess are:
- Applied Materials383 directors of human resources jobs
- KPMG LLP140 directors of human resources jobs
- Meta100 directors of human resources jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable director of human resources resume templates
Build a professional director of human resources resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of human resources resume.
Compare different directors of human resources
Director of human resources vs. Director
Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life. They work with the writers to get a clear vision of how the production should look. They lead the production team in planning for the production, identifying filming or rehearsing schedules, casting for roles, and other aspects that need to be decided upon. Directors provide direction to the actors to ensure that the actors understand their role and will be able to effectively convey emotions to the audience. They also manage all other crew members and communicate their expectations clearly so that everyone on the set is working towards one vision.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, director of human resources responsibilities require skills like "hris," "employee engagement," "payroll processing," and "succession planning." Meanwhile a typical director has skills in areas such as "healthcare," "project management," "human resources," and "business development." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Directors really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $155,819. Comparatively, directors of human resources tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $105,626.On average, directors reach similar levels of education than directors of human resources. Directors are 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Director of human resources vs. Human resources administration manager
A human resources administration manager performs multiple roles, one of which is to maintain and review all human resources, administrative systems, and procedures. They give guidance on HR to the office. They also oversee the development and monitoring of processes that involve recruiting and retention of individuals, compensation, benefits, training, and employee development. They essentially take charge of administrative functions.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, director of human resources responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "employee engagement," "payroll processing," "customer service," and "oversight." Meanwhile, a human resources administration manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "process payroll," "financial statements," "human resource functions," and "health insurance." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, human resources administration managers achieve similar levels of education than directors of human resources. They're 3.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Directors of human resources in the next 3-5 years?
Karen Sharp-Price
Instructor/Career Consultant, Daemen College
Just over the past year, video conferencing and video chat has become mainstream for most companies. Learning how to maneuver and use the many different forms of video conferencing has become an everyday occurrence now for companies. Companies that said they could never go fully remote have done so and found not only that it can be done but done well with all this technology. But in the near future, you will see many new features added to all of these mediums to enhance the experience for employees and companies to communicate with co-workers, near and far. This technology has been around for a long time but is not used to its fullest extent. Due to the pandemic, it is heavily used, and I don't see us reverting back to our old ways but only improving upon how to better utilize technology in our businesses going forward.
Director of human resources vs. Human resources generalist/manager
A human resource (HR) generalist performs a variety of HR functions and duties. These include recruiting and interviewing job applicants, conducting background checks and verifying employee eligibility, and implementing new employee orientation and recognition programs. In addition, you will be responsible for administering and executing HR programs, including benefits, disputes and investigations, and compensation. As an HR generalist, you are expected to provide answers to inquiries from applicants, employees, and managers. You are also expected to maintain compliance with local, state, and federal employment laws.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a director of human resources is likely to be skilled in "employee engagement," "customer service," "eeo," and "oversight," while a typical human resources generalist/manager is skilled in "safety training," "eeo-1," "performance appraisals," and "reference checks."
Human resources generalist/managers earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $88,661. Directors of human resources earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $105,626.When it comes to education, human resources generalist/managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to directors of human resources. In fact, they're 2.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Director of human resources vs. Human resources recruiter/manager
The primary duty of a human resources recruiter/manager is to source job candidates for open positions in a company. They meet the needs of their client by matching them with candidates that meet the company's organizational culture and will perfectly fit into the open job position. Some small firms will require a human resources recruiter/manager to interview potential employees.
Types of director of human resources
Updated January 8, 2025
