What does a human resource advisor do?
Human resource (HR) advisors are responsible for delivering a wide range of HR services. They advise employers and clients about hiring new employees and the overall HR policies. They often function as consultants who aim to improve HR processes and employee relations and promote employee development. Other duties include collaborating with management in implementing organizational changes, creating reports on HR practices and strategies, and resolving conflicts between the management and employees. HR advisors are also responsible for ensuring compliance with organizational values and objectives.
Human resource advisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real human resource advisor resumes:
- Manage the selection of AvalonBay's HRMS ERP vendor.
- Manage the sourcing and procurement of vendors through the RFI and RFP process.
- Lead the preparation and investigation of EEO charges, unemployment claims, and other employee complaints and concerns.
- Coach management team to achieve AAP goals and to promote positive employee relations through internal or external candidate selection.
- Lead corporate-wide FLSA and compensation job audits, create U.S. and European salary schedules, and provide related management training.
- Manage communications for P2L via SharePoint and executive messaging channels.
- Provide a detail project plan and schedule to the SVP for PMO and governance committee.
- Investigate EEO relate complaints, write reports, and develop action plans to resolve the complaints.
- Support and drive client utilization of the HRIS application via a dedicate support model and personalize one on one training.
- Lead and co-lead HRIS implementation projects in order to create efficiency among differing HRIS platform and provide more ease-of-use for employees.
- Direct mediation and advisory hearings in all employee relations disputes and resolutions.
- Conduct job evaluation and FLSA classification reviews, participate in compensation survey meetings.
- Coordinate support for any complex benefit or payroll issues and participate in compensation recommendations/reviews.
- Advise managers on employee relations and basic legal requirement, including conducting internal investigations and mediation sessions.
- Assist with PowerPoint presentation development, poster presentation development, and oratory contest preparation for the national conferences.
Human resource advisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Human Resource Advisors are proficient in Customer Service, Performance Management, and Payroll. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Organizational skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Human Resource Advisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 12%
Contribute to improved customer service and company success by identifying and acting up needs with accurate and timely information.
- Performance Management, 10%
Liaised with managers in ensuring Performance Management Cycle is adhered to, and follow up of any resulting Performance Development/Improvement Plans.
- Payroll, 6%
Developed resolutions, policies and procedures, and developed variable payroll programs to encourage optimum resource utilization and retention.
- Employee Engagement, 5%
Analyzed employee engagement culture survey data, provided recommendations and created initiatives to address results.
- HRIS, 5%
Support and drive client utilization of the HRIS application via a dedicated support model and personalized one on one training.
- EEO, 5%
Developed and conducted training such as EEO and Personnel Policy Overview for all levels of employees, including upper Management.
Most human resource advisors use their skills in "customer service," "performance management," and "payroll" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential human resource advisor responsibilities here:
Leadership skills. The most essential soft skill for a human resource advisor to carry out their responsibilities is leadership skills. This skill is important for the role because "human resources managers must coordinate work activities and ensure that staff complete the duties and responsibilities of their department." Additionally, a human resource advisor resume shows how their duties depend on leadership skills: "guided executive leadership in the resolution of complex situations affecting production, legal, and professional development of newly recruited personnel. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform human resource advisor duties is organizational skills. Human resource advisors responsibilities require that "human resources managers must be able to prioritize tasks and manage several projects at once." Human resource advisors also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "revamp organizational structure to facilitate process improvements. "
Interpersonal skills. human resource advisor responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "human resources managers regularly interact with people, such as to collaborate on teams, and must develop working relationships with their colleagues." This resume example shows what human resource advisors do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "build and maintain strong partnerships with multiple hr and business teams, using business acumen and excellent interpersonal skills. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in human resource advisor job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what human resource advisors do. Human resource advisor responsibilities rely on this skill because "human resources managers need strong speaking, writing, and listening skills to give presentations and direct their staff." You can also see how human resource advisor duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "served as hris administrator, maintained personnel files and hr database, updated intranet on all hr communications. "
The three companies that hire the most human resource advisors are:
- KPMG LLP33 human resource advisors jobs
- DLA Piper25 human resource advisors jobs
- Paychex20 human resource advisors jobs
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Compare different human resource advisors
Human resource advisor vs. Employee relations manager
An employee relations manager's responsibilities revolve around maintaining a strong professional relationship between employees and a company's management. They are also in charge of resolving conflicts and issues within the workplace, providing technical support on all employee programs, developing orientation and workshop activities among trainees and new members of the workforce, and addressing their concerns promptly and professionally. Furthermore, there are instances when an employee relations manager must conduct investigations, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a human resource advisor are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "eeo," "powerpoint," and "continuous improvement." On the other hand, a job as an employee relations manager requires skills like "ethics," "federal laws," "eeo-1," and "human resources policies." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Employee relations managers earn the highest salaries when working in the retail industry, with an average yearly salary of $87,349. On the other hand, human resource advisors are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $112,160.The education levels that employee relations managers earn slightly differ from human resource advisors. In particular, employee relations managers are 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a human resource advisor. Additionally, they're 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Human resource advisor vs. Resource manager
A resource manager's role is to provide the staffing needs of different projects, programs, and departments while coordinating with managers and supervisors. They are responsible for monitoring an employee's performance and payroll data, recommending available staff to join projects and programs, maintaining documentation and records of all transactions, and hire new staff as needed. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that human resource advisor responsibilities requires skills like "employee engagement," "hris," "eeo," and "powerpoint." But a resource manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "resource management," "project management," "human resources," and "customer satisfaction."
Resource managers may earn a lower salary than human resource advisors, but resource managers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $84,500. On the other hand, human resource advisors receive higher pay in the energy industry, where they earn an average salary of $112,160.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Resource managers tend to reach similar levels of education than human resource advisors. In fact, they're 4.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for human resource advisors in the next 3-5 years?
Tina Kowalski
Human resources manager, Kowalskis Markets
Human resource advisor vs. Senior human resources consultant
A senior human resources consultant specializes in recommending solutions to optimize a company's human resource operations. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing procedures, devising strategies to attain the best employment practices, and developing programs for the benefit of employees. They may also implement the company's policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed. Furthermore, as a senior human resources consultant, it is essential to lead and encourage junior consultants and managers to accomplish goals in adherence to the vision and mission of the company.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, human resource advisors are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "powerpoint," "continuous improvement," and "excellent organizational." But a senior human resources consultant is more likely to have skills like "healthcare," "project management," "sr," and "post implementation."
Senior human resources consultants make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $86,984. On the other hand, human resource advisors are paid the highest salary in the energy industry, with average annual pay of $112,160.senior human resources consultants typically earn similar educational levels compared to human resource advisors. Specifically, they're 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Human resource advisor vs. Regional human resources manager
A regional human resources manager is in charge of overseeing a company's local human resource (HR) operations. They mostly identify the hiring needs of different branches, devise compensation and benefits programs, and determine the HR needs of every area, ensuring to develop strategies to meet them. It is essential to monitor all issues and resolve them promptly and professionally, organize training activities, and manage the regional budget. Furthermore, as a regional manager, it is crucial to ensure that all HR teams adhere to labor laws and company policies.
Types of human resource advisor
Updated January 8, 2025
