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What does a human resources lead do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Denise Barton
What does a human resources lead do

A Human Resource Leader is responsible for achieving set goals for the HR department. Their duties include implementing strategies as well as recruiting, training, and keeping highly skilled employees.

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Human resources lead responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real human resources lead resumes:

  • Define the strategy and manage the HIPAA program for county communication & training.
  • Explain the RFP process and lead a team of around 30 through the entire process.
  • Manage all weekly status reports, data tracking, communications, training & internal SharePoint sites to support.
  • Provide assistance in the interpretation and application of government laws, i.e., FMLA, ADA, FLSA, etc.
  • Direct a team of project managers in the allocation of PMO resources.
  • Maintain all activities and processes according to PMO guidelines and SDLC methodology.
  • Conceptualize, develop, and provide content for the WMC HRD SharePoint site.
  • Design performance review plans, evaluations, job descriptions compliant with EEOC, ADA, FLSA.
  • Maintain affirmative action programs: maintain other records, reports and logs to conform to EEO regulations.
  • Ensure all physical and electronic employee/payroll information comply with local, state and federal laws via file audits and PeopleSoft HRIS.
  • Respond to internal and external EEO investigations.
  • Configure public holidays and holiday calendar id for Nigeria payroll deployment.
  • Integrate HRIS product with internal systems to improve efficiency and eliminate redundancies.
  • Finance experience includes budget forecasting and reconciliation, GL, benefits reporting and payroll administration.
  • Ensure unit meet quick response requirements by scheduling training for maintenance personnel and coordinating logistics for mission success.

Human resources lead skills and personality traits

We calculated that 6% of Human Resources Leads are proficient in Project Management, Employee Engagement, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Leadership skills, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Human Resources Leads that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Project Management, 6%

    Consulted and provided project management for implementation of employee benefits with external system and in-house Workday Benefits.

  • Employee Engagement, 6%

    Chaired corporate employee engagement initiatives increasing connectivity and affinity between firm and workforce, and mitigating turnover during booming job market.

  • Customer Service, 6%

    Take ownership enhancing customer experience with my area of responsibility and entire store when acting as customer service manager.

  • Succession Planning, 5%

    Implemented leadership succession planning process to address future organizational and diversity needs through the development of in-house talent and critical competencies.

  • HRIS, 5%

    Integrated HRIS product with internal systems to improve efficiency and eliminate redundancies.

  • EEO, 4%

    Responded to internal and external EEO investigations.

Common skills that a human resources lead uses to do their job include "project management," "employee engagement," and "customer service." You can find details on the most important human resources lead responsibilities below.

Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a human resources lead to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "human resources managers regularly interact with people, such as to collaborate on teams, and must develop working relationships with their colleagues." Additionally, a human resources lead resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "utilized expertise in conflict resolution to help handle difficult interpersonal relationships among employees within client organizations and improve employee performance. "

Leadership skills. Many human resources lead duties rely on leadership skills. "human resources managers must coordinate work activities and ensure that staff complete the duties and responsibilities of their department.," so a human resources lead will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways human resources lead responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "consulted with business leaders on talent, leadership, business strategy, organization development, compliance, rewards, and culture. "

Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of human resources leads is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday human resources lead duties, as "human resources managers must be able to prioritize tasks and manage several projects at once." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "experienced partnership with multiple executive site leaders in communicating organizational goals that align with business strategy. "

See the full list of human resources lead skills

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Compare different human resources leads

Human resources lead 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.

The annual salary of human resources administration managers is $25,894 lower than the average salary of human resources leads.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both human resources lead and human resources administration manager positions are skilled in succession planning, hris, and eeo.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, human resources lead responsibilities require skills like "project management," "employee engagement," "customer service," and "workforce planning." Meanwhile a typical human resources administration manager has skills in areas such as "disciplinary procedures," "financial statements," "human resource functions," and "workers compensation." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

The education levels that human resources administration managers earn slightly differ from human resources leads. In particular, human resources administration managers are 3.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a human resources lead. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Human resources lead vs. Director of human resources

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 positions earn lower pay than human resources lead roles. They earn a $1,930 lower salary than human resources leads 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 human resources leads and directors of human resources have skills such as "employee engagement," "customer service," and "succession planning. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, human resources lead responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "project management," "manage change," "shared services," and "business strategy." Meanwhile, a director of human resources has duties that require skills in areas such as "payroll processing," "workers compensation," "personnel policies," and "oversight." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Directors of human resources may earn a lower salary than human resources leads, but directors of human resources earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $105,626. On the other hand, human resources leads receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $130,072.In general, directors of human resources achieve similar levels of education than human resources leads. They're 0.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for human resources leads in the next 3-5 years?

Denise BartonDenise Barton LinkedIn profile

Senior Professor of Human Resources, Wake Technical Community College

The most important technologies to use in the next 3-5 years, for all HR professionals, include collaborative technologies that allow teamwork, social media platforms that communicate an organization's branding and facilitate stakeholder connection, and artificial intelligence making recruiting, retention, and training automated so that HR personnel can focus on strategic tasks.

Human resources lead vs. Payroll/human resource manager

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.

On average, payroll/human resource managers earn lower salaries than human resources leads, with a $18,376 difference per year.human resources leads and payroll/human resource managers both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "hris," "eeo," and "process payroll," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a human resources lead is likely to be skilled in "project management," "employee engagement," "customer service," and "succession planning," while a typical payroll/human resource manager is skilled in "human resources," "adp payroll," "payroll system," and "pto."

When it comes to education, payroll/human resource managers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to human resources leads. In fact, they're 10.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Human resources lead vs. Senior human resources consultant

Senior human resources consultants typically earn lower pay than human resources leads. On average, senior human resources consultants earn a $21,400 lower salary per year.According to resumes from human resources leads and senior human resources consultants, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "project management," "employee engagement," and "succession planning. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between human resources leads and senior human resources consultants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a human resources lead might have more use for skills like "customer service," "manage change," "business strategy," and "employee development." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of senior human resources consultants require skills like "healthcare," "payroll," "sr," and "post implementation. "

The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for senior human resources consultants, with average annual pay of $86,984. Comparatively, the highest human resources lead annual salary comes from the finance industry.The average resume of senior human resources consultants showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to human resources leads. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.6%.

Types of human resources lead

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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