What does a human resources team leader do?
A human resources team leader is responsible for leading the human resources group to maintain the stability of the operations and ensure that the team adheres to company guidelines and protocols. Human resources team leaders identify business opportunities that would enhance the company's efficiency and effectiveness to provide the highest quality services for its employees and customers. They also handle employee relations, respond to the team members' inquiries and concerns, discuss payrolls and benefits package, and resolve conflicts as soon as they arise.
Human resources team leader responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real human resources team leader resumes:
- Manage compliance review of FLSA classification and analyze headcount and turnover reports and provide recommendations to management regarding appropriate headcount actions.
- Assess and adjust processes to target aforemention goals while remaining EEO and employment law compliant.
- Provide guidance, interpretation and assistance to non-exempt staff regarding payroll, leave of absence, FMLA and benefits.
- Implement process improvement, including execution of a new payroll, time reporting, and HRIS resulting in overall business efficiency.
- Determine leave eligibility for FMLA, approval/denial correspondence, and disability claims.
- Develop and maintain HRIS reports library/warehouse providing managers and supervisors with data reports and analysis for use in management decision-making.
- Reduce employment litigation from multiple claims to minimal exposure providing counseling and leadership coaching and partnering with management on resolutions.
- Oversee and monitor collective bargaining agreement grievances to include step responses, resolution and arbitration management.
Human resources team leader skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Human Resources Team Leaders are proficient in Succession Planning, HRIS, and Corrective Action. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Leadership skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Human Resources Team Leaders that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Succession Planning, 10%
Collaborate with other leaders to establish and utilize systems that identify employees with high performance for succession planning and self-development.
- HRIS, 7%
Automated several components of new hire information feeding directly to HRIS and Payroll, eliminating several manual, paper-based processes.
- Corrective Action, 6%
Coached supervisors and manage leaders to develop skills needed for performance appraisal, counseling and corrective action documentation and discussion.
- Performance Management, 5%
Engaged in collective bargaining agreement negotiations, serving as consultant to advise site management in employee/labor relations and performance management requirements.
- I-9, 4%
Developed and facilitated curriculum on I-9 processing and on imaging tool.
- Direct Reports, 4%
Manage 10 direct reports, 500+ indirect reports for a process with over $70 million in sales.
Most human resources team leaders use their skills in "succession planning," "hris," and "corrective action" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential human resources team leader responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a human resources team leader 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 team leader resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "initiated 30 additional manager/employee coaching relationships and successfully intervened in ten interpersonal conflict resolutions. "
Leadership skills. Many human resources team leader 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 team leader will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways human resources team leader responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "coached and counseled business partners on performance issues, disciplinary actions, conflict resolution, employee and leadership development. "
Organizational skills. This is an important skill for human resources team leaders to perform their duties. For an example of how human resources team leader responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "human resources managers must be able to prioritize tasks and manage several projects at once." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a human resources team leader: "assisted in the development of business process procedures for organizational management, benefits, personnel actions, and time management. ".
The three companies that hire the most human resources team leaders are:
- Target8 human resources team leaders jobs
- LPL Financial3 human resources team leaders jobs
- Iron Galaxy Studios2 human resources team leaders jobs
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Compare different human resources team leaders
Human resources team leader 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, human resources team leader responsibilities require skills like "corrective action," "open door culture," "open positions," and "peoplesoft." Meanwhile a typical director of human resources has skills in areas such as "employee engagement," "customer service," "workers compensation," and "personnel policies." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Directors of human resources really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $105,626. Comparatively, human resources team leaders tend to make the most money in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $53,011.The education levels that directors of human resources earn slightly differ from human resources team leaders. In particular, directors of human resources are 4.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a human resources team leader. Additionally, they're 1.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Human resources team leader 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that human resources team leader responsibilities requires skills like "i-9," "direct reports," "open door culture," and "open positions." But a senior human resources consultant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "healthcare," "employee engagement," "workforce planning," and "payroll."
On average, senior human resources consultants earn a higher salary than human resources team leaders. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, senior human resources consultants earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $86,984. Whereas human resources team leaders have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $53,011.In general, senior human resources consultants achieve higher levels of education than human resources team leaders. They're 7.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for human resources team leaders in the next 3-5 years?
Denise Barton
Senior Professor of Human Resources, Wake Technical Community College
Human resources team leader vs. Senior human resources specialist
A senior human resources specialist is responsible for monitoring the human resources operations of an organization, managing employment processes and policies, and handling staffing needs and concerns. Senior human resources specialists design training and programs to maintain staff's efficiency and maximize the employees' productivity to support business functional operations. They also coordinate with management leaders to identify their hiring needs, evaluating their specifications for recruitment. A senior human resources specialist reviews the company's policies and guidelines regularly, adjusting procedures according to state regulations and business requirements.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from human resources team leader resumes include skills like "corrective action," "direct reports," "open door culture," and "payroll processing," whereas a senior human resources specialist is more likely to list skills in "payroll," "customer service," "develop recommendations," and "provide technical assistance. "
Senior human resources specialists earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $77,555. Human resources team leaders earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $53,011.Most senior human resources specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to human resources team leaders. For example, they're 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Human resources team leader 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.
Types of human resources team leader
Updated January 8, 2025
