Personnel administrator vs generalist

The differences between personnel administrators and generalists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a personnel administrator and a generalist. Additionally, a generalist has an average salary of $46,518, which is higher than the $40,005 average annual salary of a personnel administrator.

The top three skills for a personnel administrator include word processing, life insurance and office equipment. The most important skills for a generalist are sales floor, store sales, and customer loyalty.

Personnel administrator vs generalist overview

	Personnel Administrator	Generalist
Yearly salary	$40,005	$46,518
Hourly rate	$19.23	$22.36
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	51,272	8,585
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a personnel administrator do?

Personnel administrators are professionals who are responsible for performing administrative duties related to maintaining personnel records and documents for an organization. These administrators are required to ensure accurate records of personnel files as well as efficient access by other staff members. They must maintain a relationship with the human resources and operations management to keep informed about the current and future hiring needs. Personnel administrators must also administer workers' compensation while establishing a safety counseling program to maintain morale among workers.

What does a generalist do?

A generalist, also known as a human resource generalist, is responsible for overseeing the operations in a human resource department, focusing on employees' welfare and working conditions. They are primarily involved in the hiring and laying off processes among employees, handing training and benefits programs, and coordinating with every department in the company. Furthermore, a generalist must perform administrative tasks that mostly revolve around producing reports and processing paperwork, conducting research and analysis, and responding to correspondence.

Personnel administrator vs generalist salary

Personnel administrators and generalists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Personnel Administrator	Generalist
Average salary	$40,005	$46,518
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $53,000	Between $29,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between personnel administrator and generalist education

There are a few differences between a personnel administrator and a generalist in terms of educational background:

	Personnel Administrator	Generalist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Personnel administrator vs generalist demographics

Here are the differences between personnel administrators' and generalists' demographics:

	Personnel Administrator	Generalist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%	Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 70.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 70.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	18%	18%

Differences between personnel administrator and generalist duties and responsibilities

Personnel administrator example responsibilities.

Manage corporate affirmative action plan and enforce EEO policies/programs.
Establish operating policies and procedures and attain SNF Medicare certification.
Maintain FMLA documentation and records for employees.
Used spreadsheets, PowerPoint, or text documents.
Compile wages and deductions, and enter data into a HRIS.
Investigate and propose formal HRIS solution to ease ability of compliance and reporting.

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Generalist example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain PBX and VoIP phone systems at multiple locations.
Manage multiple lab projects for the implementation of new lab analyzers as well as LIS functionality.
Plan, install and manage new locations build outs with complete VPN connectivity and VOIP utilization for the multiple locations.
Manage UAB and HSF faculty recruitment, staffing needs, terminations, compensation, records management, employee relations and retention.
Manage data process flow to ensure employee timekeeping, attendance and payroll objectives are effectively and efficiently maintain.
Perform chemistry, microbiology, urinalysis, hematology, and blood bank laboratory tests, equipment calibration and quality assurance reports.

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Personnel administrator vs generalist skills

Common personnel administrator skills

Word Processing, 19%
Life Insurance, 19%
Office Equipment, 19%
Photocopiers, 16%
Travel Arrangements, 14%
Human Resources, 2%

Common generalist skills

Sales Floor, 21%
Store Sales, 17%
Customer Loyalty, 14%
Sales Growth, 12%
Customer Service, 6%
Processing Customer Transactions, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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