Personnel administrator vs human resource specialist

The differences between personnel administrators and human resource specialists 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 human resource specialist. Additionally, a human resource specialist has an average salary of $53,143, 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 human resource specialist are data entry, oversight, and life insurance.

Personnel administrator vs human resource specialist overview

	Personnel Administrator	Human Resource Specialist
Yearly salary	$40,005	$53,143
Hourly rate	$19.23	$25.55
Growth rate	7%	8%
Number of jobs	51,272	50,511
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	47	41
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 human resource specialist do?

A human resources specialist is responsible for assisting in the recruitment and staffing process. Duties of a human resources specialist include updating the requirements and qualifications of a job post, handling employees' inquiries regarding compensation and benefits, maintaining employees' records, updating the status of new joiners, tracking performance reviews, and generating reports as business requires. A human resource specialist must be detail-oriented, as well as excellent in organizational and communication skills. Additionally, a human resource specialist must have a broad knowledge of the recruitment process and structure.

Personnel administrator vs human resource specialist salary

Personnel administrators and human resource specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Personnel Administrator	Human Resource Specialist
Average salary	$40,005	$53,143
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $53,000	Between $36,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between personnel administrator and human resource specialist education

There are a few differences between a personnel administrator and a human resource specialist in terms of educational background:

	Personnel Administrator	Human Resource Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Pennsylvania

Personnel administrator vs human resource specialist demographics

Here are the differences between personnel administrators' and human resource specialists' demographics:

	Personnel Administrator	Human Resource Specialist
Average age	47	41
Gender ratio	Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%	Male, 26.9% Female, 73.1%
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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 7.6% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	18%	9%

Differences between personnel administrator and human resource specialist 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.

Human resource specialist example responsibilities.

Manage site KRONOS payroll, time and attendance, and vacation tracking for hourly.
Manage new hire and current employee paperwork that includes status change forms, W-4s, I-9s, etc.
Lead a compliance initiative to ensure successful transition to the e-Verify employment verification process.
Integrate efforts on actions and programs where joint OPM functional effort are necessary to accomplish recruitment and enhance organizational effectiveness.
Advise, coach, and counsele managers and Sr.
Assist with affirmative action reporting, VETS100 and EEO-1 submission.

Personnel administrator vs human resource specialist skills

Common personnel administrator skills

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

Common human resource specialist skills

Data Entry, 10%
Oversight, 9%
Life Insurance, 9%
Human Resources Policies, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Timekeeping, 5%

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Personnel Administrator
Personnel Administrator vs Human Resource Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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