Personnel administrator vs human resources business partner

The differences between personnel administrators and human resources business partners 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 resources business partner. Additionally, a human resources business partner has an average salary of $86,363, 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 resources business partner are employee engagement, HRBP, and succession planning.

Personnel administrator vs human resources business partner overview

	Personnel Administrator	Human Resources Business Partner
Yearly salary	$40,005	$86,363
Hourly rate	$19.23	$41.52
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	51,272	103,520
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
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 human resources business partner do?

Human resource (HR) business partners' primary job is to ensure that business objectives are aligned with the management and employees within an organization. They typically focus more on developing HR strategy than implementing the company policies. They often work with individual business units, and their work is related to the company's current and future success. HR business partners are also responsible for providing performance management guidance, developing contract terms for new employees, transfers, and promotions, and providing advice on business units.

Personnel administrator vs human resources business partner salary

Personnel administrators and human resources business partners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Personnel Administrator	Human Resources Business Partner
Average salary	$40,005	$86,363
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $53,000	Between $62,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Ropes & Gray
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between personnel administrator and human resources business partner education

There are a few differences between a personnel administrator and a human resources business partner in terms of educational background:

	Personnel Administrator	Human Resources Business Partner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Personnel administrator vs human resources business partner demographics

Here are the differences between personnel administrators' and human resources business partners' demographics:

	Personnel Administrator	Human Resources Business Partner
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%	Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9%
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 human resources business partner 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 resources business partner example responsibilities.

Manage the ACA with regard to variable hour employees to avoid fines and penalties.
Lead effort to build safety awareness and implement plans to improve working conditions while adhering to OSHA requirements.
Manage and audit payroll ensuring accurate timekeeping, processing adjustments, and investigating payroll discrepancies.
Manage HRIS system migration to ExponentHR technology platform with full employee/manager self-service eliminating multiple homegrown systems and one service provider.
Report to the SVP of human resources.
Revamp unemployment claims process and increase HRBP completion rate and decrease dollar loss due to incomplete and fraudulent claims.

Personnel administrator vs human resources business partner skills

Common personnel administrator skills

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

Common human resources business partner skills

Employee Engagement, 8%
HRBP, 6%
Succession Planning, 6%
Workforce Planning, 5%
Business Objectives, 4%
HRIS, 4%

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Executive Management Industry
Personnel Administrator
Personnel Administrator vs Human Resources Business Partner

Updated January 8, 2025

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