What does a personnel assistant do?
Personnel assistants are professionals who perform administrative duties while assisting the human resources director to maintain and keep the records and confidential files of employees working in an organization. These assistants must communicate with all personnel about their compensation policies while ensuring that the company policies and procedures are consistently applied. They are required to coordinate with supervisors to create job descriptions and develop recruiting advertisements. Personnel assistants must also purchase office supplies while maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of their office area.
Personnel assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real personnel assistant resumes:
- Manage new employee orientation training, including e-verify.
- Maintain employee's timekeeping and personnel records.
- Coordinate staff reports, monthly activity, insurance updates and EEO activity.
- Record data for each employee, including absences, coaching and timekeeping.
- Maintain and handle confidential information such as grievances, EEO relate matters, etc.
- Create and maintain a database for the sick line, FMLA tracking, payroll document tracking, and benefit adjustment tracking.
- Verify eligibility to DOD benefits.
- Provide guidance and interpretation of regulations and DoD policies.
- Process reimbursements approvals and any other payroll adjustment inquiries.
- Maintain and update the organizational HRIS database for applicant tracking purposes.
- Provide recruitment, HRIS and administrative support for this international foundation.
- Prepare PowerPoint presentations and provide briefings to military/civilian management and support staff personnel.
- Revitalize employee manual covering issues including disciplinary procedures, code of conduct, FMLA policy and benefits information.
- Key information on AS400 system.
- Enter applications, references, and college transcripts into the AS400 system.
Personnel assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Personnel Assistants are proficient in Human Resources, Data Entry, and Office Equipment. They’re also known for soft skills such as Integrity, Organizational skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Personnel Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Human Resources, 16%
Developed thorough understanding of compensation reform through intensive training with the Virginia Department of Human Resources and Virginia Department of Health.
- Data Entry, 13%
Manage Confidential Documents Data Entry Manifest Document Access Government Database Handle TSA Personally Identifiable Information Documents Scan Documents Write Standard Operating Procedure
- Office Equipment, 7%
Operated a variety of automated office equipment and perform equipment /system maintenance checks
- CAC, 5%
Assist the different personnel with updating their emails in DEERS, also with updating PIV certification and registering their CAC cards.
- Personnel Actions, 4%
Reviewed and processed enlisted personnel actions and determined enrollment and attendance eligibility for utilized applicable regulations, policies and current directives.
- Background Checks, 4%
Conducted criminal background checks utilizing DCI before interview was scheduled.
Common skills that a personnel assistant uses to do their job include "human resources," "data entry," and "office equipment." You can find details on the most important personnel assistant responsibilities below.
Integrity. One of the key soft skills for a personnel assistant to have is integrity. You can see how this relates to what personnel assistants do because "information clerks, particularly human resources assistants, have access to confidential information." Additionally, a personnel assistant resume shows how personnel assistants use integrity: "complete timely data entry of required data; maintaining consistency and integrity. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform personnel assistant duties is organizational skills. Personnel assistants responsibilities require that "information clerks must be able to retrieve files and other important information quickly and efficiently." Personnel assistants also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintained and updated the organizational hris database for applicant tracking purposes. "
Interpersonal skills. Another crucial skill for a personnel assistant to carry out their responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." A big part of what personnel assistants relies on this skill, since "information clerks who work with the public and customers must understand and communicate information effectively to establish positive relationships." How this skill relates to personnel assistant duties can be seen in an example from a personnel assistant resume snippet: "utilized communication, interpersonal, organizational and customer service skills. "
Communication skills. Another skill commonly found on personnel assistant job descriptions is "communication skills." It can come up quite often in personnel assistant duties, since "information clerks must be able to explain policies and procedures clearly to customers and the public." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day personnel assistant responsibilities: "provided in-service training and communication of new policies, updating hris databases spanning five facilities and two correctional facilities. "
The three companies that hire the most personnel assistants are:
- Buffalo Schools5 personnel assistants jobs
- East Penn Manufacturing3 personnel assistants jobs
- D2S3 personnel assistants jobs
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Compare different personnel assistants
Personnel assistant vs. Human resources trainer
Human Resources Trainers are responsible for providing and facilitating training for employees in an organization's specific job area. They are involved in identifying the company's training needs, conducting employee training programs, producing learning materials, organizing presentations and meetings, assisting employees in the skills improvement process, and arranging lectures, seminars, and workshops. Besides that, they also develop scenarios relating to problem-solving and initiate monitored simulations. They maintain training records, collect employee feedback to improve training methods and create growth reports to demonstrate results to an organization.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a personnel assistant are more likely to require skills like "data entry," "office equipment," "cac," and "personnel actions." On the other hand, a job as a human resources trainer requires skills like "customer service," "training sessions," "training materials," and "payroll." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Human resources trainers earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $40,943. On the other hand, personnel assistants are paid more in the non profits industry with an average salary of $40,808.On average, human resources trainers reach higher levels of education than personnel assistants. Human resources trainers are 8.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Personnel assistant vs. Human resources clerk
A human resources clerk's role focuses on assisting in the hiring process within a company or organization. Most of the responsibilities will revolve around posting hiring notices on various platforms, handling job applications, arranging schedules and appointments for interviews, verifying requirements, and responding to calls and inquiries. Besides participating in the hiring process, a human resources clerk also has administrative duties such as maintaining employee information and records, producing progress reports, processing paperwork, and assisting newly hired employees. This is all done in adherence to a company's policies and regulations.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real personnel assistant resumes. While personnel assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "human resources," "cac," "personnel transactions," and "deers," human resources clerks use skills like "customer service," "front desk," "provides administrative support," and "e-verify."
Human resources clerks may earn a lower salary than personnel assistants, but human resources clerks earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $39,622. On the other hand, personnel assistants receive higher pay in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,808.In general, human resources clerks achieve similar levels of education than personnel assistants. They're 2.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Personnel assistant vs. Human resources internship
A human resources intern is responsible for assisting the human resources department in daily operations under a direct supervisor. Duties of a human resources intern include reviewing job postings and qualifications, updating employees' information in the database, scheduling candidate interviews, responding to employees' concerns, processing payroll disputes, and reiterating the company's policies and procedures. A human resources intern must be detail-oriented and a fast-learner and display excellent communication and organizational skills to be familiarized with the management operations.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, personnel assistants are more likely to have skills like "human resources," "office equipment," "cac," and "personnel actions." But a human resources internship is more likely to have skills like "resources intern," "customer service," "internship program," and "payroll."
Human resources interns earn the best pay in the manufacturing industry, where they command an average salary of $37,766. Personnel assistants earn the highest pay from the non profits industry, with an average salary of $40,808.human resources interns typically earn similar educational levels compared to personnel assistants. Specifically, they're 3.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Personnel assistant vs. Human resources coordinator
A human resources coordinator is responsible for cooperating with the company's human resources department, supporting its processes and procedures, and assisting with employees' concerns. Human resources coordinators' duties include maintaining business files and employees' records, processing documents and submitting required reports, administering background checks for the recruitment process, reviewing and referring to company's handbook for corrective action and performance review, scheduling meetings and facilitating events, and advising effective strategies to human resources management. A human resources coordinator requires excellent communication and employee-relation skills to support the company's daily operations.
Types of personnel assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
