What does a personnel manager do?
Personnel manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real personnel manager resumes:
- Manage administrative wellness of a crew of 150 sailors.
- Monitor and manage daily the Kronos timekeeping system for all employees.
- Manage wage and salary administration and supervise payroll function.
- Manage compliance review of FLSA classification and analyze headcount and turnover reports and provide recommendations to management regarding appropriate headcount actions.
- Create policies, procedures, performance management training, benefit enrollment, military screenings and manpower analysis.
- Prepare quotes and all relate correspondence using PowerPoint.
- Prepare, process and distribute payroll using Kronos software.
- Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners.
- Process all new hire paperwork, including I9's, using e-verify.
- Act as functional lead on HRIS upgrades and new system capabilities as needed.
- Administer and train all employees on attendance, safety, FMLA, sexual harassment and legal policies.
- Prepare payroll for all employees, maintaining employee information and records including HRIS and create reports as necessary.
- Provide regular briefs to high level management on the status of the personnel and logistics of the unit.
- Conduct training on a broad spectrum of topics relate to policies and procedures which also include EEO and sexual harassment.
- Maintain thorough knowledge of state and federal laws governing personnel methods and practices such as EEO, ADA and FLSA.
Personnel manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Personnel Managers are proficient in Disciplinary Procedures, Human Resource Functions, and Workers Compensation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Organizational skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Personnel Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Disciplinary Procedures, 11%
Assisted General Manager with employee disciplinary procedures, compliance to union contract and participated in union negotiations.
- Human Resource Functions, 5%
Managed all Human Resource functions: supervised exempt and non-exempt employees and assisted in operational function of company.
- Workers Compensation, 4%
Administered Workers Compensation including investigations.
- Background Checks, 4%
Managed 85 employees in three different shifts*Interviews*On call duties*Managed attrition*Time keeping*Drug testing & Background checks*New hire paperwork
- Professional Development, 4%
Provided professional development, mentoring, and resources to ensure departmental human resource staff maintained high operating efficiency and accuracy.
- Personnel Policies, 4%
Supported personnel in various organizations; records management, processing performance reports, and provided guidance on personnel policies and procedures.
Most personnel managers use their skills in "disciplinary procedures," "human resource functions," and "workers compensation" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential personnel manager responsibilities here:
Leadership skills. One of the key soft skills for a personnel manager to have is leadership skills. You can see how this relates to what personnel managers do because "human resources managers must coordinate work activities and ensure that staff complete the duties and responsibilities of their department." Additionally, a personnel manager resume shows how personnel managers use leadership skills: "certified as performance management trainer providing leadership and knowledge to a multitude of employees. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling personnel manager duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "human resources managers must be able to prioritize tasks and manage several projects at once." According to a personnel manager resume, here's how personnel managers can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "update personnel data/organizational management modules as required for all changes to employment status. "
Interpersonal skills. A big part of what personnel managers do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to personnel manager responsibilities because "human resources managers regularly interact with people, such as to collaborate on teams, and must develop working relationships with their colleagues." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical personnel manager tasks: "provided leadership, professional development guidance, designed to improve interpersonal skills and customer relationship management. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a personnel manager to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what personnel managers relies on this skill, since "human resources managers need strong speaking, writing, and listening skills to give presentations and direct their staff." How this skill relates to personnel manager duties can be seen in an example from a personnel manager resume snippet: "advised chief executive officer on readiness and professional development of communications personnel assigned to the national capital region. "
The three companies that hire the most personnel managers are:
- Leidos8 personnel managers jobs
- Black Hills Special Services Cooperative1 personnel managers jobs
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Compare different personnel managers
Personnel manager vs. Human resource officer
A human resources officer is typically in charge of managing and handling the employment operations in the company, including the payroll and training systems. Their responsibilities revolve around participating in advertising job openings, interviewing applicants, training and managing new employees, and devising programs that will help them learn about the policies and regulations of the company. Furthermore, a human resources officer is also responsible for managing employee data, such as personal information and work attendance, processing payroll, and handling any issues or concerns.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, personnel manager responsibilities require skills like "human resource functions," "unemployment claims," "i-9," and "personnel functions." Meanwhile a typical human resource officer has skills in areas such as "human resources functions," "employee development," "succession planning," and "organizational development." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Human resource officers earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $77,057. On the other hand, personnel managers are paid more in the retail industry with an average salary of $57,140.human resource officers tend to reach higher levels of education than personnel managers. In fact, human resource officers are 9.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Personnel manager vs. Human resources business partner
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.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real personnel manager resumes. While personnel manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "disciplinary procedures," "human resource functions," "workers compensation," and "personnel policies," human resources business partners use skills like "employee engagement," "hrbp," "succession planning," and "workforce planning."
On average, human resources business partners earn a higher salary than personnel managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, human resources business partners earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $99,409. Whereas personnel managers have higher pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $57,140.human resources business partners earn higher levels of education than personnel managers in general. They're 10.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for personnel managers in the next 3-5 years?
Karen Sharp-Price
Instructor/Career Consultant, Daemen College
Just over the past year, video conferencing and video chat has become mainstream for most companies. Learning how to maneuver and use the many different forms of video conferencing has become an everyday occurrence now for companies. Companies that said they could never go fully remote have done so and found not only that it can be done but done well with all this technology. But in the near future, you will see many new features added to all of these mediums to enhance the experience for employees and companies to communicate with co-workers, near and far. This technology has been around for a long time but is not used to its fullest extent. Due to the pandemic, it is heavily used, and I don't see us reverting back to our old ways but only improving upon how to better utilize technology in our businesses going forward.
Personnel manager vs. Generalist
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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a personnel manager is likely to be skilled in "disciplinary procedures," "human resource functions," "workers compensation," and "professional development," while a typical generalist is skilled in "sales floor," "store sales," "customer loyalty," and "sales growth."
Generalists earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $53,008. Personnel managers earn the highest pay from the retail industry, with an average salary of $57,140.Most generalists achieve a similar degree level compared to personnel managers. For example, they're 1.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Personnel manager 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.
Types of personnel manager
Updated January 8, 2025
