How to hire a personnel technician

How to hire a personnel technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step personnel technician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a personnel technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new personnel technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the personnel technician you need to hire. Certain personnel technician roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A personnel technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, personnel technicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents personnel technician salaries for various positions.

   Type of Personnel Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Personnel Technician	Human resources specialists recruit, screen, interview, and place workers. They often handle other human resources work, such as those related to employee relations, compensation and benefits, and training... Show more	$13-26
   Human Resources Recruiter	A human resources recruiter is responsible for sourcing potential candidates on filling in organizational roles to support business operations and maintain efficiency on project deliverables. Human resources recruiters work closely with every department's head to analyze their qualifications and posting the job requirement on the company's job board and other communication platforms... Show more	$15-32
   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... Show more	$12-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Human Resources
   • Payroll Processing
   • Personnel Actions
   • Personnel Transactions
   • Workers Compensation
   • FMLA
   • I-9
   • OPS
   • Personnel Policies
   • Reference Checks
   • Performance Evaluations
   • Civil Service
   • Background Checks
   • Personnel Rules

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage wage and salary administration and supervise payroll function.
   • Enter and process all employment, absences, FMLA and other miscellaneous transactions into PeopleSoft.
   • Design and facilitate training sessions for campus HRIS users.
   • Create training material for say policies (i.e., books, handouts and PowerPoint presentations).
   • Process employee s time punches by generating time and attendance reports from both the PeopleSoft and TimeTrak systems.
   • Audit data on the HRIS and FMCS to ensure accurate and timely download of data from HRIS into FMCS.

   More personnel technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your personnel technician job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A personnel technician salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, personnel technicians' average salary in utah is 46% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level personnel technicians earn 49% less than senior-level personnel technicians.
   • Certifications. A personnel technician with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a personnel technician's salary.

   Average personnel technician salary

   $39,836yearly

   $19.15 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level personnel technician salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

   Average personnel technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$55,239	$27
   2	Nevada	$35,974	$17
   3	Oregon	$35,166	$17
   4	Florida	$30,763	$15

   Average personnel technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Rowland Unified School District	$51,636	$24.82
   2	University of Southern California	$51,226	$24.63
   3	California State University, Fullerton	$47,605	$22.89
   4	Victor Valley Union High School District	$41,906	$20.15
   5	Grants Pass, Oregon	$41,305	$19.86
   6	University of Nevada, Reno	$40,535	$19.49
   7	State of Nevada Employees' Association Inc	$40,045	$19.25	8
   8	Weston Solutions Holdings, Inc.	$38,700	$18.61	1
   9	My Florida Regional Mls	$38,389	$18.46
   10	County of Contra Costa	$36,093	$17.35
   11	Weston	$31,706	$15.24
   12	Florida Dept. of Health	$30,998	$14.90
   13	State Of Florida	$30,859	$14.84	2
   14	Florida Department of Transportation	$28,790	$13.84

4. Writing a personnel technician job description

   A good personnel technician job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a personnel technician job description:

   Personnel technician job description example

   + Administer the processing of employee time keeping transactions into all Time & Attendance and Payroll systems (i.e. Kronos and Workday).
   
   + Coordinate the flow of manufacturing employee transactions to the Corporate Payroll and Workforce Administration groups.
   
   Responsibilities: Administer time and attendance systems transaction flow including transmitting employee time and updates of employee access and table maintenance. This includes auditing and review of the time. Maintain all leave accrual balances (sick, vacation, PTO). Coordinate Time & Attendance system calendars for all holidays including floating holidays. Become proficient in all union contracts as they apply to Time & Attendance and Payroll. Communicate with Plant Managers and Supervisors regarding employee time keeping issues. Process and report to HR or LR all attendance control transactions. Maintain attendance control history. Process shift, labor pool and workstation assignments along with rate adjustments for temporary upgrades. Update Manager/Supervisor, schedule, or job assignments as necessary using Kronos. Communicate employee changes or exceptions to Corporate Payroll. Provide deduction updates as necessary. Provide appropriate plant labor, head count reporting to plant controllers and union management. Resolve employee payroll inquiries; provide guidance to rectify benefit administration questions. Administer union and nonunion disability plans for pay and recordkeeping. Investigate and resolve employee pay discrepancies. Suggest and help implement process or system improvements. Basic Qualifications:
   
   + Bachelors Degree from an accredited university/college preferred OR 4 years of relevant experience in lieu of degree required
   + Strong written and communication skills are required
   
   + Team player approach to problem solving, and thinking strategically to find opportunities for improvements is required
   
   Typical Minimum Experience Preferred: Degree in Business, or Human Resources preferred 1-2 years of payroll or time and attendance experience preferred Knowledge of Union Shop environment, Workday and Kronos is preferred Payroll experience a plus Division/Business Group: HR/Payroll Day to Day Responsibilities: Timekeeping updating timecards, fielding employee questions of pay checks, guiding employees on how to use Workday and Kronos, answering emails timely, and team collaboration Candidate skills: Timekeeping experience (preferably with Kronos), Union/CBA experience, and customer service/experience As an equal opportunity employer, ICONMA prides itself on creating an employment environment that supports and encourages the abilities of all persons regardless of race, color, gender, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or disability

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find personnel technicians for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any personnel technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level personnel technicians with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your personnel technician job on Zippia to find and recruit personnel technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit personnel technicians, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new personnel technician

   Once you've found the personnel technician candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new personnel technician. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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