How to hire a senior hris analyst

How to hire a senior hris analyst, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior hris analyst hiring guide:

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

What does a senior hris analyst do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior hris analyst you need to hire. Certain senior hris analyst 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 senior hris analyst's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior hris analysts 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 shows salaries for various types of senior hris analysts.

   Type of Senior Hris Analyst	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Hris Analyst	Computer systems analysts study an organization’s current computer systems and procedures and design information systems solutions to help the organization operate more efficiently and effectively. They bring business and information technology (IT) together by understanding the needs and limitations of both.	$33-57
   Analyst Lead	The duties of an analyst lead depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis, coordinating with different departments to gather leads and data, reviewing findings, and producing reports and presentations for the stakeholders and other higher-ranking officials... Show more	$35-58
   Analyst	Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes... Show more	$25-47

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Business Processes
   • Troubleshoot
   • Data Analysis
   • Data Integrity
   • System Upgrades
   • Kronos
   • Process Improvement
   • System Configuration
   • System Issues
   • System Changes
   • SQL
   • Hr
   • Payroll

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage project migration, unit/system testing, documents change control and user sign off, ensure changes meet SOX compliance.
   • Manage ADP e-time configuration involving pay-rules and pay-code creation.
   • Manage team members on streamlining enhancements to payroll processes that significantly improve accuracy.
   • Document requirements for system modifications and improvements and manage progress through UAT to implementation.
   • Manage multiple HRIS projects and prioritization to ensure resource allocation and budgeting priority of conflicting business requirements.
   • Standardize the OS environment enterprise-wide, resulting in a highly available and easily manage and support system.

   More senior hris analyst duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the senior hris analyst job description is a good way to get more applicants. A senior hris analyst salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a senior hris analyst in Iowa may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level senior hris analyst. Additionally, a senior hris analyst with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average senior hris analyst salary

   $92,223yearly

   $44.34 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior hris analyst salary

   $70,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average senior hris analyst salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$119,910	$58
   2	Washington	$114,468	$55
   3	District of Columbia	$102,328	$49
   4	Illinois	$97,900	$47
   5	Texas	$96,690	$46
   6	Maryland	$93,224	$45
   7	Pennsylvania	$92,567	$45
   8	Minnesota	$91,770	$44
   9	Georgia	$91,501	$44
   10	Massachusetts	$90,995	$44
   11	North Carolina	$89,655	$43
   12	Florida	$89,059	$43
   13	Arizona	$88,955	$43
   14	Oregon	$88,390	$43
   15	Ohio	$85,729	$41
   16	New York	$85,366	$41
   17	Colorado	$82,589	$40
   18	South Dakota	$82,354	$40
   19	Utah	$79,350	$38
   20	South Carolina	$76,392	$37

   Average senior hris analyst salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Kirkland & Ellis	$127,811	$61.45	5
   2	UC Health	$126,221	$60.68	2
   3	Chegg	$118,440	$56.94
   4	Flexport	$118,021	$56.74
   5	Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory	$116,802	$56.15	1
   6	Credit Karma	$116,354	$55.94
   7	The TJX Companies	$113,196	$54.42	2
   8	Apollo Education Group	$111,311	$53.51
   9	Ardent Mills	$111,210	$53.47	8
   10	Sidley Austin	$110,584	$53.17	1
   11	NerdWallet	$108,808	$52.31
   12	Sage Hospitality Group	$108,582	$52.20
   13	Ascena Retail Group	$107,027	$51.46
   14	Rambus	$106,802	$51.35
   15	Albertsons	$106,501	$51.20	2
   16	Zulily	$106,199	$51.06
   17	Salesforce	$105,976	$50.95	14
   18	Nutanix	$105,702	$50.82	5
   19	GoDaddy	$105,695	$50.81
   20	Greif	$105,677	$50.81

4. Writing a senior hris analyst job description

   A senior hris analyst job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a senior hris analyst job description:

   Senior hris analyst job description example

   About the role:
   
   Aurora Solar is a fast-growing Series D company on a mission to create a future of solar energy for all. Aurora makes the software that is enabling society to transition to a world powered by solar power. It's our goal to have every solar installation in the world pass through our software, which has already been used to design millions of solar projects. Named one of “The Best Remote-First Companies To Work for in 2022” by BuiltInSF.com and awarded #1 Solar Software platform by Solar Power World, Aurora is disrupting the energy industry and changing the course of history.
   
   In this role, you will play an essential role in the deployment and ongoing operations of Aurora's enterprise HR tech stack. You will have an immediate impact along with the support of cross-functional teams in ensuring that our People function effectively scales through a period of continued high growth while working with best-of-class tooling.
   
   We are a passionate and diverse team that aspires to be the best place for the best people and we're looking for talented individuals to accelerate our exponential growth as we continue to scale. If you are looking for a stimulating and fulfilling role, come join us!
   
   What you'll do:Translate business objectives and user needs into clearly written technical requirements Evaluate HR systems to identify points of improvement IT project management experience to implement improvements Partner with internal stakeholders to develop technology solutions that help to streamline and automate (new) HR processes Implement process improvements and policy changes designed to improve efficiency and the user experience with the system Serve as the go-to subject matter expert for the system used in the organization (Workday, ADP, Lattice).Serve as a system administrator for HR systems and applications Maintain system security, and end-user access, and ensure system compliance with data security and privacy requirements.Partner with cross-functional stakeholders in HR, Finance, and IT as well as external vendors to maintain and improve the HRIS, including configuration, system integrations, security, and system efficiency.Plan, design, configure, test, deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot Workday Business Processes, Reports, and Enhancements in the following functional areas: HCM, Benefits, Time & Absence, Payroll, and Advance Compensation.
   What we value:Prior experience with Workday (HCM, Benefits, Payroll, and Time / Absence) for both U.S. and Canada) preferred.Proven track record of being able to select, implement, and maintain new systems while ensuring effective adoption.Demonstrated ability to work both independently and effectively collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders Experience working across distributed footprints (across the United States and international expansion) and managing associated configuration and processes Experience working in a SaaS environment or growth-stage company
   Aurora is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workforce of people who believe in and are passionate about creating a future of solar energy for all. We are an equal opportunity employer, we welcome and consider qualified applicants regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship, pregnancy status, veteran status, or any other differences. We encourage you to apply even if you believe that you do not meet all of the above criteria!
   
   For San Francisco applicants: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior hris analysts for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior hris analyst job on Zippia to find and recruit senior hris analyst candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting senior hris analysts requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   If your interviews with senior hris analyst applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 senior hris analyst

   Once you've selected the best senior hris analyst candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   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 senior hris analyst. 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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