Occupation · SOC 11-3121
Human Resources Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate human resources activities and staff of an organization.
Median wage
$140,030
$83,790–—
Projected growth
+5.0%
Average growth
Annual openings
1,110
per year
Employed (US)
215,520
Job Zone 4
Typical preparation
Considerable preparation
Stackable credential programs
2,827 mapped
Core skills
Active ListeningReading ComprehensionManagement of Personnel ResourcesSpeakingCoordinationWritingTime ManagementComplex Problem Solving
Knowledge areas
Personnel and Human ResourcesEnglish LanguageAdministration and ManagementCustomer and Personal ServiceEducation and Training
Technology & tools
Charting softwareAccounting softwareHuman resources softwareTime accounting softwareDocument management software
Representative tasks
Serve as a link between management and employees by handling questions, interpreting and administering contracts and helping resolve work-related problems.Plan, direct, supervise, and coordinate work activities of subordinates and staff relating to employment, compensation, labor relations, and employee relations.Perform difficult staffing duties, including dealing with understaffing, refereeing disputes, firing employees, and administering disciplinary procedures.Represent organization at personnel-related hearings and investigations.Negotiate bargaining agreements and help interpret labor contracts.Advise managers on organizational policy matters, such as equal employment opportunity and sexual harassment, and recommend needed changes.Plan and conduct new employee orientation to foster positive attitude toward organizational objectives.Analyze and modify compensation and benefits policies to establish competitive programs and ensure compliance with legal requirements.Identify staff vacancies and recruit, interview, and select applicants.Analyze statistical data and reports to identify and determine causes of personnel problems and develop recommendations for improvement of organization's personnel policies and practices.Investigate and report on industrial accidents for insurance carriers.Administer compensation, benefits, and performance management systems, and safety and recreation programs.Prepare and follow budgets for personnel operations.Maintain records and compile statistical reports concerning personnel-related data such as hires, transfers, performance appraisals, and absenteeism rates.Provide current and prospective employees with information about policies, job duties, working conditions, wages, opportunities for promotion, and employee benefits.Conduct exit interviews to identify reasons for employee termination.Plan, organize, direct, control, or coordinate the personnel, training, or labor relations activities of an organization.Analyze training needs to design employee development, language training, and health and safety programs.Oversee the evaluation, classification, and rating of occupations and job positions.Allocate human resources, ensuring appropriate matches between personnel.Prepare personnel forecast to project employment needs.Study legislation, arbitration decisions, and collective bargaining contracts to assess industry trends.Develop or administer special projects in areas such as pay equity, savings bond programs, day care, and employee awards.Develop, administer, and evaluate applicant tests.Contract with vendors to provide employee services, such as food service, transportation, or relocation service.Provide terminated employees with outplacement or relocation assistance.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Employee inquiries and HR documentation — receive and route under direct supervision within an established HR department, applying standard protocols.HR software platforms and office suite tools — navigate and perform basic data entry tasks to support personnel records maintenance in a corporate environment.New employee orientation materials — assist in delivering structured onboarding sessions to foster understanding of organizational objectives and policies.Employment policies and procedures — read and summarize relevant sections of employee handbooks or labor contracts under the guidance of a senior HR manager.Compensation and benefits records — compile and organize data to support periodic audits of pay structures in compliance with legal requirements.Staffing coordination tasks — assist with scheduling interviews and tracking applicant statuses using human resources software under managerial oversight.Equal employment opportunity guidelines — identify applicable regulations and flag potential compliance issues to a supervising HR manager for resolution.Employee relations concerns — document initial intake of complaints and route them to appropriate HR personnel following established grievance procedures.Time accounting software and attendance records — enter and verify data to support payroll processing in coordination with accounting and HR teams.Active listening skills — apply during employee interactions to accurately capture concerns and relay them to supervisors in a professional HR setting.
developing
Employee questions and work-related disputes — interpret and administer HR policies with reduced oversight to resolve routine personnel issues in a mid-sized organization.New employee orientation programs — plan and facilitate onboarding sessions independently, tailoring content to reinforce organizational values and objectives.Staffing coordination activities — manage recruitment pipelines, conduct interviews, and coordinate hiring decisions for open positions with limited supervisory review.Compensation and benefits policies — analyze market data and internal pay structures to recommend adjustments that ensure legal compliance and competitiveness.HR and ERP software systems — generate standard workforce reports and maintain accurate personnel databases to support management decision-making.Disciplinary procedures — administer corrective action processes, including documentation and employee counseling, in accordance with organizational policy.Equal employment opportunity regulations — advise line managers on compliance requirements and respond to routine policy questions in a corporate environment.Labor contract provisions — interpret standard contract language and communicate terms clearly to employees and supervisors during routine labor relations matters.Performance management cycles — coordinate goal-setting, review scheduling, and documentation processes across departments with moderate managerial oversight.Business intelligence and data analysis software — produce workforce analytics summaries to support HR planning and resource allocation decisions.
proficient
Management-employee relations — serve autonomously as a strategic link between leadership and staff, resolving complex work-related problems and interpreting contracts across a full employee lifecycle.HR department operations — plan, direct, and coordinate the full scope of employment, compensation, labor relations, and employee relations activities with minimal oversight.Difficult staffing situations — independently manage understaffing challenges, referee workplace disputes, administer terminations, and enforce disciplinary procedures in complex organizational environments.Personnel-related hearings and investigations — represent the organization at regulatory proceedings and internal investigations, preparing documentation and delivering testimony as required.Collective bargaining agreements — negotiate contract terms with labor representatives and provide authoritative interpretations of agreement language to operational leaders.Organizational policy advisement — counsel senior managers on equal employment opportunity, sexual harassment prevention, and workplace policy gaps, recommending evidence-based changes.Compensation and benefits program design — analyze and modify pay and benefits structures to achieve market competitiveness while ensuring full statutory and regulatory compliance.Workforce planning initiatives — apply inductive and deductive reasoning to identify talent gaps and develop staffing strategies aligned to business objectives in a dynamic environment.Complex employee relations cases — apply social perceptiveness and psychological insight to mediate sensitive interpersonal conflicts and protect organizational culture.HR technology ecosystems — evaluate and optimize the use of integrated HR, ERP, and document management platforms to improve departmental efficiency and data accuracy.
advanced
Enterprise HR strategy — set the long-term direction for all human resources functions across the organization, aligning talent management practices to executive business objectives.HR leadership team — develop, mentor, and evaluate a team of HR managers and specialists, building organizational capability through structured coaching and performance accountability.Organizational policy framework — lead the design and governance of enterprise-wide policies on equal employment, labor relations, and workforce ethics, driving systemic compliance and culture.Labor relations strategy — direct the organization's approach to collective bargaining at an institutional level, establishing negotiating principles and overseeing multi-cycle agreement outcomes.Executive advisement on workforce risk — deliver authoritative counsel to C-suite and board stakeholders on personnel risk, regulatory exposure, and people-related business continuity issues.Compensation and total rewards architecture — architect and champion enterprise-wide compensation philosophy and benefits strategy to support attraction, retention, and organizational equity goals.HR technology and data governance — lead the selection, implementation, and continuous improvement of HR and business intelligence platforms to enable data-driven workforce decisions at scale.Cross-functional organizational change — lead change management initiatives involving restructuring, workforce reductions, or cultural transformation, coordinating across legal, finance, and operational leaders.External representation and regulatory engagement — represent the organization before government agencies, industry bodies, and legal forums on labor, employment, and HR compliance matters.HR performance measurement systems — design and institutionalize metrics, dashboards, and evaluation frameworks that assess HR program effectiveness and drive continuous organizational improvement.
Also known as
240 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
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