0:00
hr has so much to offer to employers to
0:03
employees and to career seekers in fact
0:05
to many considering hr as their next
0:07
career it can seem like hr has too much
0:09
to offer the field covers so many areas
0:12
of responsibility within organizations
0:14
that it can be hard for the new hr pro
0:16
to know which career path is best for
0:17
them
0:18
in previous episodes of hr party of one
0:20
we've covered how to start your hr
0:22
career which hr certifications are the
0:24
best and what are the top hr conferences
0:26
in 2022 i'll link to those in the
0:28
description
0:29
in this episode we'll explore career
0:31
paths specifically the difference
0:32
between hr generalists and hr
0:34
specialists by the end you'll have a
0:36
better understanding of which career
0:37
path is better for you
0:39
we'll discuss what is an hr generalist
0:42
what is an hr specialist which career
0:44
path is best for you
0:46
and how to get more hr experience let's
0:49
get started
0:51
what is an hr generalist
0:54
if you're an hr party of one you're
0:55
likely already an hr generalist but i'd
0:57
like to clarify for those of you who are
0:59
new to the field
1:00
as the name suggests generalists are
1:02
responsible for all or most hr functions
1:04
within an organization from recruitment
1:06
to retention and from benefits to
1:08
compliance they often do it all due to
1:10
the nature of their role hr generalists
1:12
are usually well aligned within their
1:14
organization's mission and vision after
1:16
all they see it all too as i mentioned
1:19
generalists are commonly an hr party of
1:21
one in small to mid-sized businesses
1:23
in larger organizations you're more
1:25
likely to find generalists in leadership
1:27
positions such as director of human
1:29
resources or chief human resources
1:32
officer or chro
1:34
you may also hear of more creative hr
1:36
generalist titles such as head of people
1:38
operations or senior vice president of
1:41
strategy and culture
1:42
the precise scope of responsibility in
1:44
these positions varies by organization
1:46
but they tend to cover a wide variety of
1:48
hr functions you can find plenty of
1:50
training education and certification
1:52
resources for becoming an hr generalist
1:55
and even more specialized programs often
1:57
begin with a holistic hr foundation
2:00
so what about those hr specialists
2:05
what is an hr specialist
2:09
as you may have guessed an hr specialist
2:11
is responsible for a specific hr
2:13
function within an organization
2:16
specialists are usually part of a larger
2:18
hr team within larger companies
2:21
many hr pros are attracted to
2:23
specialization since it gives them the
2:24
opportunity to focus on and improve in
2:26
one or a few key areas such as
2:29
benefits benefits specialists focus on
2:32
designing and managing employee benefit
2:34
packages including health dental vision
2:36
and retirement plans
2:38
compensation and performance
2:40
compensation and performance specialists
2:42
focus on developing and implementing
2:44
compensation practices and managing
2:45
employee performance especially as it
2:47
relates to compensation
2:49
if you're interested in compensation and
2:50
performance check out some of our
2:52
episodes on the topics i'll link to them
2:54
in the description
2:56
human resource information systems or
2:58
hrs
2:59
hris specialists focus on adopting and
3:01
supporting hr tech within organizations
3:04
hris specialists may work with a variety
3:06
of software programs such as payroll
3:09
time and attendance and benefits
3:10
administration or they may work with one
3:12
robust all-in-one hris like bernie
3:15
portal if you're interested in learning
3:17
more about hr tech we've also dedicated
3:19
a couple episodes to the topic i'll link
3:21
to them in the description
3:22
payroll
3:23
payroll specialists focus on all aspects
3:26
of payroll including deductions payroll
3:28
tech and calculating hours and overtime
3:31
if you're interested in payroll you may
3:32
also be interested in our episodes on
3:34
the topic i'll link to them in the
3:35
description
3:37
recruitment recruitment specialists
3:39
focus on the hiring process often from a
3:41
high level strategic perspective which
3:43
may include responsibilities such as
3:45
training hiring managers or establishing
3:47
onboarding policies to learn more about
3:49
recruitment check out our episodes on
3:51
the topic i'll link to them in the
3:52
description
3:54
risk management and compliance
3:56
risk management and compliance
3:58
specialists focus on protecting
3:59
employees from safety risks and the
4:01
employer from legal risk which often
4:03
includes maintaining compliance with
4:04
federal state and industry specific
4:06
regulations if you're interested in
4:08
safety and compliance you may also be
4:10
interested in some of our episodes on
4:12
those topics i'll link to them in the
4:13
description
4:15
and finally training and development
4:17
training and development specialists
4:19
focus on developing and implementing
4:21
employee and management training
4:22
programs
4:23
this can include orientation for new
4:25
hires or newly promoted employees as
4:27
well as upskilling and re-skilling your
4:29
current staff if you're interested in
4:30
learning more about how to conduct
4:32
management training check it out in our
4:33
episode on the topic i'll link to it in
4:35
the description
4:36
i know i've alluded to a lot of other hr
4:38
party of one episodes in this list but
4:40
there's simply not enough time here to
4:42
dig into all the areas of specialization
4:44
in detail feel free to check out our
4:46
youtube channel to explore all of your
4:48
options as an hr specialist
4:50
of course simply knowing more about what
4:52
it means to be an hr generalist versus
4:54
an hr specialist may have only made your
4:56
choice more difficult so let's compare
4:57
them more directly to help you determine
4:59
which career path is best for you
5:02
which career path is best for you
5:06
before we discuss the finer points of
5:07
comparison it's important to emphasize
5:09
how flexible hr careers can be whichever
5:12
path you choose won't hurt you if you
5:14
decide to switch later in your career
5:15
and the difference between generalists
5:17
and specialists is not as rigid in the
5:19
real world as it may seem here most hr
5:21
pros can transition smoothly from
5:23
generalist to specialist after all being
5:25
a jack of all trades means having some
5:27
experience in all specialty areas
5:29
that's not to suggest however that hr
5:31
specialists can't transition to a more
5:33
general role it's just a bit more of a
5:34
learning curve in fact you may start
5:37
your hr career as a generalist in a
5:38
small to mid-size business and discover
5:41
you really enjoy some responsibilities
5:43
while begrudging others so you may
5:44
decide to specialize in an area you
5:46
enjoy at a larger organization as you
5:49
grow in that position you may have the
5:50
opportunity to step into a leadership
5:52
role
5:53
which means you'll likely become a
5:54
generalist again
5:56
this could explain why hr generalists
5:58
make on average ten thousand dollars
6:00
more a year than hr specialists that
6:03
figure includes hr leaders as well as
6:05
beginners in other words an entry level
6:08
hr pro may not necessarily expect to
6:10
make ten thousand dollars more as a
6:11
generalist than as a specialist still
6:14
the scope of a generalist role at every
6:16
level is more varied and far-reaching
6:18
which can lead to better compensation
6:20
starting your career as a generalist is
6:21
a great way to explore which areas of hr
6:23
you prefer but if you already know where
6:25
your passions lie a generalist role
6:27
could be frustrating for example if you
6:29
want to focus your time on benefits and
6:31
compensation you may not enjoy having to
6:33
manage recruitment efforts for a hiring
6:35
surge
6:37
in addition to organization size salary
6:39
expectations and the variety of
6:40
responsibilities there are other factors
6:42
to consider as well such as personal
6:44
strengths and labor market outlook
6:46
if you're detail-oriented and
6:48
introverted compliance in hr tech may be
6:50
a better fit than recruiting whereas
6:52
extroverts might prefer training and
6:54
development of course it could be that
6:56
in the current labor market hiring and
6:58
training may be more in demand and many
7:00
organizations could be spreading out
7:01
compliance and hr tech responsibilities
7:04
among the whole hr team rather than
7:05
concentrating them into a single
7:07
position
7:08
while i can offer you this general
7:09
advice you'll still have to do your
7:11
homework researching market trends and
7:12
exploring areas of hr which may lead you
7:15
to wonder how to get more experience in
7:16
hr
7:18
how to get more hr experience
7:21
as i mentioned we've covered how to
7:23
start your career in hr including how to
7:25
get experience in an earlier episode of
7:27
hr party of one i highly recommend you
7:29
check it out as i said i'll link to it
7:31
in the description
7:33
but i want to quickly mention a few ways
7:34
to get your feet wet here too
7:36
start where you're at look for
7:38
opportunities to help with hr related
7:40
tasks in your current job every
7:41
workplace has someone or some team
7:43
responsible for benefits payroll
7:45
compliance etc regardless of whether or
7:47
not hr is in their title i'm certain
7:50
those hardworking folks would love some
7:52
extra help
7:53
seek out a mentor again every workplace
7:56
has someone in an hr role even if it's
7:58
not in their title
8:00
it's also likely you have several
8:01
potential hr members in your social or
8:03
linkedin networks volunteer in your
8:05
community even if it's not the first
8:07
thing that comes to mind when you think
8:08
of volunteering many community
8:10
organizations and non-profits depend on
8:12
volunteers to perform hr duties like
8:14
training recruitment and even
8:15
maintaining compliance
8:17
these experiences can give you a taste
8:19
of what hr is like and also help you
8:21
build up your resume and network
8:24
finally i recommend taking free courses
8:26
to help you learn the industry check out
8:28
our bernie u courses which are also
8:30
approved for sherman hrci
8:32
recertification credit for those who are
8:34
a little farther along in their career
8:36
here's a sample of what bernie u offers
8:39
intro to forms 1094c and 1095c updated
8:42
for:8:44
hr prep 2022 how to plan prepare and
8:47
implement hr strategies
8:49
paid time off tutorial how to build and
8:51
audit a great pto policy and so much
8:54
more for you to explore more i'll link
8:56
to bernie you in the description
8:58
as always remember that your role is as
9:00
strategic as you make it
9:02
[Music]
9:07
that's all the time we have for this
9:08
episode don't forget to subscribe to our
9:10
channel and ring the bell to get
9:11
notifications about the latest hr party
9:13
of one updates and new episodes also
9:16
join our hr party of one group on
9:17
9:19
bye y'all
9:22
you