Being an HR Generalist can take you into very unpredictable days.  You can have crazy, busy weeks or weeks where it’s just routine work.  It is easy to predict that right before, during, and after open enrollment for benefits, you’ll constantly be busy.  Before we do a deep dive into just how productive, but random it could be to work as an HR Generalist, let’s start with what an HR Generalist is. 

What is an HR Generalist?

An HR Generalist is an employee in the Human Resources Department who handles a variety of Human Resources responsibilities while using technological skills. According to SHRM, the Human Resources Generalist runs the daily functions of the HR department including hiring and interviewing staff, administering pay, benefits and leave while enforcing company policies and practices.

An HR Generalist gets high input from the HR leader (i.e. HR Manager, HR Director, etc.) on their work and the direction of their goals for work.  The projects that an HR Generalist does is focused on their day-to-day duties, which are typically the day-to-day expectations of the HR Department.  Those day-to-day duties would include new hire onboarding, benefits management, processing Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) claims, processing worker’s compensation claims, processing separations/terminations and so much more.  

Here is a video that gives a day in the life of an HR Generalist.  In this video, I give an overview of the daily duties and expectations of an HR Generalist.

How much is an HR Generalist’s salary?

The national average salary for an HR Generalist is $44,000 – $75,000 per year.  This can be rounded to $40,000 to $80,000 per year.  According to Payscale, the median salary for an HR Generalist is $57,864 annually.  It definitely ranges according to the industry, company size, location, and experience.  Since this is a national average, then it’s obvious that an HR Generalist can be paid below the minimum as well.  

While being an HR Generalist, this would be a great time to pursue your HR Certification.  Click here to get details on how to become HRCI or SHRM certified.  At this point in your career, you should have more human resources experience that exposes you to the entire employee life cycle.  The employee life cycle includes the timeframe from finding the right fit for your organization to termination and everything in between. 

Where to find HR Generalist jobs?

Jobs for an HR Generalist are most common in organizations with 500 employees or fewer.  As the organization gets bigger, then it is more common to have more HR specialists than HR generalists. HR Generalists are found in most industries, including local government, retail, medical/healthcare, etc. 

Difference between an HR Generalist & HR Business Partner

In this video, I give a complete view of the differences between an HR Generalist and an HRBP, including the salary of each.  Indeed does a great job of describing the difference between an HR Generalist and an HRBP as well. Click here to see a full blog on the difference between an HR Generalist and an HR Business Partner.