A company’s first HR hire is frequently an HR generalist. This person has a broad range of responsibilities rather than a particular field of work, as the word suggests. However, the majority of HR duties, including hiring, benefits and pay, HR administration, and other responsibilities, fall under the purview of the HR generalist.
As businesses expand, HR departments divide HR Generalist responsibilities into discrete jobs, with subject matter experts assuming responsibility for each of these areas. Some businesses continue to use the title to refer to an individual who handles the organization’s principal human resources responsibilities.
What Does an HR Generalist Do?
As an HR generalist, you will have a variety of duties. Numerous HR-related tasks, like planning training, overseeing employee benefits and leave, and creating HR policies, will fall under your purview. To ensure that all personnel records are current and confidential, human resources information systems will be utilized. Additionally, you will be the main person employees contact with any HR-related inquiries.
The goal is to ensure that the HR department’s operations run smoothly and effectively in order to maximize value for the company as a whole.
Short-Term Duties of an HR Generalist
- Oversee programs for rewards and recognition.
- support for the hiring and procurement of specialists.
- Oversee the onboarding of new hires and help plan training and development initiatives.
- Assist staff members with various HR-related issues, including leave and pay, and resolve any issues that may arise.
- Encourage HR initiatives that will make the workplace more productive and conflict-free.
- Encourage the creation and application of HR policy
- Fulfill your quality management obligations.
- Utilize HR metrics, such as employee attrition rates and recruitment time, to gather and assess data.
- Arrange for annual and quarterly performance reviews of your staff.
- Maintain personnel files and records on paper and in electronic format.
- Boost job happiness by resolving issues right away, adding benefits and incentives, and planning team-building exercises.
- Make sure labor laws are observed.
HR generalists should be familiar with jargon, sometimes known as terminologies.
Each area has its own jargon that may be hard for outsiders to understand. However, all employees are impacted by HR jargon. Here are some examples of terms that a generalist in human resources should understand.
- Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are measurable objectives that every worker must have in order to assess their level of success or areas for improvement.
- A performance improvement plan, or PIP, is a document that guides a worker through the adjustments and enhancements they must make in order to keep their job. Usually, they are offered for one, two, or three months at a time.
- Employee Onboarding: This is the process a company does to get a new professional acquainted. This term is occasionally used to describe the administrative and paperwork-related aspects of hiring. It should, however, also include the training that each worker will need to adjust to life in a new role.
- Performance-Based Appraisal: This is a common practice when management meets with the professional to evaluate his or her performance.
