Human Resources and Personnel Career Guide

 

Potential Roles in Human Resources and Personnel

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Job roles within human resources and personnel can vary. Employees can work in general HR or choose to specialise in one area, like recruitment, training, compliance or payroll.

Human resources officers work in an HR department to manage the workforce and employees within an organisation or company. A human resources officer job involves recruiting, hiring, training and managing employees while ensuring that the employer meets employment law requirements.

Training and development officers are responsible for identifying the training needs of a workforce and planning and delivering the appropriate trainings. Training and development jobs are typically based within, or closely linked with, HR departments.

Payroll administrators (sometimes called payroll clerks) are responsible for paying employees correctly and on time. Payroll administrator jobs involve answering pay queries, managing sickness and maternity pay, and controlling pay deductions, like tax and pension contributions.

 

Salary and Career Progression

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Progression opportunities in human resources and personnel include moving into a managerial role, overseeing a department, specialising in training, payroll, or another area, and planning workforce strategy.

Human resources officers can choose to work as HR generalists or specialise in one area. Specialisms include diversity and inclusion, compliance and employment law, recruitment and hiring, payroll and employee relations. Employees starting as an HR administrator or junior officer start at around £18,000, with salaries rising to £80,000 or more for senior, specialist and managerial roles.

Training and development officers either start in HR and go on to specialise in training and development or come from a background in teaching or education. Candidates typically go into the role with some relevant experience, and salaries reflect this, starting at around £20,000 to £28,000. Senior training positions can attract salaries of £60,000 and above, with specialist roles paying upwards of £120,000 in some cases.

Payroll administrators have some opportunities for career progression, although these are generally limited to becoming a payroll supervisor or manager. Salaries start at around £15,000 for entry level roles, increasing to £28,000 with experience.

 

Qualifications, Education and Experience

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Human resources officers can enter the profession without specific qualifications, although a degree can be advantageous.

The following can be helpful for a career in HR:

• 4-5 GCSEs at grades 9-4 (A**- C)
• 2-3 A Levels to access a degree course
• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject, like human resources management or economics
• A Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualification, for example, a Diploma in People Management
• A workplace apprenticeship
• Experience working in human resources and personnel

Training and development officers typically have experience working in HR or a background in education, teaching or training.

The following can also be beneficial for a career in training and development:

• 4-5 GCSEs at grades 9-4 (A**- C)
• 2-3 A Levels to access a degree course
• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject, like human resources, psychology or education
• A recognised Certificate or Diploma in Learning and Development
• A learning and development apprenticeship
• Direct experience in teaching, training or human resources

Payroll administrators can secure a job position without a university degree. However, the following may be beneficial:

• 4-5 GCSEs at grades 9-4 (A**- C)
• A payroll assistant apprenticeship
• A Certificate in Payroll or Bookkeeping
• A Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals qualification

Skills

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Human resources officers must be able to handle changing workloads and priorities in a busy office environment. The following skills may be beneficial:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Empathy, patience and understanding
• Good organisational skills
• Diligence
• Ability to stay calm under pressure
• Business and administration skills
• Management and leadership skills
• Attention to detail

Training and development officers must have excellent soft skills to relate to their trainees and in-depth knowledge of the subject matter they’re teaching. They can also benefit from the following:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• An understanding of non-verbal communication cues
• An engaging and warm personality
• Patience
• Good organisation
• Confidence in speaking in front of people
• IT skills
• Flexibility and the ability to work well under pressure

Payroll administrator jobs require hard skills to complete tasks effectively, as well as soft skills to communicate clearly and calmly with colleagues and employees.

• Attention to detail
• Patience
• Diligence
• Good understanding of maths and basic mathematical concepts
• Self-motivation
• IT skills
• Good organisation and the ability to prioritise workload

 

Working Hours

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Working in human resources and personnel typically involves standard office hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, with weekends, evenings and bank holidays off work.

Training and development professionals may occasionally be required to work outside these hours so that employees can access training opportunities when they’re not on duty, for example, in a hospital setting.

Human resources professionals working in global companies may need to work early in the morning or late at night to accommodate time zone differences of international clients.

 

Notable Locations

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With so many companies relying on HR management, human resource professionals can work almost anywhere in the UK. Large UK-based HR providers, like Deloitte, McKinsey & Company and KPMG, have multiple offices worldwide.

Locations include:

UK

• Manchester
• London
• Birmingham
• Nottingham
• Edinburgh

Global

• Austria
• Germany
• France
• China
• Singapore

 

Notable Companies

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As a human resources professional, you can work in-house directly for your employer or for a company that provides specialist services to other businesses. Some HR professionals choose to set up their own companies, supporting small or medium-sized businesses that want to outsource their HR, training or payroll.

• NHS: as the UK’s biggest employer, the NHS has to provide HR services, ongoing training and salary payments to over 1 million employees
• Deloitte: a global company providing HR services to other businesses around the world, as well as for its own employees
• KPMG: a global company supporting companies in HR and workforce transformation
• McKinsey & Company: a global company with a People and Human Resources function employing over 1800 HR specialists
• Civil Service HR: part of the government’s Cabinet Office and Civil Service, with 3500 employees providing human resources and learning and development services to government departments, agencies and non-department government bodies.
• IRIS FMP: UK-based global company providing payroll and HR services in 135 countries, specialising in international payroll.

 

Next Steps

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