What Do HR Assistants Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

HR Assistants compile and keep personnel records. Record data for each employee, such as address, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports, and date of and reason for termination. May prepare reports for employment records, file employment records, or search employee files and furnish information to authorized persons. They also process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence.

Other tasks include:

• Record data for each employee, including such information as addresses, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports on performance, and dates of and reasons for terminations.
• Interview job applicants to obtain and verify information used to screen and evaluate them.
• Explain company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees or job applicants.
• Process and review employment applications to evaluate qualifications or eligibility of applicants.
• Inform job applicants of their acceptance or rejection of employment.
• Provide assistance in administering employee benefit programs and worker’s compensation plans.

We asked HR Assistants how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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73% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 53% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, HR Assistants gather personnel records from other departments or employees. They explain company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees or job applicants.

A typical day for a Human Resources Assistant will also include:

• Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence.
• Answer questions regarding examinations, eligibility, salaries, benefits, and other pertinent information.
• Examine employee files to answer inquiries and provide information for personnel actions.
• Process and review employment applications to evaluate qualifications or eligibility of applicants.
• Request information from law enforcement officials, previous employers, and other references to determine applicants’ employment acceptability.

We asked some HR Assistants a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	100% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	57% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	86% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	28% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	19% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	38% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, HR Assistants also arrange for advertising or posting of job vacancies and notify eligible workers of position availability. They may also inform job applicants of their acceptance or rejection of employment.

On a weekly to monthly basis, HR Assistants Administer and score applicant and employee aptitude, personality, and interest assessment instruments. They might also Prepare and set up for new employee orientations.

In addition, they Compile and prepare reports and documents pertaining to personnel activities.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Search employee files to obtain information for authorized persons and organizations, such as credit bureaus and finance companies.

To some HR Assistants, it is also their responsibility to Answer questions regarding examinations, eligibility, salaries, benefits, and other pertinent information.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Human Resources Assistant, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas..

They also like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/business-and-financial/human-resources-specialists.htm

http://www.shrm.org/pages/default.aspx

http://www.hrci.org/

http://www.worldatwork.org/