What Does a Human Resources Coordinator Do?

What is a human resources coordinator?

A human resources (HR) coordinator assists with all the tasks that keep a human resources department running. HR departments manage all activities involving employees, including hiring, compensation, and performance management. As an HR coordinator, you would report to a company's HR manager or director and contribute to improving the HR department's policies and procedures.

If you're interested in advancing your career in HR, read further to learn what an HR coordinator does and decide if this job is right for you.  

Read more: What Does HR Do?

What are the duties and responsibilities of a human resources coordinator?

A job as an HR coordinator may be a multifaceted one, in which you are responsible for a variety of human resources processes on any given day. Explore the possibilities below:

Employee recruitment

To assist the HR manager with employee recruitment, you might conduct research to identify possible job candidates for positions within the company. You might also help in screening and selecting job recruits and in composing follow-up letters to those who weren't selected for an interview. 

Employee hiring, evaluation, and termination

To help with employee hiring, you might schedule interviews and and keep candidates abreast of the hiring process. Additional tasks in this category might include:

• Creating new employee files

• Overseeing employee onboarding

• Administering paperwork to new employees

• Assisting with performance reviews

• Processing leaves of absence, layoffs, and terminations

Employee benefits and compensation

As an HR coordinator, you'll have several duties that relate to employee pay and benefits. These might include:

• Administering payroll

• Managing employee health and benefit plans

• Evaluating employee health and benefit programs and recommending changes if needed

• Processing paperwork for terminations or changes to salary or benefits

Employee training and development

Employee training and development ensures that employees are skilled and knowledgeable to help boost well-being in the workplace. As an HR coordinator, you may be asked to conduct training programs, which could include the following duties:

• Finding and securing trainers

• Finding and securing training sites

• Compiling and distributing training materials

• Helping with training setup and breakdown

Employee recordkeeping

Maintaining current records on employees helps keep an HR department running. If you're employed as an HR coordinator, you'll likely be responsible for maintaining personnel files in digital and paper form. 

Employee retention

Employee retention saves organizations money by reducing training costs. As an HR coordinator, you may be required to help with employee retention by responding quickly when employees have HR-related problems or inquiries. You may also be required to provide employees with constructive feedback or refer employees to company managers who can help.  

Read more: What Is an Exit Interview? and 8 Exit Interview Questions to Ask Employees

Workplace safety

You may be responsible for several safety-related tasks if your company or organization doesn't have a safety coordinator. These might include:

• Evaluating the company's safety protocol and recommending changes if needed

• Conducting safety training for employees

• Preparing safety manuals

• Preparing incident reports involving accidents and other safety issues

What skills do you need to become a human resources coordinator?

For effective HR coordination, you'll need to build the technical and workplace skills employers are looking for According to ZipRecruiter's findings from real HR coordinator job descriptions, the top 10 skills include [1]:

1. HR experience

2. Communication skills

3. Onboarding management

4. Being detail oriented

5. Microsoft Office

6. Compliance

7. HRIS (human resource information system)

8. Customer service

9. Recruiting

10. Collaboration

It's a good idea to cultivate the ability to manage conflict, manage your time, stay organized, work at a fast pace, solve problems, make decisions, and use applicant tracking software. 

Read more: What Are Job Skills and Why Do They Matter?

What do you need to study to work as a human resources coordinator?

If you want to become an HR coordinator, it helps to get a bachelor's degree. According to Zippia's findings from over 92,000 HR coordinator resumes, 65 of job applicants have a bachelor's degree, 15 percent have an associate's degree, and 10 percent have a master's degree. The most common majors are business (34 percent) and HR management (17 percent) [2].

Some colleges and universities offer a bachelor's degree in HR management, and others provide one in business with an HR emphasis. Just a few examples of courses you might take include:

• Business practices

• Employee compensation and benefits

• Staff training and development

• Hiring practices

• HR analytics

Read more: What Can I Expect from a Human Resources Degree?

Do you need any certifications to work as a human resources coordinator?

Although some organizations don't require a certification to work as an HR coordinator, getting one might enhance your resume during the application process or when advancing your career. Some certifications like the Associate Professional in Human Resources™ (APHR™) offered by the HR Certification Institute don't require any previous work experience. For people looking to advance their careers, the HR Certification Institute offers the Professional in Human Resources® (PHR®) certification.

Explore options in the table below:

Read more: What Is the SPHR and Is it Right For You?

How much do human resources coordinators earn?

Glassdoor reports that on average, HR coordinators in the US earn an average annual salary of $53,238 per year [1]. This figure includes base pay and additional compensation like profit sharing or cash bonuses. 

Is there a good career progression for an HR coordinator?

Suppose you wish to advance beyond the role of an HR coordinator. In that case, it's important to decide if you want to specialize in a particular HR discipline or aim toward becoming an HR generalist. In companies with large HR departments, a generalist is one step down from the HR manager or director. 

In this position, you would be responsible for the daily operations of the whole HR department. Duties might include:

• Recruiting and interviewing job applicants

• Conducting staff training and orientation

• Administering health and safety programs

Becoming a generalist is a good step toward an HR manager position. To become a generalist, you might benefit from getting a master's degree in human resources or a few advanced Professional Certificates.

HR specialists focus on one or two aspects of human resources. Examples include payroll, benefits administration, recruiting, or training. This is a good career path if you enjoy working in specific HR areas. To get experience for an HR specialist position, you might make a lateral move from HR coordinator to a different job like training assistant, compliance analyst, or payroll management assistant, depending on your preferred focus. Then, you can work your way up to a specialist position.

Read more: 10 HR Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Start your HR coordinator career journey with Coursera

Taking online HR courses can be a great way to build in-demand skills and explore career options in this field.

On Coursera, Human Resource Management: HR for People Managers, offered by the University of Minnesota, provides a good introduction to HR practices like employee hiring, management, recognition, and rewards. Committing just four hours per week, you can finish this course in about six months, and it comes with a certificate of completion.