From the mailbag:
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Dear Kris - I'm a HR Representative who has always loved being a generalist, to the extent I have not looked to take a tour of duty in the Compensation or Benefits section of our HR department. In this month's HR Magazine, SHRM released their annual HR Salary Survey and it looks like Benefits and Comp professionals earn more than HR generalists. What's up with that? Should I get on the benefit track since I am still early in my career?
Janet
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Janet -
Fair question. The SHRM Annual Salary Survey is always full of good info, but it's one data point of many
to consider as you try to map out your career. The big data point for me out of the SHRM survey was the Total Compensation for Select HR Manager-level positions, which includes both Generalist (HR Manager) and Specialist (Benefits Manager, Compensation Manager, etc.) positions at the manager level. Here's where the survey had some commonly found manager-level positions for 2007 Total Comp:
-Compensation Manager - $98,600 (up 6%)
-Benefits Manager - $89,200 (up 2%)
-Training Manager - $85,100 (no change)
-Employee Relations Manager - $85,300 (down 4%)
-HR Manager - $80,700 (down 4%)
Make your decision based on that info alone, and you'd probably jump off the generalist track and become a specialist. Pay no attention to the fact that average comp went down for the HR Manager position - that's reflective of a new batch of respondents, and also the wide variability of what the title HR Manager actually means, which I'll talk about in a second. Before you jump off the generalist track, however, there are a couple of other considerations you need to make. Among the factors are:
-What are your long-term career goals? Do you want to run an HR shop? Do you like being a generalist or are you prone to enjoy specialization? While a stint as a specialist is helpful, most Directors and VPs of HR come from the generalist ranks.
-If you jump into the Comp, Benefits or Training arenas and stay, you'll effectively shrink your opportunity pool. Almost every company of any size has HR Managers and up, but only the largest can afford to have a Comp or Benefits Manager. Stay a generalist and you'll find it easier to move among companies and across industries.
-The tag "HR Manager" has a lot more variability in it regarding relative level of position. The HR Manager title can mean a one person HR shop in a very small company earning 40K, or a Fortune 100 HR Manager earning 110K. Based on the number of small companies having a HR Manager position, there's no doubt a downward drag on the total comp average for the title. A similar drag doesn't exist for the Benefits or Compensation Manager title, because the definition is more consistent.
-The Generalist "HR Manager" title has other levels that aren't likely represented in the data above, like "HR Director". With this and the previous point in mind, the size of your company and the relative size of your client group will drive your compensation when you become a HR Manager.
A quick look at your title of HR Representative suggests you're probably an individual contributor on your way to becoming a manager of some type. With that in mind, now is the best time in your career to experiment with a tour of duty in the Benefits or Comp department as an analyst, especially if you can come back to being a generalist later. If you think the content interests you, take a tour and find out more - but if you like being a generalist, only do it if you can come back later on.
The explosion of medical costs to be managed on the Benefits side of the house means benefit professionals will continue to see growth in their compensation moving forward, probably growth that consistently out-paces that of generalists. However, go too deep into the benefits career, and you'll likely find it hard to get back to the generalist role.
Above and beyond all else, figure out what motivates you and follow it. If you rock as a generalist, you'll make more than the average throughout your career!
