The human resources wing has been divided into various heads based on the roles and responsibilities duly assigned by the organization. There is a clear distinction between managerial posts and the ones headed as the HRs.
It is essential to understand the subcategorization as well because generalists and managers are equally important for any top-tier organization. They can be considered similar based on the leadership skills required.
Key Takeaways
- An HR Generalist is responsible for various HR tasks, such as recruitment, onboarding, and employee relations, while an HR Manager oversees the HR department and sets HR strategies.
- HR Generalists have a broader scope of responsibilities, while HR Managers have a more specialized focus.
- HR Generalists are more common in small to medium-sized organizations, while HR Managers are more common in larger organizations.
HR Generalist vs HR Manager
An HR Generalist is responsible for managing a variety of HR activities across an organization. They handle a wide range of HR functions. An HR Manager is a more senior role within an organization’s HR department. They are responsible for overseeing the strategic and operational aspects of the HR function.
A human resources generalist is the head of different HR departments in small organizations. He or she has to look after a variety of tasks and work with new people with each successive batch.
One human resource generalist is enough to support employees right from day one till they are directly or indirectly handling the resignation letter.
A human resources manager is the leader of all substituted HRs working in a large organization. The managers need to tackle these substitutions only for the tasks they have specialized in.
A single manager is not enough as large workplaces have different areas to be streamlined towards a common goal. There might be instances when managers are assisted by fellow managers too.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | HR Generalist | HR Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A human resources generalist is someone who is supposed to handle daily tasks of all the departments under the human resources wing | A human resources manager is someone who has to head all lower HR posts (including HR generalists) on an occasional basis |
| Specialization | No specialization is required for HRGs | HRMs specialize in various fields like recruiting, training, enrolling, etc |
| Roles | A single person has to conduct all job checks on a large group of people | Some separate people evaluate the same group through a series of checks at each subsequent step |
| Type of Company | Small companies are headed by a human resources generalist | Much bigger companies have to be managed by a human resources manager |
| Exclusivity of Job | Works with separate departments tackling various issues | The manager is a specialized head supposed to tackle the same range of tasks for a longer period |
What is HR Generalist?
The post of HR Generalist in all organizations is fixed for a single recruiter. The sole eligibility criteria for handling the post of HRG are a bachelor’s degree and some knowledge regarding the post.
For the business field, the subjects might vary, but the parameters remain the same. No undergraduates can intern as human resources generalists due to strict rules.
The rights and duties of HRG are dependent on the day-to-day activities that are supposed to be completed before a specific deadline. Implementation of orders timely reflects the exceptional leadership skills of the generalists.
As the post requires due perseverance, generalists tend to hold the post for a longer period compared to managers under the same organizational setup.
Some perks of handling the responsibilities of HRG include experience in handling a large group of people, excelling in maintaining public relations, building a comprehensive portfolio, and becoming recognized in the workspace for the multitasking activities catered to.
They also get occasional leaves.
What is HR Manager?
The post of HR Manager in all organizations is divided based on the respective functions assigned. One cannot climb the corporate ladder up to this highest rung of manager without ample experience.
In some organizations, a lot more is desired since the competency parameters are updated with each passing year.
The rights and duties of HRM are dependent on the area of specialization as there are numerous managers in multinational companies. This specialization is further subcategorized into duties regarding enrollment, maintenance, quality assurance, and detailing.
All sales pitches need to pass through the managers before being finalized. They cannot work independently since every task requires full-fledged cooperation.
Heading the post of HRM has a lot of benefits, including high pay, a good reputation in the office, various perks related to incentives, etc. The workload is high due to the large team recruited under managers.
They hardly find any time for themselves, and thus, sticking to a work-life balance is seemingly difficult.
Main Differences Between HR Generalist And HR Manager
- HR Generalist is akin to a manager of small organizations, while HR Manager can be regarded as part of the inspection department in much larger organizations.
- While an HR Generalist specializes in all-around activities, the Manager can only manage a single specialized stream, irrespective of the workload on fellow managers working for the same motive.
- The role of HR Generalists revolves around conducting multi-level checks, while HR Managers focus on improving the same set of people for years at a stretch.
- In most cases, a small company is headed by an HR Generalist, while HR Managers only head top-tier companies’ top posts.
- The job of an HR Generalist is limited to departments, while an HR Manager works with everyone in an organization.
- https://journals.asm.org/doi/abs/10.1128/aac.47.6.1824-1831.2003
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5716609/
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