A Human Resources (HR) Specialist is a human resources professional who focuses on a specific area of HR, such as recruitment, benefits administration, compliance, or employee training.
HR specialists are typically found in large organizations with dedicated HR departments, working within specialized teams to manage specific HR functions. They support a company’s overall HR strategy by ensuring compliance, efficiency, and employee satisfaction in their area of expertise.
HR professionals are often the unsung heroes of a business’s success, indirectly contributing to the bottom line by keeping employees engaged and content, upskilling talent to support the company’s larger strategic goals, and preventing the organization from violating labor laws. Skilled HR specialists, in particular, are necessary for a large company to continue growing, remain compliant, and enjoy a favorable reputation.
HR specialist vs. HR generalist
HR specialists work on one or two specific HR functions within their company. This differs from an HR generalist who is involved with most HR functions. As this table demonstrates, both roles overlap in the soft skills required to succeed, but their day-to-day activities and technical expertise diverge.
| Role | HR Specialist | HR Generalist |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of work | Focuses on one HR function (e.g., recruiting, benefits, or compliance) | Covers multiple HR functions across the employee lifecycle |
| Company type | More common in large companies with structured HR teams | Common in small to mid-sized businesses where HR roles are broader |
| Responsibilities | Deep expertise in a specific HR area | Manages a wide range of HR tasks, from hiring to payroll to employee relations |
| Career growth | Can advance to senior specialist or managerial roles in their niche | Can move into HR leadership positions like HR Manager or Director |
HR specialists generally work in larger organizations that do business in numerous states or countries. HR generalists, on the other hand, work in smaller organizations, where they manage multiple HR functions, if not all of them.
Types of HR specialists and their responsibilities
HR specialists hold numerous roles within an organization. Regardless of their title, the larger purpose of their job is the same: create a safe, compliant workplace where employees have the skills and support they need to perform.
Recruitment and talent acquisition specialist
Recruitment and talent acquisition specialists (often referred to as recruiters) are HR specialists responsible for finding new talent for the organization. Although recruiters’ roles and responsibilities vary, they generally work closely with hiring managers to identify talent needs, post job listings, source candidates and field questions, conduct introductory interviews, communicate with candidates throughout the interview process, and assist with hiring. While some recruiters work remotely or in an office, others travel frequently—to job fairs, colleges, and industry events—to connect with candidates.
Due to the arrival of AI, the skills needed for jobs are rapidly changing. “Skills are changing so fast,” Erin Scruggs, an HR leader at LinkedIn, told the Society for Human Resource Management in 2024. “Skills for jobs are projected to change by 68% by 2030 because of advancements in AI. Talent leaders must always be thinking about the future as they build a holistic talent strategy for the company.” Recruiters must stay abreast of evolving required skill sets for jobs and seek, hire, and retain top talent with these skills.
Compensation and benefits specialist
Compensation and benefits specialists are HR specialists who design and administer employee benefits programs, mainly health insurance and retirement plans, as well as wellness programs and employee perks (like discounts at retailers).
They also determine salaries or hourly wages for positions, which includes salary benchmarking to ensure that employees are paid competitively for the industry. According to a study published in the Harvard Business Review in 2023, routine, frequent salary benchmarking is beneficial and “can affect [a company’s] bottom-line retention and payroll costs.”
In addition to salary benchmarking, compensation and benefits specialists perform regular pay equity analyses to confirm that employees are paid fairly, regardless of gender, race, or other statuses.
Finally, compensation and benefits specialists confirm that wages and benefits comply with labor laws, whether local or national. For example, in countries with minimum wages, this type of HR specialist may be charged with confirming that employees are paid no less than the law dictates. They may also be charged with determining whether hiring an employee or working with a contractor is better.
Employee relations specialist
Employee relations specialists are HR specialists who handle employee issues, such as conflicts between colleagues, harassment or discrimination, and employee concerns. In the course of a day’s work, an employee relations specialist may investigate an instance of sexual harassment, mediate a conversation between an employee and their manager, and work on an update to the employee handbook.
How a company manages sensitive issues is critical, not only for ethical reasons but also because the treatment of employees affects its reputation. Sites like Glassdoor offer an online platform for employees to post anonymously about their experience working at a particular company. Too many negative reviews on sites like Glassdoor or among colleagues in the industry can damage a company’s reputation and ability to attract top talent.
In addition to handling the sensitive employee issues that arise in the workplace, employee relations specialists are tasked with increasing employee engagement and developing strategies that keep employees from seeking jobs elsewhere. This employee relations component of the position requires creativity and industry knowledge, as employee retention strategies will differ depending on the audience. What impels a software engineer to remain at their job at a tech company over time might differ from what keeps a sales associate engaged at a retailer.
Training and development specialist
A training and development specialist is an HR specialist who designs and implements employee learning programs and professional development initiatives for talent. They may create in-house programs from scratch or hire third parties to administer learning programs—or a combination thereof. In some organizations, training and development specialists craft specialized training for C-suite executives.
Training and development specialists may partner with company growth strategists to determine the skills readiness of current employees for the future. For instance, a training and development specialist may conduct a skills assessment of software salespeople to gauge if they can effectively deliver the value proposition of the software’s new AI capabilities. A recent Gallup poll showed that upskilling employees improves the bottom line, increasing a company’s profitability by 11%.
HR compliance and labor law specialist
An HR compliance and labor law specialist is responsible for ensuring that company policies comply with local, national, and international laws—particularly labor laws. For example, businesses based in the EU or doing business with EU customers must comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which governs how organizations manage the personal information of job applicants, employees, and former employees. To confirm that the organization complies with applicable regulations, HR compliance and labor law specialists routinely audit company policies and create compliance reports.
These specialists also manage workplace safety and health regulations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these HR specialists worked to keep employees healthy and created policies regarding mask-wearing, vaccination, and illness reporting. They also implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to ensure that all employees and customers are valued and treated with respect.
Skills required for an HR specialist, career development
As their title indicates, HR specialists specialize in one—or, at most, two—HR functions. For this reason, it is hard to generalize about the soft and technical skills required for an HR specialist’s role. For instance, a recruiter’s technical skills differ from that of a labor law compliance specialist—a recruiter uses various candidate screening software that their labor law counterpart will likely never touch.
Similarly, their soft skills may strikingly differ: a recruiter, by necessity, needs to be outgoing and personable with excellent listening skills. A labor law compliance specialist may serve as more of a subject matter expert, deeply knowledgeable of the intricacies and subtleties of labor law. They can effectively and clearly communicate this expertise to company personnel, often through writing meticulously detailed company policies.
Career growth and professional development
HR specialists focus on specific functions and become subject matter experts over time. A specialist in workplace safety, for example, may ultimately become a senior manager, director, or vice president in their field of excellence. Skilled HR specialists with deep experience, success in various HR functions, and noted leadership capabilities may graduate to lead an entire HR department with hundreds of employees across the globe.
Because HR specialists hold myriad roles within an organization, the continuing education opportunities they pursue diverge. Nevertheless, there are some certifications that most professionals in HR will consider pursuing, namely the Society for Human Resources Management’s Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certificates. They may also consider taking courses from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), a respected professional body in the HR space.
Leverage Velocity Global’s HR expertise
By partnering with Velocity Global, enjoy the power of an HR specialist’s subject matter expertise without the associated costs. As a global employer of record (EOR), Velocity Global can manage employee onboarding, benefits administration, payroll, and more. Get in touch to learn more.
