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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for HR Support

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The HR Support role provides essential operational and administrative support to the Human Resources function, ensuring smooth execution of recruitment, onboarding, payroll-related tasks, benefits administration, HRIS data integrity, compliance and employee relations escalations. This position is the backbone of day-to-day HR operations and acts as the first line of contact for employees and hiring managers, combining transactional accuracy with strong customer-service orientation.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • HR Intern or HR Assistant with internship experience supporting hiring and onboarding.
  • Office Administrator or Administrative Assistant who has performed personnel administration tasks.
  • Customer Service Representative or Client Services Coordinator with exposure to employee-facing processes.

Advancement To:

  • HR Generalist responsible for full-cycle employee lifecycle ownership.
  • Talent Acquisition Coordinator or Recruiter handling end-to-end hiring.
  • HR Business Partner or HR Operations Manager overseeing strategic people programs.

Lateral Moves:

  • Learning & Development Coordinator managing training logistics and LMS.
  • Payroll & Benefits Specialist focused on compensation and benefits administration.

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage end-to-end onboarding logistics for new hires, including preparing offer letters, coordinating new-hire paperwork, scheduling orientation sessions, provisioning equipment, and ensuring a smooth first-day experience for employees across remote and in-office locations.
  • Serve as primary point of contact for employee inquiries related to benefits, leave, payroll adjustments, and policy interpretation, resolving routine issues and escalating complex cases to HR managers or external vendors as needed.
  • Maintain accurate and up-to-date employee records in the HRIS (e.g., Workday, BambooHR, ADP, SAP SuccessFactors), performing regular audits to ensure data integrity and compliance with internal policies and legal requirements.
  • Support full-cycle recruitment activities by posting job ads to ATS and job boards, screening resumes for minimum qualifications, coordinating interview schedules, preparing candidate communications, and tracking hiring progress in applicant tracking systems (Greenhouse, Lever).
  • Prepare and process HR documentation including offer letters, employment contracts, onboarding checklists, termination paperwork, background check authorizations, and confidentiality agreements while ensuring adherence to company templates and employment law.
  • Administer benefits enrollment and changes by liaising with benefits providers, explaining plan options to employees, processing enrollment/term changes, and managing open enrollment logistics and communications.
  • Coordinate and process payroll-related changes such as new hires, terminations, salary adjustments, tax withholding updates, and time-off corrections in partnership with Payroll and Finance teams to ensure timely and accurate payroll runs.
  • Conduct routine compliance tasks including employment eligibility verification (I-9), maintenance of personnel files, documentation of mandatory trainings, and ensuring HR procedures meet federal, state, and local labor law requirements.
  • Facilitate employee offboarding processes, scheduling exit interviews, retrieving company assets, terminating system access, preparing final paperwork, and summarizing feedback for HR leadership to drive retention improvements.
  • Support performance management cycles by coordinating review timelines, collecting appraisal forms, tracking goal-setting deliverables, and assisting managers and employees with performance-system usage and related queries.
  • Assist with employee relations casework by documenting incidents, collecting statements, scheduling meetings, and maintaining confidentiality while escalating policy violations to HRBP or People Ops leadership for formal review.
  • Generate and distribute HR metrics and reports (headcount, attrition, time-to-fill, offer acceptance rate) to leadership, using Excel, HRIS reporting tools, and presentation templates to support data-driven HR decisions.
  • Execute background checks, employment verifications, reference checks, and pre-employment screening tasks in line with policy and legal guidance while ensuring candidate privacy and data security.
  • Support learning and development logistics by coordinating training sessions, tracking attendance, administering e-learning platforms, and preparing training materials and communications to maximize participation and compliance.
  • Manage HR inboxes and ticketing queues, triaging employee requests, logging case statuses, and ensuring SLAs for responses are met while escalating high-priority matters promptly.
  • Administer time-off and leave requests including PTO tracking, FMLA/medical leave documentation intake, eligibility verifications, and system updates while advising employees on leave policy and process timelines.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Finance, IT, Legal, Facilities) to coordinate onboarding needs, system access, workstation setup, and payroll/benefits reconciliations to deliver an integrated employee experience.
  • Support HR projects and process improvement initiatives such as digitization of forms, HRIS implementations, and policy reviews by providing operational input, user testing, and change-management communications.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality and handling of sensitive personnel information, ensuring secure storage, access controls, and compliant record retention practices.
  • Assist with visa, immigration support, and work-permit coordination for international hires, compiling required documentation and liaising with immigration counsel or service providers when necessary.
  • Prepare and standardize HR communications and employee-facing content including policy updates, onboarding guides, handbook revisions, and internal announcements, ensuring clarity, brand alignment, and accessibility.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc HR data requests and generate insights from HR metrics to inform decision-making and improve operational efficiency.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying process bottlenecks in onboarding, recruitment, and benefits administration and proposing scalable solutions.
  • Assist with HR vendor management including benefits brokers, background-check providers, payroll processors, and ATS/HRIS suppliers to maintain service quality and cost-effectiveness.
  • Participate in HR system testing, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and documentation updates during HRIS enhancements or rollouts to ensure seamless operational transitions.
  • Coordinate recognition programs, employee engagement activities, and internal events to promote culture and retention while tracking participation and feedback.
  • Ensure HR documentation and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are current, accessible, and aligned with regulatory requirements and internal audit recommendations.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • HRIS administration and data management (e.g., Workday, BambooHR, ADP, SAP SuccessFactors).
  • Applicant Tracking System (ATS) experience with systems such as Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, or JazzHR for job postings and candidate tracking.
  • Payroll fundamentals and systems experience (ADP, Paylocity, UK/other regional payroll platforms) and familiarity with payroll change workflows.
  • Benefits administration and open enrollment coordination with experience liaising with benefits brokers and third-party administrators.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel for VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, data cleaning and reporting; Google Workspace proficiency a plus.
  • Knowledge of employment law basics, HR compliance requirements, I-9 and EEO recordkeeping.
  • Experience with background checks, reference checks, and pre-employment screening providers.
  • Reporting and HR analytics skills using HRIS reporting tools, Excel, or business intelligence platforms to produce headcount, turnover and hiring metrics.
  • Documentation and process mapping experience using tools like Confluence, SharePoint, or Google Drive for SOP maintenance.
  • Applicant and employee data privacy best practices (GDPR, CCPA awareness where applicable).

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills for clear candidate and employee interactions and professional HR communications.
  • High level of confidentiality, integrity, and discretion when handling sensitive employee information.
  • Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, calendars, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Customer-service mindset with empathy, responsiveness, and the ability to build trust with employees and managers.
  • Attention to detail and accuracy in data entry, documentation, and HR compliance processes.
  • Problem-solving and critical thinking to triage HR issues and recommend practical operational solutions.
  • Teamwork and collaboration across cross-functional groups and external vendors.
  • Adaptability and resilience in changing HR priorities and during peak recruiting/onboarding periods.
  • Time management and ability to meet SLAs and turnaround expectations for HR requests.
  • Stakeholder management skills with the ability to coordinate and influence hiring managers and vendors.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent required; Associate degree preferred.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, or a related field preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Human Resources Management
  • Business Administration
  • Industrial/Organizational Psychology
  • Communications
  • Labor Relations

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1–3 years of experience in HR Support, HR Administration, or office/administrative roles that included people operations responsibilities.

Preferred:

  • 2–4 years of hands-on HR experience with exposure to recruitment support, HRIS administration, payroll/benefits coordination, and employee relations fundamentals.
  • Prior experience in a fast-growing tech, professional services, or mid-market company preferred.
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