HR Generalist vs. Recruiter: Are They the Same or Different Roles? Can You Help?

Hello friends,

I am stuck with a major question: does the HR Generalist profile include recruitment as well, or are they separate?

Is recruitment one of the major roles of a Generalist HR?

Can anybody help me?

SUMMARY

Responsible for all human resource activities for the company. Provide advice, assistance, and follow-up on company policies, procedures, and documentation. Coordinate the resolution of specific policy-related and procedural problems and inquiries.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Responsible for all human resource activities, including employment, compensation, labor relations, benefits, and training and development.
2. Interview job applicants; review applications/resumes; evaluate applicant skills and make recommendations regarding applicants' qualifications.
3. Develop and maintain relationships with employment agencies, universities, and other recruitment sources.
4. Prepare and maintain company salary structure, job documentation, and job evaluation systems. Complete salary survey questionnaires.
5. Prepare, process, and distribute payroll.
6. Design and conduct new employee orientations.
7. Administer and explain benefits to employees, serve as a liaison between employees and insurance carriers.
8. Work with union representatives to resolve labor relation issues.
9. Recommend, develop, and schedule training and development courses.
10. Provide advice, assistance, and follow-up on company policies, procedures, and documentation.
11. Coordinate the resolution of specific policy-related and procedural problems and inquiries.
12. Recommend, develop, and maintain human resource databases, computer software systems, and manual filing systems.
13. Develop and recommend operating policy and procedural improvements.
14. Other duties as assigned.

[SIZE=2]ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Perform specific research/investigations into operational issues, as requested.
2. Provide on-the-job training to new employees.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS
1. Basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills required. This is normally acquired through a high school diploma or equivalent.
2. Knowledge of multiple human resource disciplines. Knowledge of federal and state employment and benefit laws. Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Ability to analyze data and provide recommendations. This is normally acquired through a combination of the completion of a Bachelor's Degree and three to five years of human resource experience.
3. Visibility requires maintaining a professional appearance and providing a positive company image to the public.

WORKING CONDITIONS
Working conditions are normal for an office environment.

This information has been borrowed from HR Village. I guess this should answer your query about the job description itself.

Regarding the question - yes, recruitment is a part of a generalist profile.

Thanks

Hi Ash,

I reviewed the job description of the Generalist position, and it seems okay. I need your help in evaluating the job by using the chart profile method. If you can forward me a sample of the presentation, I would appreciate it, but please exclude the theory part.

Saji

Thank you, Asha, for the prompt response.

I am having the same view about both terms, but recently I saw different designations such as HR-Recruitment Manager and HR-Generalist Manager, and they both report to the HR Director. That's why I am confused. How do they differ?

Thanks & Regards,
Richuka
richuka@gmail.com

This is just a JD borrowed from HR Village - which is not just "OK," as you have commented. It's a great work done by them. And trust me... I don't do spoon-feeding... but yes, to a certain extent, just to help in the thinking process. I do not possess any presentations on your request. Would appreciate it if you could work on one and put it up here on CiteHR for receiving additional input from seniors! Thanks and take great care!

Dear Ruchika,

One thing I forgot to add is that it differs in the organization. If what you have mentioned below is about the same company having two such profiles, then this is the reason:

They have huge recruitment needs, so they have a person separately to monitor pre and post recruitment activities (so they have a recruitment manager) and they have a generalist profile to help in performance monitoring, training, and other activities. Maybe the generalist coordinates with recruitment but focuses on other areas as a priority.

In some companies, they may have only one HR - generalist. But this person will be taking care of all HR activities. The size of the company may be small. Recruitment may be the highest priority depending on their need, or it may be given equal priority according to other HR activities.

I hope this clarified your query. If not, please revert.

Thanks

Hey Asha,

I understand that the HR-Generalist profile can vary depending on the size of the company, but it typically includes recruitment among other responsibilities. Your explanation has cleared up any doubts I had. Thank you for taking the time, Dr.

Best regards

Dear Ms. Asha… A Very Good Day!
Your clarification to Ruchika regarding “HR Generalist profile” is truly excellent and appreciable. Thanks for that and I hope you would continue posting such valuable information, thus helping a large group of HR professionals at their career beginning.
To introduce myself, I'm Mohammed Ibrahim and I've recently taken an HR Executive job in a newly startup company, where HR Dept has been setup newly and I am required to handle all core HR activities and also have to design and implement various policies for the company.
As an initial step, I have designed the attendance sheet for our employees by linking the leave register to it; and also designed a leave policy for the company. I would like to share these files with citeHR believing it might be useful to any of the citeHR users who may be looking for such stuff!
I highly appreciate your comments or feedback for any improvements/corrections in the attached files from all the citeHR users.
Best Regards

Mohammed Ibrahim
HR Executive
Delta PEB Pvt. Ltd

Hi Richuka,

Ash has borrowed the right profile for HR Generalist. But as per your query, Recruitment may or may not be part of the Generalist portfolio. As the word suggests, a Generalist profile encompasses everything in HR, such as HR operations, Employee Engagement, Exit processes, etc. However, in some organizations, Recruitment is considered a specialist function because, as the word implies, a Specialist is required. In my view, a recruiter is always a specialist.

In the past, HR used to perform all functions, so a Generalist function would also involve Recruitment. But nowadays, many companies have a separate Recruitment function.

Regards,
Ranjit

Though the answer by Asha was nice, it was not to the point because the thread starter wanted this doubt cleared: "Does HR-Generalist profile include Recruitment as well, or are they separate?" The only simple answer is that the profile may or may not include recruitment, as it depends from company to company. So, a simple answer it is ;) Still, thanks to my dear friend Asha for elaborating on the profile and going one step ahead by showing an example of the duties to be performed by a Gen HR. Thanks, dear friend Asha! :p

The answer depends. Recruiting is a function performed by Human Resources. The question is, should the HR Generalist do the recruiting, or should recruiting be done by a recruiting specialist? Before you make this decision, there is some information that you need to consider. Either way, the recruiting function has to tie into Human Resources, as the work done by recruiting has impacts throughout the organization.

Things to consider when determining who should do the recruiting:

1) What is the volume of recruiting? If the volume is high, it makes sense to have a recruiting specialist do the hiring. When high-volume recruiting is done by an HR Generalist, they have very little time for the other HR Generalist work. This tends to lead to high attrition and poor work environments.

2) What are the types of roles being recruited for? I believe all senior roles need to have the buy-in of the HR Leader to ensure that future leaders will support and enhance the culture you are trying to develop.

3) What type of work is being recruited for? If the work is highly specialized, it makes sense to have a recruitment specialist with knowledge of the subject perform the recruiting.

So the answer is it depends on the nature of the recruiting being performed. Wherever you decide to perform the recruiting, the communication and teamwork between HR Generalists, recruiting, and training has to be strong.

Thanks for your Views.
I did take a look at the Attachment. I have less experience when it comes with commentign on the leav policy (I am myswelf in the proces sof preparing one... not too sure if I could guide you in the correct manner)
With reg to attendance register - I would say - its perfect! And easy to understand.
What we do here is - we split cells of one day into two - that is first half and second half of the day. That is the only difference.

Hi Ruchika,

Your question has 2 answers. The first one is - yes, an HR Generalist also involves recruitment (internal) besides other core functions as mentioned by Ash Mathew. Again, in many organizations, depending on the structure, nature of function, and departments, HR Recruitment is separated from HR Generalist. Nowadays, HR-Recruitment is seen as a special function, thereby requiring an expert. So, in a nutshell, you can say depending on the organization and its size, either HR-Recruitment is involved in HR-Generalist or HR-Recruitment is separated from it as a separate function.

Regards,
Jeeta

Find HR Generalist Job Roles and Responsibilities. HR Generalist Profile Or HR Generalist Job Description

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