Is an Off-Roll HR & Admin Coordinator Role a Good Move for Career Growth in HR?

Dear all seniors,

My name is Nitin, and I am working in a small IT company as a Manager HR & Admin for the last 2.3 years. I am currently looking for a change in the corporate sector in HR as I have a total of 2.3 years of experience in HR. I have received a call from a company for the position of HR & Admin coordinator. However, this position is off-roll. Therefore, I am a bit confused about making a decision at this time.

Seeking Advice on Career Growth

Please advise if the position they have offered me will help me grow in HR or if it is different from the core HR role. Should I join this company even though the position is off-roll? Please provide me with some suggestions.

Thanks & Regards,

Nitin Bhardwaj

Let me ask you a few questions. If someone came to you and asked the same question, what answer would you give? Do you think the person will have given you enough information to guide him/her, or would you be seeking any more information about the company that offered the position and other details?

Thank you.

You mentioned that you are working as a Manager for HR & Admin, and I want to know about your key responsibilities first. Are you the only manager for your department, or are there more seniors? Could you please share more?

In addition to that, I want to say that you must go through the company profile and job descriptions (JDs) to understand the difference between your current work profile and the new offer, which will help you in your decision-making process.

Work profile, job descriptions, and key result areas (KRAs) matter a lot as they help individuals learn and grow.

For example, if you find a good role with opportunities to learn and take on more responsibilities in HR activities such as wages, compensation, compliance, and audits in your current job, but the new offer you are considering involves more administrative work than HR activities, then it may not be the best fit for you.

Furthermore, there is a significant difference between a Manager and a Coordinator position that you should also consider.

I now want to assess how strong your knowledge is about HR functions and activities, as this is crucial in making your decision.

As the size of the company is not so big, they have given me the title of Manager HR & Admin. My duties and responsibilities here include Recruitment & Selection, Employee Engagement, and processing the salaries of all employees, except for Statutory Compliance. I am the only person here who is handling all the work related to HR and admin.

Now, I am facing difficulty in finding a suitable job with that title (Manager HR & Admin). The company offering me the HR & Admin Coordinator position has a regional office in Chandigarh and the head office in Gurgaon. They want me to handle the HR operations of the Chandigarh office as they find it challenging to manage it from Gurgaon.

Regards

Are you comfortable with Chandigarh? Are you in Gurgaon presently? Well, being a Chandigarhian, I would say that you are a really lucky person to be getting a good opportunity to work in our home city. If this new offer allows you to work in the same profile and provides you with more learning and growth options, you can go for it.

Industry Insight

Is this new company from the retail industry or an MNC?

Career Growth Considerations

Secondly, what I feel is that you have a really good opportunity to set up a good HRD and learn a lot from this new job. However, the present job where you are working and holding a really important role can also offer you good career growth. You are a manager here, and I believe in Gurgaon (NCR), where you can have many more good options to grow, unlike Chandigarh, where there is limited industrialization.

You know better about yourself, your career objectives, and the experience and knowledge you have gained so far. Therefore, it also depends on what you are actually looking for in terms of growth and learning. I am here in Gurgaon because I didn't find good career options or jobs in Chandigarh and discovered this place to establish myself professionally. You also need to ask yourself about this now.

Decision-Making Factors

Now, tell me if you have been selected for this role or just received an offer. Having an offer does not guarantee joining or appointment, so please provide more details. If the new employer is ready to hire you and waiting for your YES, then go ahead and say YES to them. However, if it is still an offer and you are considering it, you should wait until they confirm your selection.

Presently, I am in Chandigarh and would love to move to Gurgaon or Noida if I get a better opportunity because, for the last few months, I have been trying to explore new opportunities. However, I have failed every time. Sometimes the job profile is not suitable, and sometimes they do not consider me as I am currently in a managerial role with 2.3 years of experience. As an employee of a proprietor firm, I now want to transition to a corporate or manufacturing unit. I have been trying, but it has been in vain. I am currently in an IT company, and I received an opportunity from the telecom sector.

Sir, may I have your Skype ID or email so that I can get in touch with you for your valuable views and guidance? You can also connect with me on [LinkedIn](http://in.linkedin.com/pub/nitin-bhardwaj/2b/9ab/a70) or on Skype with my ID nitin-rattan.

Regards,
Nitin

Hi Nitin, You have gained valuable experience in the field you are looking to progress in, so you are well aware of the steps to take. The decision should be based on how reputable the company is and whether you foresee more learning opportunities in the future. Even if the initial profile is off-roll, it is worth considering if you believe there is potential for growth. It seems like you are actively seeking new opportunities, which is commendable. Wishing you the best for your future endeavors, Akanksha

Can HR Be Classified as Core or Non-Core?

I often wonder if you can really classify HR into Core or Non-Core HR. The fact is, you cannot. Always remember, your position is always related to the size of a company. If you are a Manager-HR in a company with 50+ employees, you will be inducted as an HR-Executive in a company with 500+ employees.

It is important for you to know what you really want in your career. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? Seeking advice on forums like this is good, but I am not certain if you will get appropriate advice. Here, you will only get opinions.

To me, the question of "on-roll" vs. "off-roll" employment bothers me more than "Core-HR" vs. "non-Core HR"! From an employee's perspective, being a regular employee provides a firmer footing for learning, growth, and achievement than being an "off-roll" employee. The further differences are assurance of continuity, stability, creativity, and exposure to various aspects of the function.

Off-roll employees are expected to do only that which is assigned—routine, repetitive tasks like compliance, payroll, administrative help for recruitment, and other mundane activities, despite what may be professed! Very rarely, if at all, will an off-roll employee be found in the mainstream of the function. Growth accelerators like conceptualization opportunities, innovation, futurist thinking, etc., do not come the way of off-roll employees! To me, the difference is similar to that between freedom fighters and the country's soldiers as opposed to mercenaries!

Taking a comprehensive and long-term view of relevant matters, one must make a decision for oneself. From a well-rounded growth point of view, it is always helpful to have a reasonable stint in manufacturing.

However, now you have more food for thought, as it were!

Cheers and Regards,

Samvedan