Human resources (HR) departments work together as a cohesive group to make sure interviews, hiring, and placement go smoothly. The hierarchy of a company may change roles in some ways, but effectively their job is to make sure humans are used resourcefully (get it?). Some companies are quite large, employing hundreds of people. This means each division of roles requires an individual hierarchy within the company’s. HR managers and HR directors are part of the higher end of the hierarchy of the HR department.
What is an HR manager?
A human resources manager is in charge of the day-to-day business of the HR department. In large businesses, they typically oversee HR generalists, the entry-level HR employees. In small businesses, there might not be any generalists, in which case the HR manager is the entirety of that end of the business. The HR managers duties may include any number of responsibilities. They might be in charge of implementing new policies, rules, and procedures, or of making sure those policies, et cetera are being followed properly. If a company has HR generalists, the HR manager may provide consultation in regards to finding, hiring, and training new employees. If it doesn’t, they may be in charge of the new employees themselves.
Additionally, they act as a go-between for staff and higher personnel, including the HR director, to whom they report if a matter comes up in which there is some sort of dispute, or which the manager is unable to solve and feels must be brought to a higher level staff member. They ensure the smooth functioning of administrative functions in companies.
What is an HR director?
With such a full plate, it might seem there isn’t much left over for a director to do. Not so at all. The HR director is generally on a board of other directors of various departments of a given company. They may lead conversations with the rest of the board or include other employees to ensure the efficaciousness of policies and procedures. Part of their work requires creating a culture rather than simply a work environment for a company.
An HR director must be well versed in employment, and make sure the HR manager has a sufficient working knowledge of those laws. In most companies, HR directors are considered a senior executive, and are usually the leading authority of not only the human resources department, but often the entire company.
What the difference?
While the HR manager position is a very hands-on, in-the-field sort of job, HR directors work in a more theoretical space. Managers work directly with employees (especially generalists), while directors work with the company as a whole to ensure the best policies and procedures possible are in effect - or why the current policies aren’t working like they should be. More tangible differences include job growth rates. While manager positions are expected to rise at about a 13% rate over the next 10 years, directors are only anticipated at a 5% rate, largely due to the specialized, high-ranking nature of the position.
The other most obvious difference is rank: while everyone else in the department might report to the HR manager, even the HR manager and other senior executives report to the HR director.
