What is the HRIS Analyst Career Path?

Looking for an HRIS analyst career path? You are at the right place.

A career path is defined as a series of jobs that helps employees to achieve their personal life or career goals. An HRIS analyst’s career pathway is the series of job roles an analyst takes in their lifetime to achieve their career goals and personal life targets.

Organizations prefer a bachelor’s degree in human resources for an entry-level analyst position. Good qualifications and an HRIS certification increase your chances of becoming a better HRIS professional.

This article provides valuable information on the job options for you to become a better HRIS analyst, excel further in your HRIS career, and how does the HR career path for an HRIS analyst looks like.

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What Does an HRIS Analyst’s Career Path Look Like?

Candidates go through a series of specific positions to become HRIS professionals. Here are mentioned some detailed career choices you have to become an HR analyst:

Junior HRIS Analyst

A junior HRIS analyst, an entry-level position in the human resource analytics department, assists the senior HRIS analyst professional and helps them in identifying the data issues and other violations that go against organizational policies and goals. Their duties also involve analyzing the employee evaluation and performance sheets to spot any trends or abnormalities in the datasheets and suggesting changes to improve performance management.

The junior HR analysts collaborate with the senior analyst and help them in accomplishing the target HR goals and objectives. Here are job responsibilities, preferred yet most common skills, and qualifications for a junior HRIS analyst’s post.

Job Responsibilities

Here are the job responsibilities of a junior HRIS analyst:

1. Verify whether the data obtained for performance evaluation and analysis is complete and authentic or not
2. Check and updates the HR databases with new and improved findings
3. Manage the administrative duties of senior HRIS analysts
4. Assist the senior HRIS analysts in evaluating the data trends and auditing the records
5. Prepare the validation reports in an HR department for all the HR associates and senior HRIS analysts

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

Here are the qualifications and skills that organizations prefer for a junior HRIS analyst:

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, human resource management, computer science, or any other relevant field
• 0-2 years of experience as an HR recruiter or HR assistant
• Good excel and spreadsheet skills
• Solid command over HR processes
• Good organizational and data management skills
• Familiarity with HR programs and systems
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

HRIS Analyst

HRIS analyst, also known as an HR data analyst, organizes, collects, and manages the organization’s data within the human resources department. They analyze this data and set up productivity and strategic reports based on these findings from the analysis. Here is a look at the job responsibilities, qualifications, and skills companies prefer to recruit talent.

Job Responsibilities

The major job responsibilities for an HRIS analyst are:

1. Evaluate the human resource systems and identify the points where the systems lag to improve it
2. Translate business objectives into employee-understandable documents
3. Collaborate with internal executives for the development of HR automation systems
4. Analyze the employee data and provide insights for improvements
5. Manage the operational analysis-related tasks within the HR department
6. Ensure the integrity and security of employee data

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

Here are the preferred qualifications and skills for an HR analyst:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology
• 1-2 years of proven experience as an analyst
• Ability to work in agile environments
• Excellent analytical skills
• Good communication and interpersonal skills

Senior HRIS Analyst

A senior HRIS analyst overlooks the work of a junior HRIS analyst. They arrange, manage, collect, and analyze the statistics and metrics gathered from HR data and provide valuable insights and recommendations to improve the company’s growth and employee productivity.

They also provide recommendations and ideas related to HR strategies associated with employee benefits. Here are detailed job responsibilities, preferred qualifications, and skills needed for a senior HRIS analyst’s seat:

Job Responsibilities

A senior HRIS analyst has the below-mentioned job responsibilities:

1. Compile and manage the data streams from sources like payroll outputs, HRIS, labor statistics, and personnel records
2. Prepare the data reports and finds trends from the data to present before the senior management
3. Ensure that the data used for analyses comply with the company’s safety and privy regulations
4. Analyze the data and provides suggestions and insights into the company’s short-term and long-term goals based on the performance metrics and statistics
5. Collaborate with the administration staff and recommends alternatives for employee benefits

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

Here are the qualifications and skills that organizations prefer for a senior HRIS analyst:

• Bachelors or master’s in human resources, business administration, or an IT field
• 3-5 years of proven experience as an HR professional
• Good verbal and nonverbal communication skills
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Proficiency with digital tools like HRIS, and HR system

Our top-rated HR certifications provide insightful information on these job roles:

Lead HRIS Analyst

A lead HRIS analyst reviews the employee’s work assignments and also mentors the labor force by providing them with instructions so they can complete their job tasks. They also analyze the labor worksheets and employee performance evaluation sheets.

Furthermore, they are responsible to supervise the junior and senior HR analysis and help them get better by providing valuable insights from their experience. Take a look at the job duties and the qualifications and skills that organizations prefer in a candidate for the lead HRIS analyst role.

Job Responsibilities

Here are the job responsibilities of the lead HRIS analyst:

1. Provide advice and recommendation to HR manager by interpreting the federal and state employment laws
2. Help the recruiters source the better talent by providing recommendations based on the data analysis conducted on employee performance metrics and labor productivity sheets
3. Analyze the changes in the department’s goal, and help the recruiters to mold the job descriptions based on those objective changes
4. Manage the HRIS analysts team, reviews their work, and provide knowledgeable feedback for work growth
5. Work with other team leads in the HR department, and communicates with them on the necessary issues, thus and helps them accomplish their goals more effectively

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

Here are the qualifications and skills needed for a lead HRIS analyst role:

• Master’s degree in human resources, IT, or any other relevant field
• Proven experience as an HRIS analyst for a 3-5 years
• Specialization in the human resource data analytics
• Excellent HR knowledge
• Good project management skills
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Good mentorship and leadership skills
• Excellent data research skills
• Good command over the Microsoft Office suite

HRIS Associate

An HRIS associate is responsible to obtain, manage, interpret, and recording the organizational data streams within the HR department. They are responsible to maintain employee records, performance sheets, progress reports, and other business documents necessary for future needs.

In addition to that, the HR associates are responsible to sort out the issues that employees face in the HR department. Have a look at the detailed job responsibilities and qualifications mandatory for an HR associate’s role.

Job Responsibilities

Here are the job responsibilities of an HRIS associate:

1. Take part in interviewing the candidates for talent acquisition data collection
2. Manage the employee records like personal information, job applications, employment forms, contract documents, and insurance forms
3. Analyze the employee evaluation documents and generate reports for analysts’ and senior’s use
4. Help conduct employee orientations and workspace tours
5. Solve the issues that employees face in the organization and help create a better workspace

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

Here are the preferred qualifications and skills for an HRIS associate:

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or any other relevant fields
• Proven 1-3 years of experience as an HR recruiter or HR assistant
• Good organizational skills
• Excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills

Above we have provided the roles in the HR department that you can take inspiration from for your career.

Is HRIS Analyst a Good Job Role?

Building a career in human resources is always rewarding in terms of salary, career progression, and personal life goals. A general HR recruiter or HR professional has an average salary of $69k per year in the United States according to Glassdoor. The general salary range is $45k-113k for the HRIS professionals inclusive of all the allowances, and bonuses. This salary range is pretty appealing when it comes to HRIS professionals.

According to Glassdoor, the HR analyst’s salary is $72k per year in the United States which is more than a regular HR professional. While the majority of HRIS analysts earn between $47k-$138k per year.

Also, keep in mind that as the business world is progressing, there’s a forever rise in the need for HR professionals. Thus, it is true that HRs will stay in demand to recruit experienced and perfect talent according to the organization’s requirements no matter how much the industries progress in this fast-paced digital world.

How Important are HRIS Analysts for the HR Department?

A human resource department works with full efficiency only if all the HR professionals collaborate and work together. The same is the case with HRIS analysts. A human resources department cannot perform well if the analytics team does not provide valuable insights into how the employees are performing and how their performance affects the organization.

The human resource department relies on the HRIS analysts to know about workforce productivity, and the strategies to extract out even more out of the employees. Keep in mind that, the HR analytics team is the one that analyses the employee data, and works for productivity growth. Hence, the HRIS analyst’s role is very crucial for the HR department.

What Industries Need HRIS Analysts?

All industries, businesses, and organizations need human resource professionals to progress in the right direction by seeking the perfect talent as per organizational goals and objectives. Though all organizations must have an HRIS analyst, there are the most fundamental ones:

• Health care
• Insurance
• Manufacturing
• Software house
• Medicine
• Information technology
• Government

Conclusion

All organizations need HR professionals and analysts to target their goals. Hence, if you are looking to become an HRIS analyst with a specific interest in any industry, prepare yourself and nourish HR analyst skills based on the objectives, and long-term goals of the organization mentioned in the HRIS analyst job description.

If you are new to human resources and are looking to break into an HRIS analyst position, we recommend taking our People Analytics Certification Course, where you will learn how to build your skillset in human resources analytics, build your human resources network, craft an excellent HR analyst resume, and create a successful job search strategy that lands you a sought-after HRIS analyst job.

Josh Fechter

Josh Fechter is the founder of HR.University. He's a certified HR professional and has managed global teams across 5 different continents including their benefits and payroll. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.