If you have a masterful knowledge of benefits and compensation packages and are interested in a position within the human resources field, the role of compensation and benefits manager might be ideal for you.

What Is a Compensation & Benefits Manager?

A compensation and benefits manager is a human resources professional that specialists within the field of compensation and benefits. While at first this may seem like a narrow specialization, it can be extraordinarily complex within larger companies. Companies need to be able to manage their budget as well as keep their employees satisfied, especially companies that depend on the talent and hard work of their staff members.

The compensation and benefits manager will need to find the right balance between cutting the company’s costs and ensuring that their benefits packages remain competitive. This often entails a large amount of research as well as steady negotiations. The manager may need to consult with a multitude of different companies to procure compensation that best fits them. The manager may also need to discuss compensation with employees and negotiate lower rates.

What Does a Compensation & Benefits Manager Do?

Compensation and benefits managers will often begin with research. They will need to identify the most cost-effective benefits packages as well as the standard amounts of compensation regarding their employees. The managers will also need to determine whether or not this type of compensation and benefit can fit into the budget. This may often be very complex, and sometimes the manager may need to shift money around in the budget to compensate for particular situations.

Overall, a compensation and benefits manager has a difficult role because they must keep everyone satisfied. At the same time, it can be a very challenging and rewarding role because they need to solve problems every day. Managers will often need to deal directly with supervisory or executive staff and will often need to fill reports and analyze the current budget situations in regards to the ideal situation that is provided by the company.

How Do You Become a Compensation & Benefits Manager?

Like many human resources specialists, a compensation and benefits manager needs to have at least a Bachelor’s Degree. Education is very important within this field due to the various regulations that control it. Compensations and benefits managers may work within the human resources industry for one to five years before transitioning into their specialization.

A compensation and benefits specialist is usually more highly paid than a general manager because they have the necessary expertise. Certification can be acquired through organizations such as the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Professionals within the industry may also be able to acquire additional training and seminars regarding employee benefits through these companies, and they may be able to network as well.

How Do You Advance as a Compensation & Benefits Manager?

A compensation and benefits manager will be considered successful if they can continually meet the needs of their employees without exceeding the company’s budget. A successful manager could move into the field of human resources manager, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes as growing faster than the specialist field of compensation and benefits.

Others may simply be able to acquire higher rates of pay through seniority, which is the major factor in pay scales within the compensation and benefits field. Larger companies and companies in certain industries, such as IT and the financial sector, will usually pay more to their compensation and benefits specialists because compensation and benefits are a larger part of their companies than average.