Career profile Benefits Manager

Table of Contents

• What does a Benefits Manager do?
• What is a typical salary for a Benefits Manager?
• What personality traits are common among Benefits Managers?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Benefits Managers need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Benefits Manager do?

Benefits Managers plan, direct, or coordinate compensation and benefits activities of an organization.

What kind of tasks does a Benefits Manager perform regularly?

Benefits Managers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Design, evaluate, and modify benefits policies to ensure that programs are current, competitive, and in compliance with legal requirements.
• Analyze compensation policies, government regulations, and prevailing wage rates to develop competitive compensation plan.
• Fulfill all reporting requirements of all relevant government rules and regulations, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
• Administer, direct, and review employee benefit programs, including the integration of benefit programs following mergers and acquisitions.
• Direct preparation and distribution of written and verbal information to inform employees of benefits, compensation, and personnel policies.
• Formulate policies, procedures and programs for recruitment, testing, placement, classification, orientation, benefits and compensation, and labor and industrial relations.
• Manage the design and development of tools to assist employees in benefits selection, and to guide managers through compensation decisions.
• Prepare detailed job descriptions and classification systems and define job levels and families, in partnership with other managers.
• Study legislation, arbitration decisions, and collective bargaining contracts to assess industry trends.
• Plan, direct, supervise, and coordinate work activities of subordinates and staff relating to employment, compensation, labor relations, and employee relations.
• Identify and implement benefits to increase the quality of life for employees by working with brokers and researching benefits issues.
• Prepare budgets for personnel operations.
• Mediate between benefits providers and employees, such as by assisting in handling employees' benefits-related questions or taking suggestions.
• Develop methods to improve employment policies, processes, and practices, and recommend changes to management.

The above responsibilities are specific to Benefits Managers. More generally, Benefits Managers are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Benefits Manager salary?

What personality traits are common among Benefits Managers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Benefits Manager are usually higher in their Enterprising, Conventional, and Social interests.

Benefits Managers typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Benefits Managers typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Lastly, Benefits Managers typically have moderate Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Benefits Manager tend to value Relationships, Working Conditions, and Support.

Most importantly, Benefits Managers very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Benefits Managers strongly value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Lastly, Benefits Managers strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Benefits Managers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as integrity, attention to detail, and analytical thinking.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Benefits Managers, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Benefits Managers need?

Many Benefits Managers will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Benefits Managers usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Benefits Managers

• 0.6% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 8.5% completed high school or secondary school
• 15.0% completed some college coursework
• 5.6% earned a Associate's degree
• 49.3% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 18.8% earned a Master's degree
• 2.3% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Benefits Managers

Important Abilities needed by Benefits Managers

Benefits Managers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Benefits Managers need abilities such as oral comprehension, written comprehension, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Benefits Managers, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Benefits Managers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Benefits Managers frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Benefits Managers, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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