Business
Fact-checked

At WiseGEEK, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

What are General Personnel?

Erin J. Hill
Erin J. Hill

General personnel usually refers to the men and women who make up a company’s staff and carry out everyday duties. This can include lower level staff such as mail clerks and cashiers, as well as upper level management. In most cases, those who are in the highest position of power are not considered general personnel. These include CEOs, owners, and board members of an organization.

The primary purpose of general personnel is to ensure that a company runs smoothly and serves clients and customers with accuracy and efficiency. A company’s greatest assets are its employees. For that reason, it is highly important that general personnel be chosen with care.

Businessman with a briefcase
Businessman with a briefcase

There are many companies who offer services in general personnel management. This means that they take over many human resource functions, thus taking these jobs off the shoulders of management and business owners. The business will generally still recruit and train employees, while the general personnel management group handles things like payroll, employee production evaluations, and creating new company manuals.

Advantages of hiring a personnel management group include being able to spend more time hiring and training employees and less time worrying about the minute details of human resources. This allows new workers to be prepared and comfortable in their roles, and allows employers to be more confident in their hiring decisions. Employers and employees get to spend more time individually learning the roles that are expected from each party. In the long run, paying to hire a general personnel management group is usually offset by saving money in labor costs, replacing workers who did not work out, and increased employee productivity.

Some personnel management companies may also provide insight in training new recruits. This may be done as a specialty or come as part of a packaged list of services. By properly training and motivating new employees, less time is spent fixing the new employee mistakes that are usually inevitable.

The cost of hiring a personnel management group varies based on location and workload. There may be an hourly, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly feed schedule that will be negotiated by both parties. Generally, it’s a good idea to shop around when choosing a management group to make sure it has a good track record and reasonable prices. If the company is very small or there are no general personnel management groups in the area, a freelancer or one person operation may be sufficient in handling many human resource-related tasks.

Discuss this Article

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • Businessman with a briefcase
      Businessman with a briefcase