How To Become A Compensation And Benefits Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a compensation and benefits manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

If you want to be a Compensation and Benefits Manager, you will coordinate and supervise the work activities of staff. You will set the organization's pay and benefits structure and monitor competitive wage rates to develop or modify compensation plans.

You need to know the four major types of employee benefits that include medical insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and retirement plans. It would also be good to have experience in human resources, employment laws and have customer service experience. Skills required in this field include leadership skills, analytical and business skills, and customer service.

To become a Compensation and Benefits Manager, you need to have a bachelor's degree in business, human resources, and experience as a benefits specialist. You can make an annual salary of $111,000 as a Compensation and Benefits Manager.

ScoreCompensation And Benefits ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $99,051

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.0

Growth Rate 2%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 8.29%

Black or African American 10.99%

Hispanic or Latino 9.88%

Unknown 3.42%

White 66.97%

Gender

female 63.41%

male 36.59%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.6

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.5

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a compensation and benefits manager

Explore compensation and benefits manager education requirements

Most common compensation and benefits manager degrees

Bachelor's

71.7 %

Master's

20.5 %

Associate

4.9 %

Start to develop specific compensation and benefits manager skills

Skills	Percentages
HRIS	9.22%
Human Resources	7.86%
Compensation Programs	7.13%
Open Enrollment	5.65%
Life Insurance	4.51%

Complete relevant compensation and benefits manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New compensation and benefits managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a compensation and benefits manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real compensation and benefits manager resumes.

Research compensation and benefits manager duties and responsibilities

Recommend and lead critical HRIS initiatives including database integrity, verification, and efficiency efforts.
Manage payroll deductions, responsible for monthly insurance premium payments, and coordinate/communicate annual open enrollment.
Lead departmental PeopleSoft projects and initiatives; involve in systems testing when additional system upgrades are implemented.
Execute employee enrollments, terminations, membership changes, cobra and handle claim resolution.

Prepare your compensation and benefits manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your compensation and benefits manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a compensation and benefits manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Compensation And Benefits Manager Resume templates

Build a professional Compensation And Benefits Manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Compensation And Benefits Manager resume.

Apply for compensation and benefits manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a compensation and benefits manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average compensation and benefits manager salary

The average Compensation And Benefits Manager salary in the United States is $99,051 per year or $48 per hour. Compensation and benefits manager salaries range between $66,000 and $148,000 per year.

Average Compensation And Benefits Manager Salary

$99,051 Yearly

$47.62 hourly