HR Specialist Salary Information (2025)

Human resources (HR) has a dynamic scope across India's diverse sectors, with HR specialists playing an essential role in creating positive work experiences. Understanding your earning potential and the various factors that affect it can be helpful as you begin planning your career. 

Explore the average HR specialist salary in India and learn more about how factors like your education and experience levels can impact your wages. 

What is an HR specialist?

The HR field focuses on employees, who are the lifeblood of any company. HR departments have generalists and specialists, referring to the type of work that a professional does in that role. A generalist will do a little bit of everything within an HR department, whilst specialists handle specific areas of human resources like the following:

• Compensation and benefits

• Health and safety

• Labour relations

• Recruitment

• Risk management

• Training and development

Understanding salary information can help you decide if you want to pursue a job as an HR specialist or in a similar area. Knowing how to boost your current income can also be beneficial if you're already working as an HR specialist. 

How much does an HR specialist make in India?

The average HR specialist salary in India ranges from ₹2,63,105 to ₹7,30,000 annually, according to October 2024 data from a range of salary aggregate websites. Explore how this data breaks down [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]: 

The exact amount you can expect to earn will depend on factors like where you live and work, your industry, and your level of experience. 

Factors that affect salary

Several different factors can affect your salary as an HR specialist, including your education, experience, location, and industry. Discover how each of these variables can influence the salary you can expect as an HR specialist. 

Education level

Across all fields, education matters when it comes to an annual salary. If you have a bachelor's degree, chances are you'll earn a higher salary than an HR specialist without one, and a master's degree may boost your salary even higher by helping you qualify for a better-paying job. Getting Professional Certificates specific to HR may also help raise your annual salary, such as the Society for Human Resource Management—Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). 

Years of experience in HR or a related field

Your earnings also depend on your work experience. For instance, if you work as an HR specialist for five years, you'll likely have a higher salary than someone who just started. To demonstrate this, consider the following breakdown based on AmbitionBox’s October 2024 salary data regarding how your HR salary can change based on your experience [3]:  

Location

In some parts of the country, HR specialist jobs pay more than in other places. An important factor that affects wages from one location to another is the cost of living. For instance, in some states or cities, housing, groceries, education, taxes, and entertainment costs are higher than in other places, which your salary often reflects. 

AmbitionBox offers insight into how location can impact your salary [3]:

• Bengaluru, Karnataka: ₹7,00,000 

• Gurgaon, Haryana: ₹8,10,000 

• Mumbai, Maharashtra: ₹8,40,000 

• Hyderabad, Telangana: ₹7,70,000

• Ahmedabad, Gujarat: ₹5,50,000 

• Noida, Uttar Pradesh: ₹8,00,000 

• Pune, Maharashtra: ₹8,30,000 

• Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra: ₹9,70,000 

• Thane, Maharashtra: ₹5,10,000 

Industry

As an HR specialist, your industry can affect your annual salary. Factors that can differ from one sector to another include:

• Customers or clients

• Training requirements

• Working conditions

• Work setting

According to AmbitionBox, the average annual salary for an HR specialist according to industry is given below [3]:

• IT services: ₹7,40,000

• Healthcare: ₹6,40,000

• Software: ₹9,10,000

• Financial services: ₹7,50,000

• Manufacturing: ₹6,90,000

• Education: ₹7,10,000

• Retail: ₹8,60,000 

• Media and entertainment: ₹9,40,000 

*All annual base salary data is sourced from AmbitionBox as of October 2024 and does not include additional pay, such as commission and benefits.

Salaries of other jobs in HR 

Whether you're currently working as an HR specialist or hoping to, it can be helpful to have ideas for possible career paths. Check out these three examples of jobs and salaries you may want to aim for in the future:

1. HR manager

Average annual salary in India (AmbitionBox): ₹11,10,000 [6]

As an HR manager, you would have a broader range of duties than an HR specialist. You'd be responsible for overseeing a variety of HR programmes involving employees, like the following:

• Compensation and benefits

• Employee relations

• Employee performance

• Health and safety

• Recruitment and hiring 

• Training and development

Ideally, you would hold a master's in human resources or a related subject to be an HR manager, although a bachelor’s degree and experience may be sufficient. Special skills for this position include communicating well with others, quick decision-making, and good organisational skills. 

2. Learning and development manager

Average annual salary in India (AmbitionBox): ₹11,90,000 [7]

As a learning and development manager, you would be in charge of training programmes, training staff, and the training budget for an HR department. Some of your daily tasks might include the following:

• Consulting with department managers to identify training needs

• Developing and implementing training from start to finish

• Choosing training venues and materials

• Collaborating with training experts and mentors

• Evaluating the effectiveness of training programmes

• Updating training programmes and manuals if needed

To be a learning and development manager, you'll need at least a bachelor's degree in human resources, business management, secondary education, or organisational psychology. Special skills you might need for this job include leadership, comfort speaking to large audiences, problem-solving abilities, and a knack for working well under pressure. 

3. Compensation and benefits manager

Average annual salary in India (Glassdoor): ₹20,00,000 [8]

As a compensation and benefits manager, you would be responsible for all employee payroll and benefits programmes. Some of your day-to-day duties might include the following:

• Overseeing the administration of payroll

• Supervising the administration of employee benefits, including wellness programmes, insurance, retirement, and leave

• Tracking data to ensure pay rates and benefit packages are competitive with similar companies in the same area

• Monitoring government regulations regarding pay and benefits programmes

To become a compensation and benefits manager, you'll need a bachelor's degree in human resources, business, finance, or labour relations and several years of experience working in payroll or benefits administration. Getting a master’s degree in human resource management can also increase your opportunities. Special skills that can help you in this job include knowledge of computer spreadsheet software, attention to detail, and good communication skills. 

Ways of increasing salary as a human resources specialist

Whilst your HR specialist job description might call for certain levels of education and experience, you have many ways of boosting your salary once you're working.

Get an HR certification.

HR certifications help build on the knowledge and skills you need to perform your job or advance the career ladder. You can find certifications for people just starting in the field, mid-level professionals, and HR managers working in multinational companies. For 45 years, the HRCI (HR Certification Institute) has provided certifications like the following:

• Associate Professional in Human Resources (aPHR)

• Professional in Human Resources (PHR)

• Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)

• Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR)

Whilst the aPHR certification does not require a specific degree or work experience, the other certifications require more education and work experience. 

Consider a master's degree.

If you want to pursue a top-level HR position like HR director or vice president of HR, a master's degree can help you outshine other candidates. It can also help you earn a higher salary in a mid-level HR position. To land your dream job or boost your salary, consider a master's degree in one of these fields of study:

• Human resource management

• Business administration

• Economics

• Finance

• Marketing 

• Organisational psychology

Many master's programmes offer online courses so you can work and get your degree simultaneously. Depending on your circumstances, you can expect to spend one to three years getting a master's degree. 

Improve your skill set.

Across all careers, more skills generally mean more money. To improve your skill set in HR, take a class online or through a community college or university. Consider building your human skills with a corporate coaching or employee engagement class. 

Brush up on your technical skills with a class in structured query language (SQL). This language is used to build and maintain databases, which is essential in many HR departments. 

If you find a class that may help you become a more valuable employee, consider asking your employer to pay for it. Your company may even decide to sponsor a group of employees.  

Ask for more responsibility.

One way to learn new skills is to ask for more responsibility at work. Not only will you gain more HR-related knowledge, but you may also increase your salary. You'll be a more marketable employee and may get noticed by your company.

Research similar positions in your area or industry. 

If you're looking to raise your salary, do some research. Check local job boards or use a Google search to show you comparable jobs in your area and how much industries are paying. You may find that your pay is competitive or be able to use the new information to negotiate a raise. Hiring and training employees cost money, so it's likely your employer won't want to let you go. 

Build skills to increase your HR specialist salary potential

The average salary for an HR specialist varies based on education, experience, and location, but you can take steps today to earn a higher salary. For example, if you're considering a career as an HR specialist, you might want to take an online class like Hiring Practices, offered by the University of California, Irvine, on Coursera. This class will give you an idea of what to expect working in an HR department. Suppose you're an HR specialist aiming for more money or a promotion. In that case, you might want to pursue a Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. You’ll find many options to build your knowledge and skill set on Coursera.