These records include information such as name, address, job title, earnings, benefits such as health and life insurance, and tax withholding. On a daily basis, they record and answer questions about employees' absences and supervisory reports on job performance. When an employee receives a promotion or switches health insurance plans, the personnel clerk updates the appropriate form. A personnel clerk may also prepare a report for a manager elsewhere in the organization. Compiling a list of employees eligible for an award is one example.
Some personnel clerks in smaller organizations perform reception as well as other clerical duties.
They answer telephone or letter inquiries from the public, send out announcements of job openings or job examinations, and issue application forms. When credit bureaus and finance companies request confirmation of a person's employment, the personnel clerk provides authorized information from the employee's personnel records. Payroll departments and insurance companies may also be contacted to verify changes to records. Some personnel clerks are also involved in hiring. Personnel clerks inform job applicants, by telephone or letter, of their acceptance or rejection for employment.