Human Resource Glossary for HR

Professionals

This comprehensive glossary of human resource (HR) terms defines words

and phrases frequently used by HR professionals. We would like to
encourage you to share and make use of this library. If you have any
suggestions of terms we have missed or neglected please contact us & we
will include it in our next update

360 Degree Feedback (Meaning & Definition)

A 360-degree survey, also known as a multi-rater or multi-source
feedback, is a performance evaluation method that gathers feedback from
various sources around an individual. These sources typically include
peers, subordinates, supervisors, and sometimes even clients or customers.
The feedback provides a comprehensive view of the individual's strengths
and areas for development from multiple perspectives and aims to offer a
well-rounded and insightful assessment.

Abilene Paradox (Meaning & Definition)

The Abilene Paradox refers to a situation when a group makes a collective
decision that is counter to the thoughts and feelings of its individual
members. The Abilene Paradox occurs because individuals do not want to
‘rock the boat’ or ‘be a killjoy,’ even though their perceptions of the other
members’ feelings are incorrect.
A group “goes to Abilene” when a member of the team proposes an action
and no one takes a stand against it. While individual members of the team
may believe that the plan is not sound, their fear of possible negative
consequences if they oppose the plan, or their desire to maintain group
harmony, keeps them from voicing their true opinion. Instead of mutual
accountability and honest communication, the team begins acting on
inaccurate data or “false consensus”. The person who originally made the
suggestion may not even believe it is the best choice, but if no one is
willing to give a differing opinion, a poor decision will be made.

Absconding (Meaning & Definition)

When an employee is not reporting at work for consecutive days and has
not informed his managers or peers about his whereabouts or the reason of
his absence, this situation is called as absconding in human resource.

Absolute Ratings (Meaning & Definition)

Absolute Ratings is a method where the rater assigns a specific value on a
fixed scale to the behavior or performance of an individual instead of
assigning ratings based on comparisons between other individuals.Relates
to an action on the part of the employee, where he/she just leaves the
organization, without informing their employer. He/she may either not
come back for days or just not come back at all.

Absenteeism Policy (Meaning & Definition)

Absenteeism policy is a set of guidelines and procedures with the purpose
of reducing the number of work days employees miss. Employee
attendance policy and procedure may outline the acceptable reasons why
an employee might miss work, such as illness, injury, or scheduled time
off, as well as any disciplinary action that might be taken for excessive
absenteeism or tardiness. Because missed days of work cut down on
employee productivity, an excessive absenteeism policy is financially
beneficial to any company.
Absenteeism policy means anything regarding employee attendance policy
and procedure or tardiness policy at work. Any workplace policy that
outlines paid time off, vacation days, sick days, parental or other leave,
etc., is considered absenteeism policy. In addition, absenteeism policy
includes guidelines for procedures if an employee misses too many days of
work beyond what is allowed. The best attendance policy will encourage
employees to reduce the number of days they miss work while still being
fair and accounting for the reality of sickness, vacations, doctor
appointments, and more.

Agile HR (Meaning & Definition)

Agile HR refers to the way of working and organizing of the HR function
that facilitates responsiveness and adaptiveness of activities and structures,
facilitating the flexibility in matching workforce fluctuations to demand.
With Agile HR, the traditional focus on control and alignment has shifted
to a more Agile focus on speed of responsiveness and customers. Check
out our Ebook on how Myntra enabled a responsvie and adaptive
workforce using Agile Hr

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) (Meaning & Definition)

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a hiring system of record that
streamlines the entire recruiting process from receiving applications to
hiring employees. They come in all shapes and sizes, offer a variety of
features, and can be appropriate for any type of growing organization that
values efficiency.
A good ATS helps talent acquisition professionals and their partners across
the organization move through the stages of hiring swiftly and seamlessly.
Recruiters, sourcers, coordinators, hiring managers, interviewers and
management alike should be able to collaborate with clarity and timeliness
to maximize the value and effectiveness of the ATS

Appraisal (Meaning & Definition)

Appraisal is an act of assessing something or someone. An appraisal is a
formal opportunity to analyse your performance at work, which also offers
you a chance to talk to your employer about your career plans. Appraisals
can be used to evaluate pay increases and bonuses. You should be given a
written record of your appraisal meeting.

Appraisal Letters (Meaning & Definition)

Appraisal letters are written by the HR department to notify specific

employees to praise their work performance during a calendar year. Such
appraisal letters are given to the employees to encourage them for their
hard work and motivate them to perform even better

Apprenticeship (Meaning & Definition)

Apprenticeship is a training program for individuals who desire to become
recognized in a specific trade or craft and do so in a way that adheres to
the most current standards. The person completing the apprenticeship is
known as an apprentice, and this individual learns the necessary skills of
her or his chosen trade by carrying out common tasks for a predetermined
length of time. Training is administered by a seasoned trade or craftsman.
While an apprenticeship could be compared to classroom learning,
apprentices receive pay while learning how to become experts in their
trades. Examples of industries that offer apprenticeships include
healthcare, food preparation / serving, manufacturing and public safety.

Assessment Centres (Meaning & Definition)

Mainly used for management selection and development purposes.
Participants undertake a wide range of tasks and activities designed to
assess their suitability for a particular organisation, role or position. The
exercises and tests you will come across at an assessment centre in almost
all cases fall into the following categories:
• Group exercise
 • In-tray exercise
• Role play exercise
• Case study based analysis exercise
• Psychometric personality questionnaire
• Psychometric ability test
• Competency based interview

Attendance policy

Is a set of rules related to the attendance of employees. It includes rules

related to absenteeism i.e. number of leaves allowed – sick leaves, casual
leaves, vacation leaves or other types of leaves authorized by the
company. It specifies the rules related to how an employee is eligible for
the leaves and how and when he has to apply for the leaves. It also
specifies action in case of exceeding the number of leaves, payroll
calculation, and action taken for lapses and falsification of attendance
record and so on. The attendance policy includes the time to report at
work, the allowed duration and time of breaks, no of hours of work
expected every day and so on.

Meaning & Definition of Attrition

Attrition refers to the gradual reduction or loss of employees in an
organization due to resignations, retirements, or other reasons for leaving.
It is a natural part of workforce dynamics and can be influenced by factors
such as job satisfaction, career opportunities, company culture, and
external market conditions. High attrition rates may impact organizational
stability and require strategies for employee retention and engagement.
Background Check (Meaning & Definition)
Background check is a process by which a person or company uses to
verify that a person is who they claim to be, and provides an opportunity
for someone to check a person’s criminal record, education, employment
history, and other activities that happened in the past in order to confirm
their validity. The frequency, purpose, and legitimacy of background
checks varies between countries, industries, and individuals. An
employment background check typically takes place when someone
applies for a job, but can also happen at any time the employer deems
necessary. A variety of methods are used to complete such a check, from
comprehensive database search to personal references.
Background Verification (Meaning & Definition)
Background verification is a process many organizations carry out in order
to verify the information provided by the candidate during hiring. It
involves various checks in which the employer will go through your
education records, past employer details, identity checks, resume checks
and address checks. It is done once the candidate clears all the interview
rounds and it takes up to 10 working days to carry out the process.
Sometimes it may take more time when the employer is looking for in-
depth information.

Meaning & Definition

Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard, referred to as the BSC, is a framework to
implement and manage strategy. It links a vision to strategic objectives,
measures, targets, and initiatives. It balances financial measures with
performance measures and objectives related to all other parts of the
organisation. It is a business performance management tool.
It was originally published by Dr Robert Kaplan and Dr David Norton as a
paper in 1992. And then formally as a book in 1996. Both the paper and
the book led to its widespread success. It is interesting to note that
although Kaplan and Norton published the first paper, they were
anomalously referenced in a work by Art Schneiderman who is believed to
be the balanced scorecard creator.
Meaning & Definition
Basic Salary
Basic salary, also known as base salary, is the salary amount earned by an
employee before any particular addition or deduction is made to the same.
Usually, the additions and deductions that an org makes to this base salary
is sizably different from the paycheck that the employee receives.
Meaning & Definition
Behavioural Competency
Behavioural competency is essentially an evaluation of the character traits
of an employee. How these competencies are defined can vary by
employer, but fundamentally they revolve around people skills, managerial
skills and achievement skills. Certain positions work better for certain
behavioural competencies, and these particular markers will help
determine whether a candidate will be successful at the position he or she
is applying for - as you might imagine, a candidate applying for a
managerial position should have strong achievement and development-
related competencies.
Meaning & Definition
Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale
Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) – is an appraisal system
that requires raters list important dimensions of a particular job and collect
information regarding the critical behaviours that distinguish between
successful and unsuccessful performance. These critical behaviours are
then categorised and appointed a numerical value which is used as the
basis for rating performance.
Meaning & Definition
Bell Curve
Bell curves, also called Gaussian distributions and normal distributions,
are so-called because the line resembles a bell. Bell curves are
underpinned by the theory that if you map people’s performance, most will
fall into a specific range. Bell curves represent the standard distribution of
a rating, result or test score in that the top of the ‘bell’ is the most likely
event, with other possible events evenly distributed around the most likely
event on both sides.

Meaning & Definition

Benchmarking
Benchmarking is a process of measuring the performance of an
organization or a team through a variety of metrics—for example,
customer satisfaction rate, sales, turnover rates, and retention—for future
comparison. Benchmarking can be used to compare internal performance
(a comparison of practices and performance between individuals or teams
within an organization) and the external performance of competitors to
measure if any improvement has occurred.
Meaning & Definition
Bonus
Bonus is a financial compensation that is above and beyond the normal
paycheck of the recipient. Bonuses may be awarded to both entry-level
employees and to senior level executives. Bonuses may be dangled as
incentives to prospective employees and can also be distributed to a
company's shareholders. A company may use bonuses to reward
achievements, to show gratitude to the employees who meet longevity
milestones, or to entice not-yet employees to join a company's ranks.
Meaning & Definition
Bumping
Bumping is a practice used by many companies to reserve talent pool
during downsizing, wherein, a senior level employee, whose position has
been selected for elimination, is offered the option of accepting an
alternative position of lesser seniority within the organisation. Bumping
can be a useful tool for employers who wish to retain the skills and
experience of an employee who would otherwise be downsized. A lot of
employers, though, are reluctant to consider bumping because of its
obvious injustice to the employee who is bumped.
Meaning & Definition
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
It is a method of subcontracting various business-related operations to
third-party vendors. Although BPO originally was limited solely to
manufacturing entities, such as soft drink manufacturers that outsourced
large segments of their supply chains, BPO now applies to the outsourcing
of services, as well. One point to note here is that, only non-core activities
are usually outsourced. The companies do not part with their core
competencies, they maintain all their focus on these like manufacturing,
marketing etc.

-C-
Meaning & Definition
Career Break
A career break is an agreed period of time off from employment, either for
family reasons or for personal or professional development. Career breaks
are typically between one month and two years, although some people will
initially commit to shorter breaks – for example a month – so they can try
out new activities and see if they enjoy them before committing to a longer
period of time.

Meaning & Definition

Career Path
A career path comprises a group of (typically related) jobs that an
individual works on the path toward their career goals. Career paths
traditionally imply vertical growth or advancement to higher-level
positions, but they can also include lateral (sideways) movement within or
across industries..
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
• How can companies create career path?
• Why do companies have to create career paths?
• What is the difference between vertical or horizontal career
paths?
• How to best manage and create career paths for employees?
• Can you change your career path? If yes, how?
• What are the different types of career paths?
1. How can companies create career path?
Companies can do any of the following to create career paths:
o Career mapping, that is to map how employee’s career goals
can be aligned with the organization and be met.
o Conventional career ladder strategies, such as timely
promotions.
2. Why do companies have to create career paths?
Companies should create career paths for their employee to:
o Support the growth of its employees.
o Give the employees an opportunity to understand various
career paths available in case they would want to switch.
 o Retain their best talent.
o Attract top achievers from outside the firm.
o Create an employee-centric work culture.
o Get a sense of idea what other organizations’ paths look like
and compare with its own.
3. What is the difference between vertical or horizontal career
paths?
An employee can choose to scale up vertically to higher positions in the
company or choose to scale horizontally that is expand and venture into
other departments or job roles within the same rank or level.
4. How to best manage and create career paths for employees?
Organizations can use the HRMS software available at their disposal to
make the process of career path streamlined. The best way to create and
manage a career path program is with is an all-inclusive software solution
helps you manage career paths throughout the employee lifecycle.
5. Can you change your career path? If yes, how?
Employees can change their career path by either moving vertically up the
positions or horizontally across job roles. They can do so by approaching
the organization or their manager.
6. What are the different types of career paths?
o Job redesign.
o Job rotation.
o Dual career ladders.
o Horizontal career paths.
o Accelerated and "dialed down" career paths.
o Encore career paths.
Meaning & Definition
Change Management
Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals
or organizations from the current state to the desired state. Companies stay
ahead of the game when they think ahead about how they can manage the
introduction, implementation, and consequences of major organizational
changes. And, change management is a way in which an organization
empowers its people to adapt to certain changes. For instance, if a team
were to switch to a more cross-functional way of working, there would be
technological and organizational changes to deal with. And, for this, a
change management strategy would be imperative.

Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with the

transition or transformation of an organization's goals, processes or
technologies. The purpose of change management is to implement
strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping people to
adapt to change. Such strategies include having a structured procedure
for requesting a change, as well as mechanisms for responding to requests
and following them up.

Meaning & Definition

Churn Rate
It also known as the rate of attrition or customer churn, is the rate at which
customers stop doing business with an entity. It is most commonly
expressed as the percentage of service subscribers who discontinue their
subscriptions within a given time period. It is also the rate at which
employees leave their jobs within a certain period. For a company to
expand its clientele, its growth rate (measured by the number of new
customers) must exceed its churn rate.
To calculate customer churn rate, set a time period and tally up the total
number of customers you've acquired and the number of customers who
churned during that time period. Then, divide the number of customers
who churned by the total number of customers acquired, and multiply that
decimal by 100% to calculate your churn rate.
Customer Churn Rate = (Lost Customers ÷ Acquired Customers) x 100%
Meaning & Definition
Competency
Competency is a set of demonstrable characteristics and skills that enable,
and improve the efficiency of, performance of a job. Competencies are not
skills, although they are similar. Skills are learned, while competencies are
inherent qualities an individual possesses – collaboration skills, knowledge
and ability. During job interviews and assessments, competencies are used
as benchmarks against which assessors can evaluate candidates.
One of the biggest challenges a company might face in recruitment is
identifying employee competencies in the first place; it can often be
difficult to put into words what employees need to possess to make them
successful. Competencies usually fall into three categories:
1. Behavioural Competencies – an expression of the softer skills
involved in an employee’s performance.
2. Technical Competencies – usually concerned with the effective use
of IT systems and computers, or any hard skills necessary for a job.
3. Leadership Competencies – an expression of the qualities that
make a good leader, turned into measurable behaviours.
Meaning & Definition
Competency-Based Pay

Competency based pay is a compensation system that recognizes

employees for the depth, breadth, and types of skills they obtain and
experience they apply in the workplace rather than their job title or
position. Also known as skill based and knowledge based pay.

Meaning & Definition

Compensatory Off
Compensatory Off is an entitled leave that an employee can take on a
working day as a compensation for working at employers request on a
holiday or weekend. In simple terms, when an employee works overtime at
the request of his employer, then later he/she can take time off or
compensatory off from their work.
Basically compensatory off leaves are provided in order to reward the
employee for the extra effort that he/she puts in, for the development of the
organization. This is a means of taking care of the employee on behalf of
the organization so that the employees, in-turn take equal care of the
organization by maximizing their efforts.
Meaning & Definition
Confidentiality Agreement
Confidentiality agreement is an agreement between an employer and
employee in which the employee may not disclose branded, patented or
confidential information. Many companies have protected information
that, if leaked, could be devastating for the brand or welfare of the
organization - a confidentiality agreement serves as legal protection from
this.
Meaning & Definition
Confirmation Letter
Confirmation letter is an official letter handed over to the employee
confirming his employment at the organisation once the probation period
is completed. A confirmation letter should be congratulating in tone and
acts as a great source of motivation for the employees. It should be short
and crisp.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
• What is a confirmation letter?
• What is the Salary confirmation letter?
• What is an employment confirmation letter?
• How do you write a confirmation email?
• Why is a confirmation letter important?
1. What is a confirmation letter?
A confirmation letter confirms the employment of an employee at a
particular organization. Typically, the employee joining a company on
probation will receive their confirmation letter at the end of the probation
period.
2. What is the Salary confirmation letter?
Salary confirmation letter, or a salary verification letter, is a piece of
document that declares the salary breakdown that the employee and the
employer have mutually agreed upon.
3. What is an employment confirmation letter?
An employment confirmation letter confirms the employment and
association of an employee with a particular organization. This letter
contains the job title, designation, salary proration, and important policies
relating to the employment of this particular employee.
4. How do you write a confirmation email?
The letter of confirmation can be a physically written letter or an email.
However, there is a pattern to follow while writing both. A confirmation
letter/email comes with a defined format and some specific official
content. For instance, is everything that this email shall entail:
1. The official letterhead of the company.
2. A subject line, concise and precise, that states that the
employment of the candidate has been confirmed.
3. Position and title of the new employee.
4. Verification of the terms of employment and a brief list of all
that is expected from the employee in terms of work.
5. A breakdown of the salary and the added bonuses.
6. Contact information about the company and the people
concerned with the hiring of the employee.
7. A signature from the company that authenticates the whole
process.
5. Why is a confirmation letter important?
It is a strategy that is focused on increasing engagement and employee
participation by including gaming elements to an already existing software
that the employee uses. It is not entirely a game per se but has the look and
feel of one to motivate the employees to engage better and engage more.
Meaning & Definition
Cost to Company (CTC)
Cost to Company (CTC) is the yearly expenditure that a company spends
on an employee. Each employee spend depends on their salary and
variable. CTC is calculated by adding salary and additional benefits that an
employee receives such as EPF, gratuity, house allowance, food coupons,
medical insurance, travel expense and so on. CTC in colloquial terms is
the cost an employer bears to hire and sustain its employees.
Formula: CTC = Gross Salary + Benefits.
If an employee's salary is ₹40,000 and the company pays an additional
₹5,000 for their health insurance, the CTC is ₹45,000. Employees may not
directly receive the CTC amount as cash.
Meaning & Definition
Cost-Per-Hire
Cost-per-hire is one of the most important and most commonly used hiring
and recruiting metric. Cost per hire is linked to recruiting talent and refers
to the total cost of bringing the new employee to the company, including
the expense of recruitment process, equipment, travel costs, administrative
costs and benefits.
Cost-Per-Hire = (internal recruiting cost + external recruiting cost)/ total
no of hires in a given time frame.
Meaning & Definition
Cross Functional Teams
Cross functional teams are groups consisting of people from different
functional areas of the company – for example, marketing, product, sales,
and customer success. These can be working groups, where each member
belongs to their functional team as well as the cross functional team, or
they can be the primary structure of your organization. Check our blog
on Cross-Cultural Mastery.
-D-
Meaning & Definition
Deferred Compensation
Deferred compensation is a part of the salary that has been set aside for
payment on a later date than the actual income was earned. There are two
major reasons why deferred compensation is a popular practice that
employers across organizations follow. One being the tax benefits on the
earned income and the other being the fact that it gives them an
opportunity to retain important and key employees. It is not mandatory to
opt for deferred compensation, but employees do so in order to waive a
certain amount of taxes.
Meaning & Definition
Delayering
Delayering is the process of removing layers of hierarchy between the
highest and lowest levels in an organisation in order to boost operational
efficiency, decrease the wage bill and remove red tape. Delayering
typically removes middle managers, providing senior managers easier
reach over the organisation as a whole.
Meaning & Definition
Disciplinary Procedure
Disciplinary procedure is a standardized step-by-step comprehensive
procedure that a company commits to in situations where an employee has
to be warned, reprimanded or dismissed. If the procedure is not
standardized and fair, the company could face discrimination or other legal
charges.
Meaning & Definition
Disciplinary Action
Disciplinary action is the step taken by the organization against employees
that do not comply with certain policies and regulations of the
organization. This non-compliance could be in the form of regular
misconduct, misbehavior, poor performance, and violation of rules. These
actions are formulated so that employees do not cause trouble to the
employer. Every organization has certain laws governing the conduct of
employees in the workplace.
Meaning & Definition
Downshifting
Downshifting refers to social behaviors whereby individuals reduce the
responsibility and complexity in their lives in order to achieve a better
quality of existence. In a workplace context, downshifting attempts to find
a more appropriate and sustainable work-life balance, often in order to
improve family relationships, reduce stress and generally reduce the level
of intrusion of work life into the personal life.

-E-
Meaning & Definition
E-Recruitment
E-recruitment, also known as online recruitment, refers to the use of web-
based technology for the various processes of attracting, assessing,
selecting, recruiting and on boarding job candidates. Through e-
recruitment employers reach larger number of potential employees.
Companies may build their e-recruitment platforms in-house, use e-
recruitment HR software or employ recruitment agencies that utilize e-
recruitment as part of their package.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Assessments
Employee assessments are performance appraisals or reviews that is used
to evaluate employees' performance and productivity. These tests assess
personality, aptitude and skills. Employee assessments are usually done for
compensation review, performance improvement, promotions,
terminations etc.
Human resource management conducts employee assessments in order to
improve their performance and to monitor what the employee is doing
according to what he/she is expected to do.
Below are the methods used for employee assessment :
1. 360 Degree Feedback - Multiple evaluation process which includes
assessments from superiors, peers and ones' self.
2. SWOT Analysis - Evaluating strengths and weaknesses of an
employee.
3. Performance Interview - Last step of the evaluation process.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Benefits
Employee benefits, also known as perks or fringe benefits, are provided to
employees over and above salaries and wages. These employee benefit
packages may include overtime, medical insurance, vacation, profit
sharing and retirement benefits, to name just a few. The purpose of
employee benefits is to increase the economic security of staff members,
and in doing so, improve worker retention across the organization. As
such, it is one component of reward management.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Clearance
Employee Clearance is also known as FNF (Full and Final) settlement
happens when an employee resigns, is expelled or retires from the job.
Clearances have to be obtained from departments like finance, admin, HR
etc regarding paychecks, gratuity EPF clearances from the company’s side
before an exit. If the employee is using a company laptop or any other
asset, he/she is required to give it back to the asset management team.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Database
An employee database contains critical information, such as each
employee's personal information, as well as company-related information
such as their pay scale, hire date, and more. It holds a variety of employee
personnel fields such as name, age, job title, salary, length of service, etc
for an HR to refer from. A good employee database software should be
self-service based where the employees themselves can add and edit their
information.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Empowerment
Employee empowerment is defined as the ways in which organizations
provide their employees with a certain degree of autonomy and control in
their day-to-day activities. This can include having a voice in process
improvement, helping to create and manage new systems and tactics, and
running smaller departments with less oversight from higher-level
management. A key principle of employee empowerment is providing
employees the means for making important decisions and helping ensure
those decisions are correct. When deployed properly, this should result in
heightened productivity and a better quality of employee work and work
life.
In other words, employee empowerment is a management approach that
involves providing employees with the authority, autonomy, resources, and
information needed to make decisions and take actions within their
specific roles. It aims to enhance employees' sense of responsibility,
ownership, and control over their work. Employee empowerment is often
associated with a collaborative and inclusive leadership style, where
managers support and trust their team members to make meaningful
contributions to the organization's success.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Engagement
Employee Engagement is a workplace method designed to improve an
employee’s feelings and emotional attachment to the company, their job
duties, position within the company, their fellow employees, and the
company culture. HR departments can use employee engagement tactics to
boost well-being and productivity across all company levels. Check out
our Ebook on Bharti Foundation Enabled Employee engagement using
Darwinbox here.
In other words, employee engagement is the degree to which employees
are emotionally committed and motivated to contribute to an organization's
success. Elements influencing engagement include a positive workplace
environment, effective leadership, opportunities for growth, recognition,
and a sense of purpose in their roles. Measuring employee engagement
involves surveys and feedback mechanisms, helping organizations
understand and enhance the overall employee experience.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Lifecycle
An employee goes through various stages in a company from recruitment,
onboarding, orientation, career planning and development, as well as
termination. These stages sum up the employee life cycle. Each stage
throughout the cycle has its challenges, but it’s important for HR to
continuously improve their process for each stage to better the success of
their employees.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
It is a scoring system that is designed to identify how likely your
employees are to recommend your organisation as a great place to work.
It is derived from the Net Promoter Score (NPS) measure which
is commonly used in customer satisfaction surveys. Since it was so
effective for measuring customer loyalty, companies started using the same
concept internally to measure employee engagement.
For NPS Score, the employees are asked how likely they are to
recommend the company as a place to work. They are supposed to give
ratings on a scale of 1 to 10. Based on their answers, they are categorized
into ‘Promoters’, ‘Neutrals’ or ‘Distractors’.
 1. Promoter – An employee who scores either a 9 or a 10.
2. Neutrals – An employee who scores either a 7 or 8.
3. Distractors – An employee who scores anywhere from 0 to 6.
For eNPS you need to deduct the percentage of distractors from
promoters and the result you get will be the final eNPS score.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Onboarding
Employee Onboarding is the process of onboarding new hires into an
organization. Sometimes used synonymously with new hire orientation,
employee onboarding includes filling out forms ,on-the-job training along
with socialization and culture training so new hires can be effective,
contributing team members. Effective onboarding can extend weeks or
months beyond a new hire’s first day.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Orientation
Employee orientation is the process of introducing new hires to their jobs,
co-workers, responsibilities, and workplace. It allows employees the
chance to feel comfortable within their new teams, departments, and roles
within the company. Effective employee orientation answers any questions
or concerns a new colleague may have, makes them aware of company
policies and expectations, and eases them comfortably into their new
positions
Meaning & Definition
Employee Referral Program
Employee referral program refers directly to the hiring process, where an
existing employee refers a potential candidate for an opening in the
organisation. This is one of the important sources of recruitment. If we
want to understand the referral program, we can say that the Employee
Referral Program is designed to give all employees an equal opportunity to
approach their candidate. Through this policy, organisations make it clear
that they trust their employees' decisions and that their employees
understand the culture and needs of the organisation. This is a great
recruitment tool, but it needs to be transparent and accurate.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Relations
Employee relations refers to an organization’s efforts to create and
maintain a positive relationship with their employees. By maintaining
positive, constructive employee relations, organizations hope to keep
employees loyal and more engaged in their work.
In other words, Employee relations pertains to the administration and
nurturing of interactions between employers and employees within a
company. It involves establishing and sustaining a favorable workplace
atmosphere, encouraging efficient communication, and handling any
issues or disputes that may emerge among staff. Activities related to
employee relations cover aspects such as engaging employees, managing
performance, establishing workplace policies, and resolving conflicts.
There are four pillars of employee relations -
1. Open Communication
2. Show Recognition
3. Constant Feedback
4. Invest In Your Employees
Meaning & Definition
Employee Retention

Employee retention refers to the various policies and practices which let
the employees stick to an organization for a longer period of time. Every
organization invests time and money to groom a new joinee, make him a
corporate ready material and bring him at par with the existing employees.
The organization is completely at loss when the employees leave their job
once they are fully trained. Employee retention takes into account the
various measures taken so that an individual stays in an organization for
the maximum period of time.

Meaning & Definition

Employee Satisfaction
Employee satisfaction is the extent to which an individual is happy with
their job and the role it plays in their life. Employee satisfaction needs to
be treated with both short and long-term visions.
In the short term, it is directly linked to attrition and employee-
organization match. It is important that people perceive the company in a
positive light in their early days of employment, else it would not take
long for them to look for a change.
In the long term, it is more damaging when an employee is not satisfied
but continues to work with an organization due to other reasons. The
employee starts to look for reasons to dislike the company more. For
example, if a bad appraisal is the core reason behind an employee’s
disappointment, the employee might then perceive that there is favoritism
or that the company does not treat them as a valuable asset.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Self Service
Employee self service is a feature available in HR software that allows
workers to perform tasks normally conducted by the HR function. At the
bare-bones level this refers to administrative tasks - workers will be able to
update their personal information, such as address and next of kin, via a
web-based application or intranet. More advanced HR software will enable
them to apply for leave and change payroll details.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Turnover
Employee turnover refers to the rate at which employees leave a company
and are replaced by new hires. It is usually expressed as a percentage and
can be calculated over a specific time period. High employee turnover can
indicate challenges such as dissatisfaction, inadequate workplace
conditions, or insufficient career growth opportunities. Understanding and
managing employee turnover is crucial for organizations to maintain
productivity, retain talent, and create a positive workplace environment.
Meaning & Definition
Employment History
An employment history includes a record of all the previous jobs of an
applicant. It includes information like the organisation they worked for
along with details about that job, such as the length of employment and the
job description etc. Most job applications require potential employees to
list their employment history. This information can be used to assess the
experience and skills of a potential candidate and perform the necessary
background check.
Meaning & Definition
Employer Branding
Employer branding is a term referred to describe company's reputation and
popularity from a potential employer's perspective and describes the
values company gives to its employees. Employer Branding is the process
of creating and maintaining your company’s Employer Brand. Employer
brands are the mirror of the company's Employee Value Proposition.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the balance of the rewards and
benefits that are received by employees in return for their performance at
the workplace. Employee Value Proposition (EVP) as a set of associations
and offerings provided by an organization in return for the skills,
capabilities and experiences an employee brings to the organization.

The EVP is an employee-centered approach that is aligned to existing,

integrated workforce planning strategies because it has been informed by
existing employees and the external target audience. An EVP must be
unique, relevant and compelling if it is to act as a key driver of talent
attraction, engagement and retention.
Meaning & Definition
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a powerful HR software that allows
leaders to manage, manipulate and analyse key business information and
metrics, from all business units including sales, marketing, manufacturing,
finance, accounting, customer relationship management and PR, in one
integrated package. A central, powerful database will often be used to store
information.
ERP is designed to optimize the flow and management of information and
help leaders make decisions based on a real-time, honest view of the
business as a whole. The software is often built modularly, which allows
businesses to buy the precise package they need and add to it if their needs
change.
Meaning & Definition
Equity Theory
Equity Theory posits that people maintain a fair relationship between the
performance and rewards in comparison to others. In other words, an
employee gets de-motivated by the job and his employer in case his inputs
are more than the outputs.
Meaning & Definition
Exit Interview
Exit interview is a survey that is conducted with an employee when he or
she leaves the company. The information from each survey is used to
provide feedback on why employees are leaving, what they liked about
their employment and what areas of the company need improvement. Exit
interviews are most effective when the data is compiled and tracked over
time.
In other words, an exit interview is a formal discussion that occurs when
an employee is departing from a job, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
It is usually carried out by the employer or the HR department and entails
inquiring about the departing employee's experiences, reasons for leaving,
opinions about the organization, and recommendations for enhancements.
Meaning & Definition
Expatriate
An expatriate, or ex-pat are the employee who are sent to work abroad on
a long-term job assignment such as employees who need populate a new
office or senior managers who need to manage or set up a new branch.
Expatriate employees generally receive additional benefits, such as cost of
living and hardship allowances as well as housing or education and
sometimes even paid education for their children.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme
EDLI stands for Employee Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme. It came into
being in the year 1976. The intent of the government behind introducing
the concept of EDLI was to provide the private sector employees are
provided insurance benefits. It is provided by the EPFO (Employee
provident fund organization). EDLI provides the employee’s legal heir or
nominee a lump-sum payment in event of the death of the employee
during the service.
Meaning & Definition
Employee Assistance Program
An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a workplace benefit that
provides confidential support and resources to employees facing personal
or work-related challenges. These programs offer counseling services,
mental health assistance, and resources to address issues such as stress,
substance abuse, family problems, and other personal concerns.
Confidentiality is a key feature, allowing employees to seek help without
fear of judgment or disclosure.
Meaning & Definition
Ex Gratia Payment
Ex Gratia means “by virtue of grace”. It is a form of voluntary
compensation that organizations pay to individuals in case of any damage
caused or claims made. Although a liability for an organization, it is not
necessarily a legal obligation that organizations must fulfill. These are not
very common and are subject to taxes.
-F-
Meaning & Definition
Factor Comparison
Factor comparison is systematic and scientific method designed to carry
out job evaluation which instead of ranking job as a whole, ranks
according to a series of factors. The aim of factor comparison is to assign
financial value to the relative parts of each job role.
Meaning & Definition
Five Factor Model
Five Factor Model is a theory based upon the Big Five personality traits,
identified as openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, extra
version, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These traits represent stable
individual differences (an individual may be high or low on a trait as
compared to others) in the thoughts people have, the feelings they
experience, and their behaviours. Each trait can be broken down into sub-
traits, allowing minor variations in personalities to be standardized and
tracked.
Meaning & Definition
Floating Holidays
A Floating Holiday refers to a flexible day off that employees can take at
their discretion, typically outside the regular public holidays. Unlike fixed
holidays, which are predetermined, floating holidays allow employees to
choose when they want to observe them. This policy offers flexibility to
accommodate diverse cultural or religious observances, personal
preferences, or specific needs.
Meaning & Definition
Forced Ranking
Forced ranking, also known as a vitality curve, is a controversial
management tool which measures, ranks and grades employees' work
performance based on their comparison with each other instead of against
fixed standards. In forced ranking process employees are divided into three
into groups: A, B, or C.
A group stands for the employees who are most engaged, motivated,
passionate, open to collaboration and committed. They make up the top
20%. B group stands for employees who are not as engaged or motivated
but are crucial to the company’s success because they are so abundant.
They make up the middle 70%. C group stands for employees who are
commonly non-producing procrastinators. They make up the bottom 10%.
Meaning & Definition
Functional Job Analysis
Functional job analysis, developed by the Employment and Training
Administration of the United States Department of Labor, is concerned
with qualitative analysis of a job role and worker that produces unique
information based on the employee’s behaviour and actions.
FJA breaks down job roles into seven areas: things, data, worker
instructions, reasoning, people, maths and language. Analysis of worker
actions within these areas plays a key part of the Functional Job Analysis
process.
Better understanding of the employee and the role are positive benefits of
FJA, but it can be harder to standardise the analysis across an organisation
due to the emphasis on qualitative rather than quantitative
Meaning & Definition
Form 12B
Form 12B is an income tax form issued by the Income Tax Department of
India which is to be submitted by an employee joining an organization in
the middle of the year. This is in accordance with Rule26A of the Income
Tax act. Although furnishing this form isn’t compulsory, organizations ask
for it in order to get all the income details of the employee from their
previous organizations.
-G-
Meaning & Definition
Gamification
In an employment or HR context, gamification refers to a process of
making systems, processes or other employment-related activities more
enjoyable and motivating through game design elements. For example,
using game elements to make a mundane activity like benefits enrollment
more enjoyable. Gamification has been applied to recruiting, learning and
development, employee surveys and many more areas of talent
management.
Meaning & Definition
Gender Divide
Gender divide is the differences between women and men in society, used
in a range of fields including sociology, politics and economics. Within the
HR function, it refers to the differences in how men and women are treated
in the job market and workplace with regard to recruitment, pay,
progression, job function, treatment, benefits and perception by colleagues
and managers.
Meaning & Definition
Generation X
A demographic cohort born after the post-war baby boomers –
commentators tend to use beginning birth dates from the early 1960s to the
early 1980s. Generation X is followed by Generation Y, who were born
from around 1985 until the early 1990s, and Generation Z, born between
the early 2000s and the present day.
Meaning & Definition
Generation Z
A demographic cohort containing individuals born between the early
2000s and the present day. Generation Z, or Gen Z is followed by the
Generation Y (Millennials) and Generation X (baby boomers). Less
attention has been focused on Generation Z than Generation Y, notably
because they haven’t yet entered adulthood and the workforce, but they are
often characterized as being highly tech-savvy and natural internet users.
Meaning & Definition
Gig Economy
A gig economy is an economy where organisations rely more on
freelancers and independent contractors instead of full-time employees.
Temporary positions and flexible jobs are common.

Meaning & Definition

Golden Handcuffs
Golden handcuffs are contractual clauses that provide financial and non-
financial benefits to executives that are forfeited if the executive leaves the
company. Organisations use golden handcuffs to disincentivise executives
from moving to competitors.
Meaning & Definition
Gratuity
Gratuity is given by the employer to his/her employee for the services
rendered by him during the period of employment. It is usually paid at the
time of retirement but can be paid earlier, provided certain conditions are
met.
A person is eligible to receive gratuity only if he has completed a
minimum of five years of service with an organisation. However, it can be
paid before the completion of five years in case of the death of an
employee or if he has become disabled due to an accident or disease
Meaning & Definition
Grievance
Grievance refers to the employee's dissatisfaction with company's work
policy and conditions because of an alleged violation of law. They may or
may not be justified and usually represent the gap between what the
employee expects and gets from the company.
Grievence has to be properly addressed because it lowers the motivation
and performance of the employee and affects the work environment.
Meaning & Definition
Gross Misconduct
Gross misconduct refers to an employee's negative behaviour or action so
serious that it calls for the employee's summary dismissal without the
usual contractual obligations of a notice period. Often mistaken, summary
dismissal does not mean immediate dismissal. It requires employers to
follow certain dismissal procedures even if the employee was caught in
action. The best practice is the suspension of the employee so that
investigation can take place. Gross misconduct may encompass theft,
fraud, violence, harassment, or any serious breaches of safety regulations
or any conduct substantially undermining the overall integrity of the
workplace.

Meaning & Definition

Gross Salary
Gross wages encompass the complete earnings an employee gets before
deductions, taxes, or other withholdings. This includes the entire agreed-
upon compensation between the employer and the employee, covering
elements like hourly wages, salary, bonuses, and commissions. They
illustrate the total amount earned by an employee prior to any reductions,
offering a comprehensive view of the earnings before factoring in taxes
and other withholdings that lead to net pay.

\
-H-
Meaning & Definition
Hawthorne Effect
The Hawthorne effect is a phenomenon observed as a result of an
experiment conducted by Elton Mayo. In an experiment intended to
measure how a work environment impacts worker productivity, Mayo’s
researchers noted that workers productivity increased not from changes in
environment, but when being watched. Applied to HR, the concept is that
employee motivation can be influenced by how aware they are of being
observed and judged on their work - a basis for regular evaluation and
metrics to meet.
Meaning & Definition
Hierarchy of Needs
A theory proposed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow that
categorises human desires by the force and necessity of the desire. It is
most frequently arranged as a pyramid, with the most important needs at
the bottom.
Meaning & Definition
HR Audit
A Human Resource Audit is a systematic examination of an organization's
HR policies, procedures, and practices to ensure legal compliance,
effectiveness, and alignment with business objectives. It involves
reviewing areas such as recruitment, employee relations, compliance with
labor laws, performance management, and overall HR strategy.

Meaning & Definition

HR Business Partner
HR Business Partner are HR professionals who work closely with an
organisation’s senior leaders in order to develop an HR strategy that
closely supports the overall aims of the organisation. The process of
alignment is known as HR business partnering and may involve the HR
business partner sitting on the board of directors or working closely with
the board of directors and C-suite.
Meaning & Definition
HR Consulting
Specialist advice and services provided by a third-party to help businesses
maximise the efficiency of their HR operations and implement appropriate
new policies and procedures in the best way possible. They are often
valued by companies for their ability to bring an outsider’s objective view.
Meaning & Definition
HR Generalist
A Human Resources (HR) Generalist is a professional who oversees the
human resources responsibilities and activities of an organisation. They
manage recruitment processes, employee relations, regulatory compliance,
and training and development.
The main responsibilities of an HR Generalist include:
• Assisting in all the internal and external HR related matters.
• Participate in developing the organisational structure and guidelines.
• Take care of feedback or complaints submitted by employees.
• Keep up to date with the current trends in Human Resource and
follow the best practices in the organisation.
• Manage employee database and prepare reports.
Meaning & Definition
HR Software

It is a software packages designed to automate many of the common HR

tasks and free up resources to be spent elsewhere. Packages often involve a
high degree of data processing which is time-consuming when performed
manually. Increasingly incorporating analytics functionality that allows
HR to more easily perform higher-level tasks such as sifting through
applicants, conducting performance reviews and tracking training needs.
Meaning & Definition
Human Capital Management (HCM)
Human capital management (HCM) is the act of systematically recruiting,
managing and developing a workforce. An HCM mindset views
employees as company assets to be invested in so that their organizational
value can be maximized. The important responsibility of HCM often falls
on a company's human resources department, as they generally play a
crucial role in who's hired, how efficiently talent is managed, and how
seriously employee development is taken.
In other words, Human Capital Management (HCM) is a strategic
approach to optimizing the value of a company's workforce. It involves the
acquisition, development, and management of employees in alignment
with organizational goals. HCM encompasses various HR functions,
including recruitment, training, performance management, and talent
retention. By focusing on people as valuable assets, HCM aims to
maximize individual and collective contributions to drive organizational
success and emphasizes strategic workforce planning.
Meaning & Definition
Human Resources Analytics (HR Analytics)
Human Resources Analytics (HR Analytics) is a field of analytics that
refers to implementing an analytics process in an organisation's human
resources department in the hope of improving employee performance and
return on investment. HR Analytics does more than just collect data about
employee efficiency. Instead, its purpose is to provide an understanding of
each process by collecting data and making relevant decisions about how
to use it to improve these processes.
Meaning & Definition
Human Resource Information System
Human Resource Information System is a software that is used for
carrying out HR processes such as data tracking, self-service for
employees, analyzing data for better understanding and training for
employee improvement, and managing benefits and compensations.
Meaning & Definition
Human Resource Management
Human resource management is the organizational function that manages
all issues related to the people in an organization. That includes but is not
limited to compensation, recruitment and hiring, performance
management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits,
employee motivation, communication, policy administration, and training.
Meaning & Definition
Human Resource Management System (HRMS)
Human Resource Management System (HRMS) refers to a suite of
software that organizations use to manage internal HR functions. From
employee data management to payroll, recruitment, benefits, training,
talent management, employee engagement, and employee attendance,
HRMS software helps HR professionals manage the modern workforce.
Also called a Human Resource Information System (HRIS), HRMS
software put information about a company’s most valuable assets in front
of the people who need them. Yesterday’s HR software and HRIS systems
have become today’s Human Capital Management Cloud-Based Service.
Meaning & Definition
Human Resource Outsourcing
A contractual agreement between an employer and an external third-party
provider whereby the employer transfers responsibility and management
for certain HR, benefit or training-related functions or services to the
external provider.
-I-
Meaning & Definition
Incentive
Incentive pay refers to giving employees bonuses or other forms of
compensation in exchange for going above and beyond their normal
duties. It is used as a way to incentivise employees to continue doing
excellent work.
A cash bonus toward the end of the year for the holidays is a common
form of this benefit, and some employees are capable of earning a
commission by making sales, which would also fall under incentive pay.
Employers can also reward workers for superior performance by offering
casual incentives. This refers to giving workers non-monetary items such
as gifts or paying for an employee’s lunch..

Meaning & Definition

Induction
Induction is the process of introducing a new employee to the company
culture and processes with the aim of bringing them up to speed as quickly
as possible as well as making them feel socially comfortable and aware of
their professional responsibilities. Companies will typically have an
induction programme in place and follow the same processes for all new
hires, although the induction process may vary depending on the industry,
the job role and the seniority of the new hire.
Meaning & Definition
Informal Communication
Informal communication in the workplace is communication that takes
place outside the formal, communication structures of the workplace.
Some people refer to informal communication as the ‘grapevine.’
Informal communication can occur in the same setting as formal
communication, such as in a private meeting room during the appraisal
process. A manager may conduct the appraisal process and then upon its
conclusion tell the employer something about their personal life that is not
meant for general workplace consumption or to be recorded formally.

Meaning & Definition

Internship
An internship is a program offered by an employer that provides potential
employees with work experience. Internships are typically targeted
towards students, who work between one-and-four months at their chosen
company to gain practical on-the-job or research experience.
Each internship is different. Some interns work part-time, while others
work full-time. An internship can last a week or a year. There are
internships for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. There
are paid internships, unpaid internships, internships that provide course
credit, and internships that are virtual. While employment isn’t guaranteed
at the end of an internship, many employers use internships to train and
evaluate future employees.
-K-
Meaning & Definition
Key Performance Indicator
A Key Performance Indicator is a measurable value that demonstrates how
effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Organizations
use KPIs at multiple levels to evaluate their success at reaching targets.
High-level KPIs may focus on the overall performance of the business,
while low-level KPIs may focus on processes in departments such as sales,
marketing, HR, support and others.
Meaning & Definition
Key Result Areas
Key Result Areas also called “Key Performance Areas” (KPAs) refer to
general areas of outcomes or outputs for which a role, or a combination of
roles, is responsible. These are the areas within the organisation where an
individual or group is logically responsible / accountable for the results.
Meaning & Definition
Knowledge Management
Knowledge Management (KM) is the process of generating, accumulating,
sharing and using knowledge for improving organisational performance. It
is creation of new skills, capabilities, competencies and sharing the use of
this knowledge by organisational members. In other words, it is a process
of creating an interactive learning environment where people transfer and
share what they know, internalize it and apply it to create new knowledge.
Meaning & Definition
KSA's
Refers to knowledge, skills and abilities, often used in the context of the
KSAs candidates need to perform a job role. KSAs are often outlined in
the job description in both the personal qualities required and the
professional qualities required. Many job applications will ask candidates
to show, in a few hundred words, how their knowledge, skills and abilities
relate to the requirements of the job.

KSA is a description of qualifications written by a prospective candidate to

describe their knowledge, skills and abilities as they relate to an open role.
It helps employers quickly screen the candidates that are most suitable for
each job. The KSA model was introduced as a hiring tool by the
government, but the personnel department is slowly discontinuing the use
of it.
-M-
Meaning & Definition
Management by Objectives
Management by Objectives (MBO), also known as "Management by
Results (MBR)", is a results-driven process that aims to define objectives
within an organization so that behaviors, intentions, and initiatives can be
aligned to achieving these objectives. The theory underlying MBO is that
people are more motivated and productive when they clearly understand
their roles and responsibilities.
This particular model of work helps the whole team/ organization with a
mutual understanding of what needs to happen and how. This ends up
being a foundation for a team that is always on the same page and works
towards a common goal
Meaning & Definition
Management Styles
Management styles are the principles that underlie the methods, abilities
and techniques managers use in handling situations and expressing
leadership within an organisation. Generally speaking, managerial styles
are polarised between autocratic and permissive, although each style has
its own subtleties.
Autocratic managers make decisions without input from other stakeholders
and their interactions with others are based on communicating these
decisions – directive autocrats also supervise subordinates closely, while
permissive autocrats give employees some degree of freedom in how they
work towards a goal.
Meaning & Definition
Management Training
It is a training activity that focuses on improving an individual’s skills as a
leader and manager. There may be an emphasis on soft skills, such as
communication and empathy, which enable better teamwork and more
progressive relationships with the people they manage.
Meaning & Definition
Matrix Organization
Businesses in which employees work in both traditional siloed
departments as well as in cross-departmental teams. These teams may be
temporary or permanent depending on what they have been tasked to do.
Individuals working in matrix organisations will typically report to two
superiors – their normal departmental head and the project leader.

Meaning & Definition

Mean Wage
The mean wage is the average wage that employees receive for the same
work performed during a given period of time. Adding all the wages of
employees in a specific job or industry and dividing that total by the
number of employees gives us the Mean wage. In other words, (a+b+c)/3
= the mean or average.
This figure is often used as a benchmark for determining salaries to offer
new hires or for estimating costs for new business processes.
Complications may arise in calculating mean wage because of
1. Subtle differences in the job classifications and conditions.
2. Different levels of employee experience and
3. Education of the workers in the sample.
Meaning & Definition
Mentoring

Mentoring is a system of semi-structured guidance whereby one person

shares their knowledge, skills and experience to assist others to progress in
their own lives and careers. Mentors need to be readily accessible and
prepared to offer help as the need arises - within agreed bounds.

Mentors very often have their own mentors, and in turn their mentees
might wish to ‘put something back’ and become mentors themselves - it's
a chain for ‘passing on’ good practice so that the benefits can be widely
spread.
Mentoring can be a short-term arrangement until the original reason for the
partnership is fulfilled (or ceases), or it can last many years.

Mentoring is more than ‘giving advice’, or passing on what your

experience was in a particular area or situation. It's about motivating and
empowering the other person to identify their own issues and goals, and
helping them to find ways of resolving or reaching them - not by doing it
for them, or expecting them to ‘do it the way I did it’, but by
understanding and respecting different ways of working.

Meaning & Definition

Merit Pay
Merit pay is a system,where one is paid on the basis of the achievement of
targets by an individual. These are done on a metric basis where the
individuals are evaluated on the targets and levels achieved in the metric
and are paid or compensated accordingly.
For example, suppose there is a company which has salesmen and the
salesmen are to be rewarded on a merit pay basis. The appropriate metric
for the salesmen’s compensation will be the number of sales done in a
particular period, and an appropriate percentage of each sale is given to
them as commission.
Meaning & Definition
Micromanagement
Micromanagement is a negative term that refers to a management style
characterised by extremely close supervision and control of the minor
details of an individual’s workload and output. Micromanagers generally
avoid delegating decision-making power to employees and may be overly
obsessed with information-gathering by forcing employees to produce
regular, detailed reports that are often superfluous.
Meaning & Definition
Millennials
Millennials, or Generation Y, are individuals born around 1985-1995 and
are projected to have a worse quality of life than previous generations.
They are known for having a strong sense of community and a bigger
tolerance for diversity, as well as a greater sense of entitlement.
Characterized as being liberal and open-minded, they often challenge
established social and cultural norms, and are very tech-savvy.

-N-
Meaning & Definition
Nepotism
Nepotism refers to favouritism to relatives due to the blood relationship
rather than making decisions based on standard metrics such as
performance, personality, achievements and results. A related term is
cronyism, which is favouritism to friends and other non-relatives based on
the relationship rather than merit.
Meaning & Definition
Net Salary
Net Salary refers to an employee's take-home pay after deductions such as
taxes, insurance, and other withholdings have been subtracted from their
gross earnings. It represents the actual amount that an employee receives
in their paycheck. Net pay is what employees receive in their bank
accounts and is crucial for budgeting and personal financial planning.
Calculated after various deductions, it reflects the portion of earnings that
employees can use for personal expenses and savings.
Meaning & Definition
Nondisclosure Agreement
Nondisclosure agreement, also known as confidentiality agreement, refers
to a legal contract between multiple parties restricting them to share
information about the business of the other party. Mostly used in
restricting employees from disclosing confidential or proprietary
information of the company.
-O-
Meaning & Definition
Occupational Stress
The physiological and physical effects of negative activity in the
workplace as a result of many factors including external events, internal
events, job demands and colleague behaviour.
Stress differs from pressure but is often used interchangeably. Pressure
refers to surmountable demands in the workplace and only turns to stress
when the emotional, mental and physical demands of a given situation are
greater than the individual’s coping skills.
Meaning & Definition
Offer Letter
An offer letter is a document which is given to a candidate after he has
been selected for the position. The letter clearly, mentions the salary
package, designation, department and other benefits that he will be entitled
to, if he joins the company. Other than this, a statement of at-will
employment, list of contingencies, and a confidentiality agreement. A
signed offer letter doesn’t mean that you are legally bound to join the
company after that. However, that may be possible in very rare
circumstances.
Meaning & Definition
Offshoring
Offshoring is the process of relocating a business or business process to
another country in order to benefit from reduced labour costs or a more
beneficial regulatory environment. A range of processes are commonly
offshored, including manufacturing, IT, customer service and research &
development.
Meaning & Definition
Objectives and Key Results (OKR)
The Objective and Key Results methodology is a goal setting framework
that helps teams and organisations achieve their goals through identifiable
and measurable outcomes. Through design, the OKR framework works to
create a specific standard in teams that the whole organisation can adopt.
Key results are the metrics that is used to measure the results you
accomplished. By defining key outcomes using a metrics that include
numbers makes it easy for the organisation to communicate the team their
progress towards achieving the goals in a meaningful way. OKR
framework was created by Andy Grove who is also known as the “Father
of OKRs”. Check out our webinar on Building Organizational Agility with
OKRs.
Meaning & Definition
Onboarding
Employee onboarding is broadly defined as the process of familiarizing a
(new) employee with the organizations policies, the employees role in the
organization, and the organizations culture. It also involves creating an
environment in which the employee is made comfortable enough to
interact freely with their colleagues and establish social relationships in the
workplace.
Specifically, it involves getting the employee to complete the necessary
paperwork for labour law compliance and equipping them with all the
tools they need to do their job well. During onboarding, employees learn
what the organization expects from them in terms of skills, communication
style, and attitude
Meaning & Definition
Organisational Change
Organisational change refers to the alteration of structural relationships
and roles of people in the organization. It is largely structural in nature. An
enterprise can be changed in several ways. Its technology can be changed,
its structure, its people and other elements can be changed. Organisational
change calls for a change in the individual behaviour of the employees.
Meaning & Definition
Organizational Culture
Organizational culture, also known as corporate culture, refers to the
values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that characterize and contribute to
organization's unique social and emotional work environment.
Organizational culture is unique for every organization and one of the
hardest things to change and consists of written and unwritten rules that
have been developed over time.
Meaning & Definition
Organization Development
Organization Development is the systematic application of behavioral
science knowledge at various levels, such as group, inter-group,
organization, etc., to bring about planned change. Its objectives is a higher
quality of work-life, productivity, adaptability and effectiveness. It
accomplishes this by changing attitudes, behaviors, values, strategies,
procedures and structures so that the organization can adapt to competitive
actions, technological advances and the fast pace of change within the
environment.
Meaning & Definition Orientation
Orientation is the process of bringing employees up to speed on
organisational policies, job roles and responsibilities and other
organisational attributes and concepts that will help them transition
efficiently into the position. In larger companies, and for roles with greater
responsibilities, the orientation process may include time spent in several
departments as well as specialist learning programs.
Most often people between orientation and on-boarding, while on-
boarding includes the orientation element, it encompasses much more.
Though a typical orientation may stretch over several days it is a one time
event while on-boarding is an ongoing process which can go up from
several months to years.
Orientation usually takes place in a classroom setting with one way flow
of information while on-boarding is a two way exchange of information
and may take several sessions.
Meaning & Definition Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the business practice of hiring a party outside a company to
perform services and create goods that traditionally were performed in
house by the company's own employees and staff. Outsourcing is a
practice usually undertaken by companies as a cost-cutting measure. As
such, it can affect a wide range of jobs, ranging from customer support to
manufacturing to the back office.
Outsourcing can help businesses reduce labor costs significantly. The
outside organizations typically set up different compensation structures
with their employees than the outsourcing company, enabling them to
complete the work for less money.
In addition to cost savings, companies can employ an outsourcing strategy
to better focus on the core aspects of the business. Outsourcing non-core
activities can improve efficiency and productivity because another entity
performs these smaller tasks better than the firm itself.

-P-
Meaning & Definition Payroll
Payroll is the total of all compensation a business must pay to its
employees for a set period of time or on a given date. It is usually
managed by the accounting or human resources department of a business.
Small-business payroll is run by the owner or an associate.
Payroll processing is usually outsourced to specialized firms.
Payroll can also refer to the list of number of employees of a business and
the amount of compensation due to each of them. It is a major expense for
most businesses and is almost always deductible. It means that the expense
may be deducted from gross income lowering the taxable income of the
company.
Payroll and Payroll Solutions can differ from one pay period to another
because of overtime, sick pay, and other variables.
Meaning & Definition Payroll Software
Payroll software is an application that manages, organizes and automates
employee payment. The software tracks all payments and maintains all the
payment records. Payroll software varies in features and can be used by
small businesses as well as large corporations. Effective payroll software
will allow management to monitor time and attendance, tax information
and pay structure. The software will integrate easily into existing company
procedures
Meaning & Definition People Analytics
People analytics is the use of employee and candidate's data to understand
their impact on business goals and assess the effectiveness of hiring and
HR initiatives. People Analytics applies math, statistics, and modeling to
candidate and employee data, or big data, to identify and predict patterns
in all aspects of hiring and management and promotes positive employee
experience. People analytics can be used in measuring employee retention
rate, compare compensation, performance and attributes of the employees
within the same team and gives a competitive advantage to top performing
candidates and help in improving the hiring process by identifying the top
performing candidates and understanding optimise spend on hiring.
Meaning & Definition People Operations
People Operations is the management of employees, labour and talent in
the organisation. It focuses on developing and retaining top talent in the
organisation. This is a modern term in human resource department as
employees prefer to be called as people rather resources or capital. People
operations views employees as talents that deserve transparency and voice
in the organisation. The main role of the people Operation team is to:
• Build a great reputation as an employer.
• Attract, hire and retain top talent in the organisation.
• Creating and maintaining brand image of the organisation.
• Practice modern method of Human resource policy.
• Ensure compliance with Law and regulations of the country.
Meaning & Definition Performance Appraisal
Performance appraisal refers to periodic review and evaluation of an
employee’s job performance (skills, achievements etc) and contribution to
the company. They can be conducted whenever but tend to be annual,
semi-annual or quarterly. Performance appraisals are a way for companies
to determine which employees have contributed the most to the company
so they can reward them accordingly.

Meaning & Definition Performance Improvement

Performance improvement is a strategy under the umbrella of performance
management to help employees achieve better performance and growth.
Managers typically use performance improvement plans to help under-
performing employees meet the organization’s standards and requirements,
both in terms of productivity and behavior. This is called operational or
individual performance improvement. On the other hand, performance
improvement also occurs at a team level, department level, and
organization level. This is known as organizational performance
improvement. Managers might use feedback, time cards, quality control to
track employee performance.

Meaning & Definition Performance Improvement Plan

A performance improvement plan (PIP), also known as a performance
action plan, is a tool to give an employee with performance deficiencies
the opportunity to succeed. It may be used to address failures to meet
specific job goals or to ameliorate behavior-related concerns. Outcomes
may vary, including improvement in overall performance; the recognition
of a skills or training gap; or possible employment actions such as a
transfer, demotion or termination.
Meaning & Definition Performance Management
Performance Management is a process of linked activities that aim to
ensure goals are being met in the most efficient and productive way
possible. Within organisations, performance management attempts to drive
efficiency of operations by aligning internal and external activities with the
company’s objectives.
Some of the cited benefits of performance management include
improvements to the bottom line, including a reduction in project overruns
and a reduction in costs through improved process efficiency. Employee
engagement may also improve due to the realignment of goals within
teams, and with the overall corporate vision.
In other words, performance management is a comprehensive process that
involves planning, monitoring, developing, and evaluating an employee's
work performance. It aims to align individual and team objectives with
organizational goals to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. The process
typically includes setting performance expectations, providing regular
feedback, conducting performance reviews, and identifying areas for
improvement or development. It is a strategic approach that fosters
continuous communication between managers and employees to enhance
overall productivity.
Meaning & Definition Performance Management Cycle
Performance management cycle is a cyclical phenomenon in which
employees are evaluated throughout the year. All employees go through
this cycle, starting with goal-setting at the beginning of the year, followed
by the monitoring of their progress, helping them develop to do better, and
ending with a formal evaluation afterward. Check to guide performance
management.
The process is divided into four stages:
Planning: The planning phase revolves around setting performance
expectations for the employee. These are often planned and are also
included in the job descriptions. It is best practice to actively involve the
employee in this planning process.
Monitoring: In the monitoring phase, the goals set in the planning phase
are actively tracked. Monitoring involves the continuous measuring of
performance and providing feedback on progress towards the goals.
Developing: Development plays a key role in improving performance. As
a result of active monitoring, areas of improvement can be identified. This
can be under-performance that should be corrected or areas of superior
performance in which the employee wants to excel even further. This can
be achieved in the form of training and development but also through
challenging assignments and other opportunities for personal and
professional growth.
Rating & Rewarding: Rating performance is an inevitability to determine
the added value of employees to the organization. This is usually done
during the employee’s annual performance appraisal. In case of superior
performance, the employee should be recognized for their performance.
This can be through giving them praise, a raise, time off, recognition
items, a promotion, or all of the above.
Meaning & Definition Performance Planning
Performance planning is a sub-area of performance management and is
concerned with providing a clear, structured process towards attaining a
specified level of performance. As the first stage of performance
management, performance planning involves the setting of goals and
targets that will ultimately be used to judge if an organisation has
improved its performance over a period of time.
Meaning & Definition Probationary Arrangement
Probationary arrangement refers to an agreement between employers and
usually new employees in which the employees agree to work for a set
amount of time on a trial or probationary period. Initial probationary
periods are between three and six months or a year. Once the probationary
period is over, if both parties are happy with the employment
arrangements, the employee is typically removed from probation.
Probationary arrangements give both the employer and employees a
chance to terminate the arrangement more easily should the employment
not work out as expected. Employer's use the probationary period in order
to evaluate the employee’s performance and abilities and also whether
he/she fits into the organizational culture. Employees use this period to see
if they feel comfortable working for the employer.
It's also a great option to employers can use for employees if their
performance has been unsatisfactory or if they have been guilty of
misconduct. This way employees get a chance of improvement and
employers avoid the process of terminating workers.
Meaning & Definition Probationary Periods
Probationary periods are defined periods of time wherein employees are
exempt from certain contractual terms, most importantly the notice period
required for termination. The probationary period allows both employee
and employer to see if they are a ‘good fit’ and to make things easier if
they need to terminate the contract. The duration of a probation period
varies across businesses and industries. However, generally they last
somewhere between 3 months to a year.
A probation period allows the employee to assess whether an employee is
right for the job. Employers can take their time to evaluate if the new
employee is showing that same potential that you identified in them during
the application process and/or at the time of the interview. If it turns out
that the employee fails to meet expectations, they are deemed unsuitable
for the role. And this trial period would then allow the employer to
terminate their employment.
In the same way that the organization is testing out the employee, the
individual can use this time to work out if the company is a good match for
them. They can evaluate if the job is as it was described in the job
description and can assess if they fit in with the company culture. They can
also gauge the workload and responsibilities and determine if they get on
with their co-workers and line manager.
Meaning & Definition Psychometric Test
Psychometric test is a scientific method which organizations employ to
analyze the behavior aspect of people. They gauge if a particular person is
suited for a job opening based on two core principles,i.e., personality and
ability. They are created to map an individual’s skills, personality traits,
and attitude required to perform successfully on-the-job. The tests analyze
the role fitment of a job prospect. Psychometric profiling assessments
measure specific behavioral traits that often get missed out during personal
interviews. Thus, psychometric tests provide a more holistic view of a
prospect’s personality. Psychometric evaluation is used in recruitment and
learning and development (L&D) to improve the quality of hires and make
development programs useful and engaging. They assist employers in
making the right people decisions.
-Q-
Meaning & Definition Quality Management
A system to make sure that a product or service meets standards of
excellence, and that the process by which the product or service is created
is efficient and effective as well. The three key components of this system
are quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement.
Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of
all factors involved in production.
Quality assurance (QA) is a way of preventing mistakes and defects in
manufactured products and avoiding problems when delivering products
or services to customers.
Quality improvement (QI) consists of systematic and continuous actions
that lead to measurable improvement in services and the quality of targeted
product and services

Q
Meaning & Definition Queen Bee Syndrome
Queen Bee Syndrome is defined as a situation where high ranking women
in positions of authority treat the women who work below them more
critically than their male counterparts. The researchers argued, largely
because the patriarchal culture of work encouraged the few women who
rose to the top to become obsessed with maintaining their authority.

-R-
Meaning & Definition
What is Recruitment?
Recruitment is the process of finding and hiring the best-qualified
candidate for a job opening in an organization.
The recruitment process includes:
i. Analyzing the requirements of a job
ii. Attracting applicants to that job.
iii. Screening and selecting applicants.
iv. Hiring and integrating the new employee into the organization.
Meaning & Definition Recrutiment Software
It is software tools used by recruiters, talent acquisition professionals, and
hiring managers to streamline or automate some part of the recruitment
workflow including functions such as sourcing, selecting, screening, and
interviewing candidates.

Meaning & Definition Redundancy

Redundancy refers to a process of terminating employees from their
employment due to different business reasons. Most often the reasons are
related to poor economic conditions: the job category becoming
unnecessary or severely diminished, lack of projects or funds, relocation of
business, discontinuance of business in general.
Redundancies can be forced or voluntary. If voluntary employees take the
option when offered to them. If forced then the company has to select who
is to be made redundant most often through the technique known as Last
in, first out.
Redundancies are generally preceded by consultations in which the
employers, employees and stakeholders collaborate on finding a way for a
business to save the role from redundancy through new opportunities or
restructuring.
The redundant employees can claim for a compensation for the dismissal
of their employment under strict time limits.
Meaning & Definition Relieving Letter
Relieving Letter is a formal letter that is issued to an employee at the time
of leaving an organization. It is a formal way of communicating to the
employee that the resignation has been accepted. A relieving letter is
required at the time of joining a new company. It should clearly mention
the on board time and that the employee has no dues with the organization.

Meaning & Definition Remuneration

Remuneration is the money and other types of compensation an employee
or executive of a company receives for their work. It typically includes
base salary or wages, bonuses, and commissions and sometimes excludes
tips and reimbursement for expenses. Remuneration consists of the
monetary and non-financial forms of compensation provided by an
employer. In addition to the regular pay-in hourly wages or annual salary it
consists of commissions, bonuses (including those paid in stock), and
overtime, holiday, vacation, and sick pay.
Meaning & Definition Request for proposal (RFP)
A Request for Proposal, or RFP, is a document that companies use to
gather information about services from a potential supplier or vendor.
These documents are more complicated than RFQs since they ask for more
than just a price.

The RFP will provide detail information about the goals and nature of the
project that the company needs completed. In addition, it will detail the
number of pages and illustrations that the proposal should contain, what
laws the project is subject to, and what qualifications the contractors
should have. The company may request the proposal to contain other
information as well, depending on the project.
Meaning & Definition Restricted Holidays
Restricted holiday means a holiday that is optional, and it is the discretion
of the employee whether they want to take leave on that particular day or
not. Restricted holiday is also called an ‘Optional Holiday’ and it is not
mandatory to close the entire office on that day. In general, a company’s
list of restricted holidays may contain many days but the employee is only
allowed to select his optional holidays (with a maximum limit attached)
from the list and these holidays are only for employees, but not for
companies or government offices. For example, Sri Ram Navami is only
celebrated among Hindus, whereas Eid is celebrated among Muslims, so
it’s up to the employees to take leave on restricted holiday.
Meaning & Definition Retention Strategy
Retention strategies are policies and plans that organisations follow to
reduce employee turnover and attrition and ensure employees are engaged
and productive in long-term. The key challenge for businesses is ensuring
that the retention strategy aligns with business goals to ensure maximum
return on investment.
Meaning & Definition Reverse Mentoring
Reverse mentoring is an initiative in the workplace where older employees
are mentored by younger employees. For example, younger employees
with a deep understanding of social media may mentor older employees on
the use of such technologies. Companies like Caterpillar, Schneider
Electric follows reverse mentoring activity and expose their senior
employees not only to technologies but also generational, geographic,
gender-unique perspectives that can help them better navigate our ever-
evolving workplace.
Meaning & Definition Rewards And Recognition
Rewards and Recognition is a system where people are acknowledged for
their performance in intrinsic or extrinsic ways. Recognition & Reward is
present in a work environment where there is appropriate
acknowledgement and appreciation of employees’ efforts in a fair and
timely manner. This includes appropriate and regular financial
compensation, as well as employee or team celebrations, recognition of
years served, and/or milestones reached.
Meaning & Definition Right To Manage
A ‘right to manage’ is a discretion of managers or leaders to govern a
company in the way they see fit without influence from external parties. In
most situations managers will be influenced by external stakeholders, such
as shareholders, L2 managers or pressure groups and are encouraged to
align their operating styles in accordance with the company culture.
Meaning & Definition Risk Management
Risk management is a process whereby organisations identify and analyse
potential business risk and put in place policies to reduce or mitigate their
exposure to these hazards. Prioritizing is an important part of risk
management as companies will inevitably be unable to tackle all potential
risks at the same time.
Meaning & Definition Roster Management
Roster management refers to schedule management. Schedule is also
known as rota or roster. Managing a roster typically includes a list of
employees and information related to them like their location, timing, and
responsibilities for the time period (which can be a sports season, month,
or a week) mentioned in the roster.
Roster management is usually done in organisations where there are
morning, afternoon and evening shifts. It is done to ensure that each shift
has adequate number of employees so that the productivity doesn’t get
hampered.
An ideal roster design should aid in spotting issues due to which certain
problems occur in shift management.
Meaning & Definition Rotational Training
Rotational training refers to a training and development type of strategy
where employees are rotated between departments, jobs and company
functions in order to enhance employee's experience, skills and
knowledge.
Rotational training aims to diversify an individual’s understanding,
knowledge and skills by rotating them between departments, units or
divisions. Rotational training can help break down internal silos by
connecting individuals from different teams and establishing relationships
that may yield opportunities in the future.
-S-
Meaning & Definition Sabbatical leave
Sabbaticals are prolonged absences from the workplace of people to
achieve their life goals. This is a benefit provided by the organisations to
its employees. Sabbaticals may or may not be paid. The trend of
sabbaticals started from universities, where paid time off is granted for
faculty members to carry out research, writing, etc.
Companies started having this policy so that employees can rejuvenate and
do the following:
1. Pursue higher studies & acquire new skills.
2. Author books & pursue personal life goals.
3. Quality time to improve their work life balance.
S
Meaning & Definition Sensitivity training
refers to one of the organizational development techniques which through
counseling methods works on increasing employee well-being, self-
awareness of an individual's own prejudices and sensitivity to others.
Members of different gender, culture and abilities are brought together in a
free and open environment, in which participants discuss different issues
in an interactive way.

Meaning & Definition Situational Leadership

A management theory stating that effective leadership varies, but is task-
relevant, and the most successful leaders are those that adapt their
leadership style to the maturity of their audience.
Meaning & Definition Skill Gap
Skills gap refers to the difference between the skills required for a job and
the skills employee actually possesses. Because of skills gap employee
might not be able to perform the complete job.

Meaning & Definition Social Collaboration

Social collaboration is the joined-up efforts of multiple stakeholders in
pursuit of a common goal. Social collaborations can be split into results
and time-orientated variations, where there’s a concrete end goal that must
be achieved in a specific time period, and on-going, long-term
communities where social collaboration is the driving force behind the
community’s purpose e.g. forums.

Meaning & Definition Social HR

The use of online social media platforms to fulfill HR functions, most
notably recruitment, but also including employee engagement and internal
discussions. While social HR traditionally centered on common social
media platforms, such as Twitter, software vendors are increasingly
building social tools into cloud-based suites that allow organisations to use
social tools internally.
Meaning & Definition Social Networking
The building of online communities of people who have common interests.
LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace facilitate these interconnected systems.
HR departments have begun to incorporate social networking into the
recruiting process as a means to attract and evaluate candidates.
Meaning & Definition Social Recruitment
Social recruitment is concerned with sourcing candidates for jobs via
social media channels and social media networks. Social recruitment takes
two different paths. The first is increasing reach by spreading jobs and
relying on the power of peoples’ social networks to spread the jobs far and
wide. The second is actively searching for potential candidates via
publicly-available information on social networks.
Meaning & Definition Software As A Service (SaaS)
Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a
third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to
customers over the Internet. SaaS is one of three main categories of cloud
computing, alongside infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a
service (PaaS). SaaS is closely related to the application service provider
(ASP) and on demand computing software delivery models.
Meaning & Definition Staffing
Staffing refers to the continuous process of finding, selecting evaluating
and developing a working relationship with current or future employees.
The main goal of staffing is to fill the various roles within the company
with suitable candidates. Staffing can be done within the company or by
contractors at various levels of the staffing process.

Meaning & Definition Strategic HRM

Strategic human resource management is a proactive process of managing
employees in an organization, that includes standard human resource
components such as attracting, developing, rewarding, and retaining
employees and brings them one step further by taking in consideration the
goals and needs of other departments within the organization, and the
organization itself.
It's important to analyse organization-wide goals and needs, including all
departments, and create a strategy for managing employees that is aligned
with the overall vision, mission and values of the particular organization.
The end-goal of the strategic human resource management is ensuring an
improved business performance and organization's success. One of the key
drivers of this is retaining employees who bring value to the table.
Meaning & Definition Strategic Planning
A coherent planning strategy whereby businesses define their values,
objectives and needs and then allocate resources and organised processes
to help the business achieve these values and objectives. Strategic planning
is a major part of formulating three-year, five-year and 10-year plans. A
variety of techniques exist to help businesses plan strategically, including
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) in their Succession
Planning definition.
Meaning & Definition Succession Planning
Succession planning is a strategy for passing on leadership roles - often the
ownership of a company - to an employee or group of employees. Also
known as "replacement planning," it ensures that businesses continue to
run smoothly after a company's most important people move on to new
opportunities, retire, or pass away.
Succession planning evaluates each leader’s skills, identifying potential
replacements both within and outside the company and, in the case of
internal replacements, training those employees so that they’re prepared to
take over. Succession planning is not a one-time event; succession plans
should be reevaluated and potentially updated each year or as changes in
the company dictate.
In addition, businesses might want to create both an emergency succession
plan, in the event a key leader needs to be replaced unexpectedly, and a
long-term succession plan, for anticipated changes in leadership.
Meaning & Definition Summary Dismissal
Summary dismissal is the immediate termination of an employment
contract due to an employee’s behaviour. Employers tend to categorize
negative behaviour into misconduct and gross misconduct – gross
misconduct typically forms the basis for summary dismissal, and can
include things like turning up to work under the influence of drugs,
violence against a colleague or client, hijacking client relationships or
stealing sensitive corporate materials.

Meaning & Definition Suspension

Suspension is when an employee is sent home from work, usually while
receiving full pay. Employers are entitled to suspend an employee pending
an investigation of gross misconduct or other serious disciplinary matter.
The right to suspend will usually be set out in employees' contract of
employment or the staff handbook (if any). Whilst a suspension is not a
disciplinary action by itself, it often leads to disciplinary proceedings.
Meaning & Definition System Changeover
System changeover is concerned with the smooth shift from one way of
doing things to another and the mitigation of disruption to business
activities during the changeover. There are three main methods used:
phased implementation, direct changeover and parallel running.
Phased implementation: A staged method whereby one part of the
overall system that needs changing is changed. If any problems arise, they
are limited in scope and therefore non-critical. Once the system has been
successfully changed in one area, the other areas can follow suit, with any
lessons learned during the initial changeover used to ensure the success of
the changeover as a whole.
Parallel running: Both the old and the new systems run side-by-side,
using live data, so that project managers can compare the efficiency and
reliability of the new system. Once they’re satisfied, the old system is
taken offline and the new system becomes fully active and utilised across
the organisation.
Direct changeover: There’s a single, fixed point where one system stops
being used and the new one becomes live. This is the cheapest, quickest
and easiest form of system changeover but is also the riskiest – if the
system is broken or inefficient, the whole organisation suffers.
Meaning & Definition Systematic Discrimination
Systematic discrimination, also called institutionalized discrimination,
refers to a method of discrimination which occurs regularly in the
workplace as an inherent part of the company through interactions and
processes creating a disadvantage for people with common set
characteristics such as race, gender and disability over a long period of
time. Systematic discrimination is not apparent at first sight but is actually
systematic in its application of policies and practices.

-T-
What is Talent Acquisition?
Talent Acquisition refers to the process of identifying and acquiring skilled
workers to meet your organizational needs. The talent acquisition team is
responsible for identifying, acquiring, assessing, and hiring candidates to
fill open positions within a company. Employer branding, future resource
planning, diversifying a company’s labor force, and developing a robust
candidate pipeline are the cornerstones of talent acquisition.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
What is Talent Acquisition?
What is the difference between Recruiting and Talent Acquisition?
What is included in Talent Acquisition?
What are the steps of talent acquisition process?
What are talent acquisition tools?
What are the objectives of talent acquisition?
1. What is Talent Acquisition?
Talent acquisition is the act of finding new talent, assessing its validity,
and acquiring it. Talent acquisition teams scout for the most skilled people
for job roles and try to bring them into the org by prepping and
conditioning them. Apart from that a talent acquisition team also works on
employer branding to attract the right kind of talent and skill to the
organization.
2. What is the difference between Recruiting and Talent
Acquisition?
Recruitment includes processes like screening for talent profiles,
conducting interviews, and, finally, onboarding. Talent acquisition casts a
wider net (quite literally). This team is responsible for:
o Attracting new talent.
o Creating a solid employer profile.
o Creating sources for better recruitment.
o And, of course, hiring talent.
 3. What is included in Talent Acquisition?
A talent acquisition team is responsible for:
o Running an effective employer branding.
o Planning resources for the new joinees.
o Diversifying the talents of the company.
o Developing a candidate pipeline that helps onboard clients
with the utmost ease.
4. What are the steps of talent acquisition process?
Here are the various steps involved in the usual talent acquisition process:
1. Generating leads for hiring.
2. Attracting the best talent.
3. Selecting and building a solid profile for hiring platforms.
4. Evaluating talent and validifying profiles.
5. Zeroing in on the best candidate.
6. Onboarding skillful employees.
5. What are talent acquisition tools?
Talent acquisition tools or talent acquisition hiring tools can help the talent
acquisition team keep a record of all talents that people are engaging with,
a medium to reach out to them, a platform to build and process forms, and
one that can help you easily onboard the new employee with ease.
6. What are the objectives of talent acquisition?
There are many objectives of effective talent acquisition:
o To attract the best kind of talent.
o To build a brand image that people want to work with.
o To make sure that the employees go through a fulfilling
experience in the recruitment and onboarding stage.
Meaning & Definition of Talent management
Talent management is the systematic process of identifying the vacant
position, hiring the suitable person, developing the skills and expertise of
the person to match the position and retaining him to achieve long-term
business objectives.

Talent management naturally encompasses many of the responsibilities of

HR. All the same, it is not enough to expect that just because you have an
HR department, you are managing talent. You need to have a talent
management strategy in place designed just for your company to gain
optimal results.

Meaning & Definition Talent Management Software

Talent management software refers to an integrated tool that focuses on
different components of managing human resource management. It
includes features designed to help all employees reach their full potential,
and to keep company leadership well-informed of their performance.
Going far beyond traditional, annual reviews, effective talent management
software provides solutions that support employee talent’s, day-to-day
work, as well as overall career development.
Meaning & Definition Tangible Rewards
Tangible rewards refer to material rewards which can be financial in the
form of cash or in a form of gifts which can be converted into cash. In a
business, company or corporation this is typically a salary, bonus, fringe
benefits, pay raise, gym or club membership. Between a company and
their customers, such rewards may be a cash back incentive on their
purchase.
In other words, Tangible Rewards are real, physical incentives or perks
offered to individuals or employees as a way of acknowledging their
accomplishments, hard work, or contributions. These rewards can
encompass things like monetary bonuses, gift certificates, merchandise, or
other physical items with a calculable value to provide recipients with
something concrete that they can utilize or enjoy.
Meaning & Definition Tax
Tax are involuntary fees levied on individuals or corporations and enforced
by a government entity - whether local, regional or national - in order to
finance government activities. In economics, taxes fall on whoever pays
the burden of the tax, whether this is the entity being taxed, such as a
business, or the end consumers of the business's goods.
Meaning & Definition Taxable Income
Taxable income is the amount of income used to calculate how much tax
an individual or a company owes to the government in a given tax year. It
is generally described as adjusted gross income (which is your total
income, known as “gross income,” minus any deductions or exemptions
allowed in that tax year). Taxable income includes wages, salaries,
bonuses, and tips, as well as investment income and unearned income.
Meaning & Definition Team Building
Team building refers to the various activities undertaken to motivate the
team members and increase the overall performance of the team. You just
can’t expect your team to perform on their own. A motivating factor is a
must. Team Building activities consist of various tasks undertaken to
groom a team member, motivate him and make him perform his best.
We all are human beings and love appreciation. Any individual performing
exceptionally well must be appreciated well in public. He feels happy and
motivated to perform even better the next time. If any team member has
come out with a unique idea; treat him with any thing that makes him
happy. Never criticize any team member or demotivate him if he has failed
to perform. Ask him to “Buck up”.
Meaning & Definition Total Compensation
The term total compensation is used to describe all forms of monetary
payments to an employee. For existing employees, this can include both
base pay as well as incentives. For newly-hired employees, the total
compensation in the year hired may also include a sign-on bonus.
Total Compensation = Base Salary + Incentive Compensation
Total compensation can also be used to describe the total value an
organization offers employees. For example, this might include job perks
that have a monetary value, as well as the benefits provided by the
employer. Vacation time, holiday pay, health insurance, dental plans, life
insurance, and tuition reimbursement plans are all benefits that can be
considered part of an employee's total compensation package.
Meaning & Definition Total Quality Management
Total quality management is a management approach founded on a set of
beliefs that aim at continuous improvement of product and process
integrity. TQM is underlined by the belief that quality is the responsibility
of all parties involved in the production process, and so ensuring
consistency and quality requires input and buy-in from everyone. Practices
and systems include cross-functional product design, process management,
supplier quality management, customer involvement, information and
feedback, committed leadership, strategic planning, cross-functional
training, and employee involvement.
Meaning & Definition Total Remuneration
Total remuneration is the sum of an employee’s compensation package,
including basic pay (their salary, not including any financial and non-
financial benefits) and all benefits. Non-financial benefits, such as gym
memberships and access to counselling services, increasingly make up part
of the overall package as employers try to set themselves apart from
competitors and appeal to candidates.
Meaning & Definition Training & Development
Training and development encompass organizational processes designed to
improve employees' knowledge, skills, and capabilities. While training
concentrates on enhancing specific job-related competencies, development
takes a more expansive, long-term approach to foster employees' overall
growth and potential. These initiatives involve workshops, courses, on-the-
job learning, mentoring, and various methods. The objective is to provide
employees with the necessary tools to excel in their current roles and
prepare for the future.
Meaning & Definition Training Needs Analysis
Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is the process in which the company
identifies training and development needs of its employees so that they can
do their job effectively. It involves a complete analysis of training needs
required at various levels of the organisation.
Meaning & Definition Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is a leadership style that can inspire positive
changes in those who follow. Transformational leaders are generally
energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate. Not only are these leaders
concerned and involved in the process; they are also focused on helping
every member of the group succeed as well.

Meaning & Definition Turnover

Turnover, commonly known as revenue, is the amount of money made by
a company in a particular time period through its standard business
activities. Money taken in from other, non-core activities (e.g. land rental)
is often recorded as non-operating revenue. In non-profit organizations and
charities, turnover is often called gross receipts.
Turnover differs from profit, which is turnover minus expenditure.
Most businesses – large and small – will get asked what their turnover is
by several people, from investors to insurers. For instance, if you start
building a business insurance quote with Superscript, they will ask you
what your annual turnover is so that they can work out the right level of
cover for you.
-U-
Meaning & Definition Unconscious Bias
Unconscious Bias influences our background, experiences and
environmental conditions can all play a part in shaping our choices,
whether we realise it or not. For the most part, this is not a major issue.
But we display unconscious bias when we favor or discriminate against
people because of these influences without even realising it.
In fact, unconscious bias can have a big impact on people-related decisions
at work, especially when it comes to recruitment, promotion, performance
management and idea generation. When bias is prevalent, your
organisation will struggle to hire diverse teams, and efforts to improve
workplace inclusion will be of limited success.
As well as the ethical imperative for recognising and mitigating
unconscious bias, there are commercial considerations, too. Research has
shown that a diverse workforce, at all levels of an organisation, is more
effective, with one study finding that businesses with a more ethnically
and culturally diverse board of directors are 43% more likely to make
above-average profits.
-V-
Meaning & Definition Variable Pay
Variable pay is the portion of sales compensation determined by employee
performance. When employees hit their goals, variable pay is provided as
a type of bonus, incentive pay, or commission. Base salary, on the other
hand, is fixed and paid out regardless of employees meeting their goals.
Together, variable pay and the base salary make up what is known as pay
mix.

According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, employers

typically pay employees variable pay for success related to personal, team,
or company performance. Successful organizations establish a clear
business plan and key performance indicators that reflect the metrics that
matter most to the company. Variable compensation can be communicated
in advance as an incentive, or presented as a reinforcement or bonus after
the fact. Most employers compensate employees with variable pay in the
form of cash, stock, or paid time off from work.
Meaning & Definition Virtual HR
Virtual HR refers to the process of providing a range of options through
the use of various types of technology to employees in order to connect
them with HR services. It is managed through self-service platforms where
employees can put data directly into them and skip the process of going to
a third party for that action. Virtual HR is practiced due to its cost
reduction impact, to gain competitive advantage and to share risks with an
outsourced organization. Virtual HR functions include virtual recruiting,
training and on-boarding.
Meaning & Definition Voluntary Benefits
Voluntary benefits are employee benefits paid for by the employee rather
than the employer, although the employer will pay for the administration
of the scheme. The money is often deducted from the employee’s salary
for the sake of simplicity, although it isn’t always. Voluntary benefits are
often provided by a third-party benefits provider. Voluntary benefits allow
employers to provide a greater package of options to employees but
without the cost associated with providing paid-for benefits.

Meaning & Definition Wage Drift

Wage drift refers to a difference between the salary negotiated by a
company and the one that is actually paid to an employee by the end of the
work period, be it monthly or weekly. Wage drift usually occurs when a
company has the un-predicted demand and needs its workers to put in
extra work hours. The workers, naturally, receive overtime compensation
for this and accumulate a difference over their based negotiated salary over
a period of time. This phenomenon mostly occurs in areas or industries
where demand is highly unpredictable on a short-term basis, like tourism
or high-growth economies.
In other words, wage drift is a term used to describe a situation where an
employee's actual wage or salary exceeds the agreed-upon or contractual
wage. It often occurs when employees receive pay increases that are not
formally documented or when they earn extra income through bonuses,
overtime, or other forms of compensation.
Meaning & Definition Wellness Programs
A wellness program is a comprehensive health initiative designed to
maintain or improve well-being through proper diet, exercise, stress
management, and illness prevention. Wellness programs can include
smoking cessation, weight loss education, fitness challenges, therapy, and
many other plans designed to increase the overall health of an individual.
In the past, wellness programs were offered by primary care physicians
and insurance companies. However, there has been a growing trend for
companies to develop workplace wellness programs for their employees.
Workplace wellness programs not only fight the upward trend of unhealthy
employees, but also decrease medical care costs and insurance premiums.
Employers can provide information in a variety of formats, such as
wellness videos, pamphlets, health-related quizzes, and bulletin boards.
According to The American Institute for Preventative Medicine, 91% of
today’s organizations have a health and wellness program, compared to
78% a decade ago. Workplace wellness program may also include
incentives to encourage employee participation.
Meaning & Definition (Work-Life Balance)
Work-life balance refers to the level of prioritisation between personal and
professional activities in an individual’s life and the level to which
activities related to their job are present in the home.
Work-life balance is a topical issue due to the increased amount of
technology that removes the importance of physical location in defining
the work-life balance. Previously it was difficult or impossible to take
work from home and so there was a clear line between professional and
personal.
Stress is a common feature of a poor work-life balance. In the information
economy mental stress has been identified as a significant economic and
health problem, causing by a perceived need of employees to do more in
less time.
A key issue in the work-life balance debate is where responsibility lies for
ensuring employees have a good work-life balance. The general feeling is
that employers have a responsibility to the health of their employees; apart
from the moral responsibility, stressed-out employees are less productive
and more likely to make errors.
In other words, The idea of work-life balance is to attain overall well-
being by recognizing and balancing the demands of one's personal and
professional lives. In order to avoid excessive stress or burnout, it entails
devoting time and attention to several facets of life, including work,
family, health, social activities, and personal hobbies. Establishing
boundaries, efficiently allocating time, and achieving a balanced work-life
balance are crucial in promoting a happier, healthier way of living.
Meaning & Definition (Workforce Management)
Workforce Management (WFM) is a set of processes that are used by a
company to maximise the productivity of the employees. It involves
forecasting, creating and managing labor requirements. WFM is done with
a motive to achieve a particular task on a daily or hourly basis.
It results in better performance of the employees and thus the organisation.
The process typically involves recruiting, budgeting, forecasting, data
collection, field service management, performance and training, analytics
and scheduling management.
Meaning & Definition Workforce Planning
Workforce planning refers to a continuous process of analyzing the needs
of the organization in terms of what an organization is going to need
regarding the size, type, experience and knowledge of its workforce to
achieve set objectives and goals set with strategic planning. It is used to
plan in advance when a company will need to hire new people and the
order in which roles will be filled.
Meaning & Definition Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying refers to repeated, unreasonable actions of individuals
(or a group) directed towards an employee (or a group of employees),
which is intended to intimidate and creates a risk to the health and safety
of the employees. Workplace bullying often involves an abuse or misuse of
power. Bullying includes behavior that intimidates, degrades, offends, or
humiliates a worker, often in front of others. Bullying behavior creates
feelings of defenselessness in the target and undermines an individual’s
right to dignity at work.
Bullying at work can take many different forms – consistently
unreasonable expectations from managers, destabilization, undermining
integrity and confidence, false accusations, sabotage and shunning are just
a few.
Wrongful Termination (Meaning & Definition)
Wrongful Termination also known as wrongful dismissal or wrongful
discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment
has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one
or more terms of the contract of employment, or a statute provision or rule
in employment law. Laws governing wrongful dismissal vary according to
the terms of the employment contract, as well as under the laws and public
policies of the jurisdiction.