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30-60-90-day plan: A document that details clear goals and milestones for the first 90 days of employment, broken down into 30-day increments marked by days 30, 60 and 90. A 30-60-90-day plan helps the new employee better understand their role and early expectations, and it can help the organization develop a training program for the new hire.

360 performance review: A performance measurement method where employees receive evaluations from their coworkers in addition to a self-evaluation. A 360 performance review gives an employee feedback from their management and peers as well as others they regularly communicate with, such as clients.

401(k): A tax-advantaged, company-sponsored retirement plan that helps employees maximize their retirement savings. A 401(k) allows employees to designate a pre-tax portion of each paycheck to the fund, and employers have the option of adding a contribution as well.

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A

Absenteeism: When an employee frequently misses work on a regular basis without explanation or advance notice. Absenteeism can negatively impact your company’s productivity and efficiency, but there are a few ways to reduce it, including by implementing clear attendance policies, paid sick days and flexible schedules.

Accrued time off: Paid time off (PTO) that an employee has earned but not used yet. Depending on company policies, employees can accrue time off on an hourly, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly time period.

Affinity group: Sometimes called an employee resource group or ERG, this is a group of individuals who share a common identity characteristic, which can range from gender or sexual orientation to family structure or nationality. Creating an affinity group within your company can help establish safe, inclusive spaces and provide networking opportunities for employees.

Ageism: A specific form of discrimination that’s based on age. Examples of ageism in the workplace may include denying applicants because they’re close to retirement and giving an older employee’s responsibilities to a younger worker. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits discrimination against people aged 40 or older.

Antiwork: A belief that there is more to life than devoting oneself to a 40-hour work week. The antiwork movement protests stagnant wages and poor working conditions, gaining mainstream awareness and popularity in 2011 during the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Asynchronous interview: A type of video interview where job candidates pre-record their responses to interview questions using video software. Rather than speaking with a recruiter in real time, job applicants complete asynchronous interviews as part of the screening process and employers can review their answers later.

At-will employment: A contractual relationship between an employer and employee that allows either party to terminate the working agreement for any reason not considered illegal. At-will employment can provide flexibility for both you and your employees and may reduce the risk of litigation.

ATS (Applicant Tracking Software): A type of software application that helps hiring managers and human resources departments streamline the recruitment and hiring process. Applicant tracking software (ATS) posts jobs on multiple job boards, collects applications and resumes and sorts them to find the most suitable candidates for each open position, often through keyword searches.

Attrition: The gradual and deliberate reduction of an organization’s employee pool where employees leave the company, such as through retirement or resignation, faster than they are replaced. Attrition is measured by the rate at which employees leave the company divided by the average number of employees at a company over a given time.

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B

Back pay: The amount of money owed to an employee after they have received their paycheck. An employee may be eligible for back pay if they receive a pay raise and the payroll department does not process that increase until after payroll has been run. Back pay may also be owed for incorrectly recorded overtime hours.

Backfill: When a company hires a short-term replacement if an employee is sick, goes on a long vacation or otherwise vacates a role. Sometimes an employer may backfill a role when an employee quits or is terminated, and the new employee may go on to fill that position permanently.

Background check: A screening process an employer uses to verify an applicant’s identity and check their education, work and legal history to determine whether they provided truthful answers on their employment application. Some employers may also include a credit check as part of the background check, especially if the job involves handling money.

Ban the Box: Laws that prohibit employers from asking applicants to disclose any convictions they have during the initial interview process. In some areas, ban the box laws are more extensive and require employers to wait to perform a background check until after they have extended a provisional job offer, helping prevent convictions from influencing the hiring process.

Base salary: The basic amount that an employee earns before any deductions are taken off. This amount does not include any commissions, bonuses, benefits or other additional payments an employee might receive. The base salary is the minimum an employee will earn for doing the job in question, and this figure is listed in the employment contract.

Behavioral interview questions: A type of job interview question that helps employers gauge how applicants will react in certain workplace situations. Behavioral interview questions allow applicants to discuss examples of managing conflict, overcoming obstacles, handling mistakes and responding to failure, providing you with insight into their abilities to perform the job and add to your workplace culture.

Benchmarking: A process used to compare certain aspects of your business to those of your competitors. Benchmarking can help you get an accurate overview of how your company compares to competitors and provide insight into how you can improve your company’s standing in specific areas.

Benefits broker: A type of licensed insurance broker who specializes in creating benefits packages for businesses customized to their specific non-salary compensation needs. A benefits broker advises business owners on various employee benefits, from medical and dental coverage to short-term and long-term disability insurance, and saves them money by comparing costs from different insurance companies.

Biweekly pay: This HR term refers to a type of employee payroll schedule where companies send out paychecks every two weeks on the same day of the week for a total of 26 paychecks per year. Many employers choose every other Friday as their regular payday in a biweekly pay schedule, but may pay a day early if a regular payday falls on a holiday.

Masked hiring: A hiring strategy used to remove potential biases by hiding any information that could identify a candidate based on race, religion, age or gender. Blind hiring could help your company be purposefully more inclusive while also streamlining the hiring process so you can identify quality candidates more quickly.

Bonus: A tool used to motivate employees by recognizing their hard work and achievements. Bonuses, whether monetary or of other value, are a way to reward employees while simultaneously increasing productivity and boosting team morale.

Bonus depreciation: A tax incentive that offers companies deductions they wouldn’t otherwise qualify for or receive. Using bonus depreciation may help your business save money, maximize investments and create more job opportunities, thus improving the local economy.

Boolean search: A tool that can significantly improve recruiting efficiency for open roles by making it easier to search for candidates with specific experience or skill sets. Boolean search uses keywords and three main operators (AND, OR and NOT) to combine or exclude specific terms in a search query, enabling recruiters to pull specific resumes from Google or databases like Indeed Smart Sourcing.

Boomerang employee: An employee who returns to a company they left. Boomerang employees may have left voluntarily, or they could be employees who were laid off, terminated or affected by seasonal employment.

Boreout: A feeling of boredom or dissatisfaction with work due to being underworked or lacking meaning in work. Boreout can happen when employees don’t have any challenging work, have a low workload, have skills that aren’t being used, feel stagnant in their job or feel a lack of purpose in their work.

Branding: Creating an identity for a business that inspires certain ideas and emotions, differentiating the company from competitors and building recognition and loyalty. Branding shapes how audiences think about and relate to a business through its visual design, communication style, customer experience, culture, values and mission.

Brick and mortar: The physical building of a traditional business, where the business owner and/or employees sell products or services to customers in person. The term brick-and-mortar store is often used to clarify the difference between a physical store and an online store.

Buddy punching: A type of employee theft where one employee clocks in for another employee who isn’t currently at work. Buddy punching is common if someone is running late for work or takes a long lunch break, but it can cost the company money by paying someone for time they didn’t work.

Burnout: Feelings of apathy and exhaustion caused by chronic stress in the workplace. Described by the World Health Organization as an occupational phenomenon, employee burnout often results in job dissatisfaction, a lack of engagement and reduced productivity.

Business as usual (BAU): An umbrella term used to describe that all the standard, day-to-day tasks and operations of a business are proceeding as normal and expected. Business as usual is a critical component of maintaining a workplace that operates smoothly and efficiently while keeping employees productive and satisfied with their positions.

Business description: A component of a business plan that provides an overview or short explanation of a company that’s primarily geared toward investors and lenders and immediately follows the executive summary. Business descriptions include details explaining how a company differs from its competitors, the products and/or services it provides and the value it offers to consumers and the industry.

Business promotion: A series of marketing practices (like business cards, flyers, word of mouth, and social media) used to enhance brand visibility and increase sales. Business promotion ensures your company name and products are regularly placed in front of your target audience, which is crucial in making sales.

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Call to action (CTA): A marketing strategy that prompts readers to do something immediately. Business owners may use any string of words or phrases to create a call to action (CTA) to get a desired response, such as buying a product, signing up for a service, applying for a job or performing any specific action that benefits the company.

Candidate experience: The way candidates feel about your company based on their interactions during each stage of the hiring process. Cultivating a positive candidate experience is crucial because it gives potential employees an idea on how they’ll be treated during their employment.

Chamber of Commerce: A local organization that helps gather community business leaders so they can connect, advance organizational goals and implement better local policies within their industry. Participating in a local chamber of commerce can provide networking or educational opportunities and help your company get a say in local regulations or key issues.

Clawback: A contractual provision that requires an employee to return money to the company that was previously paid for things like bonuses, often with a financial penalty. Clawback provisions usually go into effect if the employee abuses a bonus program or incentive-based pay structure and can protect the company from fraud, misconduct or poor performance.

Clerical work: Jobs that involve completing basic office tasks. Clerical work may include answering phones, taking messages, scheduling appointments, filing documents, making copies, keeping an inventory of office supplies and various other duties that help keep a business office running in an organized manner.

Clopening: A situation in which an employee works a closing shift and then works the next opening shift, often with only a few hours between the shifts. Hourly employees who work in service industries, such as restaurants, retail stores and gas stations, are more likely to experience clopening situations, which can be physically and mentally demanding due to lack of rest.

Close of business (COB): A term used to tell a relevant collaborator, employee or supplier that a task you’ve assigned them needs to be completed by the end of the day. Generally, close of business (COB) refers to the end of the typical work day in Eastern Standard Time (EST) and the closing of financial markets in New York City, which is usually 5pm.

Code of conduct: A set of rules and regulations that tend to be more rule-based and specific than a code of ethics and serves as a definitive guide for how employees are expected to behave within the workplace. Having clear expectations for employees outlined in a code of conduct can reduce conflict, protect your company’s reputation and set clear benchmarks for measuring performance.

Code of ethics: A set of guidelines that tend to be based on principals and more general than a code of conduct and outlines a company’s expectations for how all employees will conduct themselves. Creating a code of ethics establishes standards for honesty, integrity and professionalism and ensures that employees act in a manner that benefits the organization and its collaborators.

Collective bargaining: A type of contract negotiation that happens between the employer and union employees. In collective bargaining, a small group of employees typically represents the demands of a larger group of employees regarding various employment-related topics, such as wages, pensions, healthcare and safe working conditions, and negotiates a suitable agreement with the company.

Common law employee: A type of employee where their employer has the right to control what work is done and how it’s achieved, according to the IRS. Generally, a common law employee is someone who is paid regularly according to an agreed-upon schedule and has their schedule set by their employer.

Commuter benefits: An employee benefit that businesses can offer to help pay for traveling to and from the workplace. Commuter benefits provide financial incentives to work for a company and reduce employees’ taxable income and the company’s payroll taxes when deducted from pretax income.

Comp time: Paid time-off given to employees who work more than 40 hours per week in lieu of overtime. Whether an organization can substitute comp time, or compensatory time, for overtime pay depends on state laws, the exemption status of the employee and the type of business.

Company culture: The set of attitudes, values, goals and priorities that define a company. Increasingly, people look to work for organizations that have a company culture that is in line with their own beliefs and preferences, making cultivating a positive one important for both recruitment and retention.

Compensation: What employees earn and receive in exchange for performing their assigned job duties. Compensation includes hourly wages or an annual salary plus any potential insurance benefits, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans, stock options, paid time off (PTO), commissions, bonuses and other perks and benefits.

Competitive pay: A salary comparable to what other companies offer employees within that relevant market that often includes compensation like perks or benefits. Competitive pay standards should be determined based on geographical area, industry, job title and company size.

Conflict of interest: Any situation where a person’s personal and professional obligations conflict, making it challenging (or impossible) to make unbiased decisions. Avoiding conflicts of interest and requiring full disclosure from employees or other individuals when one occurs are often central to a company’s written ethical standards.

Contingency plan: A detailed plan a company uses to reduce impacts from unexpected events. A contingency plan is a company’s emergency plan that can be used in the event of a pandemic, an economic downfall or an internal problem.

Contingent worker: Someone who works for a company on an as-needed or temporary basis without being hired as a regular employee. Contingent workers are often hired on a contract basis for a specific period or project, usually without benefits, and are typically responsible for paying taxes themselves.

Contracting independent workers: The practice of hiring workers on a contract basis for specified periods or projects without hiring them as regular employees, often to fill temporary employment needs or for specific skills. Independent workers perform work for the company but are self-employed and might work for multiple companies at once performing specific tasks as agreed upon in the contract.

Corporate social responsibility: The management practice of taking social and environmental concerns into account in business operations to make the community and world a better place. Corporate social responsibility can include things like implementing environmentally friendly practices to reduce emissions or waste, taking a stand on important social issues and being charitable to nonprofit organizations or local causes.

Cost of living adjustment (COLA): An increase in pay to offset the rising cost of goods or services due to inflation. Companies may also increase benefits as part of a cost of living adjustment to ensure employees earn enough to maintain the standard of living in their area.

Cross-training staff: A strategy of teaching employees the duties and skills for other positions within the company. Cross-training staff members expands the skills of all employees and can help improve teamwork, offer more growth opportunities and allow for coverage when an employee is unavailable.

Crowdfunding: A method of funding a business that involves acquiring small investments from numerous people, often by making posts on online crowdfunding platforms. Companies can use money acquired from crowdfunding to raise capital to launch a startup, develop a new product, recruit more employees, launch training programs and more.

Culture add: The practice of hiring a candidate that adds to or expands the diversity of the company culture instead of hiring based on culture fit, which often leads to a homogenous workforce. Employers can ask cultural interview questions to find employees that add to diversity through unique work experience, skills, backgrounds, personalities, life experiences and other factors.

Customer journey map: A visual representation of a customer’s complete experience and interactions with the company, from the time of discovery through a purchase, with key touch points included. Customer journey maps provide insight into the typical consumer’s mind to help the company make changes to what they offer, improve customer service and guide marketing strategies.

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D

DEI: An acronym that refers to the diversity, equity and inclusion programs an organization has in place to support its workforce, addressing areas such as recruitment, training and career advancement. DEI values the differences individuals bring to the workplace and aims to ensure each employee has equal access to opportunities and feels welcome and included.

Demoted: When an employee has their responsibilities, role or job title reduced due to poor performance or previous disciplinary actions. An employee may be demoted if they continually perform below expectations for their job title or struggle with following the company’s policy or operational procedures.

Department of Labor: As a federal entity, the Department of Labor (DOL) provides job training, supplies labor-related statistics and protects the rights of jobseekers, employees and retirees.

Disparate treatment: Intentional unfair and discriminatory treatment to certain employees based on personal characteristics. Disparate treatment can occur before hiring, such as biased interviews, or after hiring someone in the case of passing people over for promotions or paying certain people less for the same job.

DOE: An acronym meaning “depends on experience,” which is often used in job descriptions instead of listing specific salaries. Using DOE in a job description also shows your company is willing to negotiate a fair salary for the right candidate.

Double time pay: A pay rate that’s double or twice the normal hourly rate, often paid when an employee earns overtime or holiday pay. Non-exempt employees may be eligible for double-time pay under certain circumstances based on federal and state labor laws and company pay policies.

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E

Employee: An employee is a person hired by an individual or a company to perform services in exchange for payment.

Employee assistance program (EAP): A program that offers confidential assessments and short-term counseling to help support employees during personal challenges, usually free of charge. Employers may provide employee assistance programs as part of a larger benefits package to build a healthier workplace.

Employee benefit administration: The overall management of benefits offered to employees including developing, overseeing and updating all benefit programs. The HR team typically handles employee benefit administration to ensure employees receive an attractive benefits package and are able to enroll in and use the programs effectively.

Employee experience: The collective experiences and perceptions an employee has throughout their time with a company, from discovering and applying to the company to working for and potentially leaving the organization. Employee experience develops through all the interactions an employee has as well as the physical environment, company culture and leadership, and impacts things like employee satisfaction and productivity.

Employee handbook: A collection of the company’s policies and procedures to serve as a guide and reference for staff. An employee handbook covers all types of employment topics, including conduct, attendance, compensation, time off, safety and performance expectations and can change as the company updates its policies and expectations.

Employee ID: A code or number that employers assign to staff for internal purposes. By giving each employee a unique identifier, employee IDs help organizations keep accurate records across systems, manage security and access, protect privacy and avoid potential identity errors.

Employee poaching: The strategy of recruiting an employee who currently works at another company, often with the intention of attracting the person for their unique or expert skills in a particular area. Employee poaching can become more challenging if prospective candidates have non-compete clauses and work for direct competitors, but the practice can help organizations find the talent they need for vacancies.

Employee pulse survey: A short, targeted survey conducted multiple times throughout a year and used to gather employees’ opinions on specific issues. Employee pulse surveys help track changing opinions on a workplace issue and typically include no more than 10 questions on a focused topic such as company changes, communication, engagement, training or leadership.

Employee referral program: An incentive program designed to encourage current employees to recommend people they know for the company’s open positions. Employee referral programs are often used as part of the company’s overall recruiting plan to increase the number of qualified candidates applying for positions and can improve current employee satisfaction by offering incentives for successful referrals.

Employee Resource Group (ERG): A voluntary group led by employees based around a common identity or characteristic, such as race, nationality, religion, gender, caregiver status, sexual orientation or disabilities. Employee resource groups serve as a source of support, can increase feelings of belonging and empower employees to create change in the workplace.

Employee satisfaction survey: A method of gathering feedback and insight on the experiences and opinions of employees, often using a rating scale with an option for written feedback, to help gauge their satisfaction. Employee satisfaction surveys can be used to identify problems with worker satisfaction, improve the workplace, monitor how satisfaction changes and open lines of communication with employees.

Employee value proposition: The unique set of rewards, benefits and values a company offers its employees that makes working there special. A robust employee value proposition (EVP) can help your company acquire qualified candidates who are excited to work for you.

Employer: An employer is an individual or organization in any sector that hires people and pays them for their work.

Employer Net Promoter Score: A method of measuring employee satisfaction using a single question with a rating scale of 0 to 10. The Employer Net Promoter Score (eNPS) asks employees how likely they are to recommend the company to someone else, with the scores determining if they’re a satisfied and happy promoter, neutral or a detractor, which means they’re unhappy or dissatisfied.

Entry level job: An introductory job with a company that typically has minimal requirements for education and work experience. An entry-level job is often ideal for a recent graduate or someone who’s changing careers and wants entry into the field with the potential to advance to mid-level or leadership roles as they gain experience.

Environmental scanning: The practice of continuously analyzing the internal and external environmental factors of the organization to look for potential opportunities and threats. Environmental scanning looks at different areas that could affect the company’s success, including market forces, collaborators, technology, politics, economy, competition, trends and legal and regulatory issues.

ER taxes: The taxes an employer pays based on the wages and compensation the employees receive. Also called employer taxes, these tax obligations may include payments for Social Security, Medicare, federal unemployment, state unemployment and other taxes required locally.

ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan): A type of benefit giving employees partial ownership in the company through shares of stock. Under an employee stock ownership plan, employees can accrue stocks during their tenure at the company and can typically cash them out if they leave the company.

Exempt employees: Workers who typically receive a salary instead of hourly wages and aren’t covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requirements for overtime pay and minimum wages. According to the FLSA, exempt employees must receive a minimum salary and typically fall into certain job categories, including professional, executive, administrative, outside sales and computer-related positions.

Exit interview: A formal discussion or meeting that takes place between a departing employee and the company, often an HR team member. Exit interview questions typically focus on why the employee is leaving and are meant to give the company insight into what motivates employees to stay or leave to guide change that could improve employee retention.

Expense reimbursement: A process designed to reimburse employees for expenses they covered out of their pocket while carrying out company business. Expense reimbursements may fall under several categories, including business-related travel and meals, training, uniforms and tools or supplies needed to perform specific jobs.

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F

Fair Chance Hiring: The practice of basing hiring decisions on candidates’ qualifications without taking legal records into account. Fair chance hiring often means removing questions from applications about legal history and refraining from looking into records until after a conditional job offer has been made.

Favoritism: When a manager gives an employee special treatment or rewards they may not have necessarily earned through tenure or job performance. Favoritism is a toxic work trait that can harm team morale, but it can often be avoided with a strong code of conduct and by measuring employee performance on a standard set of metrics.

Federal withholding allowance: The amount of money reserved or withheld from an employee’s paycheck to cover things like federal income taxes, Medicare and Social Security contributions. Each person will have a unique federal withholding allowance based on how many dependents they have, filing status and income.

FICA tax: A federal payroll tax paid by the employer and employee that helps fund Social Security and Medicare. A percentage of FICA taxes comes out of the employee’s paycheck, with an amount of their gross wages going to Social Security and another going to Medicare. The employer matches what each employee pays.

Fiscal year: A 12-month period that a company uses to track its annual finances, which may or may not correlate with the calendar year. Most companies choose to start their fiscal year at the beginning of a quarter, meaning on the dates of January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1.

Flagship store: A company’s main retail store, designed to build customer awareness and loyalty through premium shopping experiences. Located in high-profile areas, flagship stores are typically larger than other stores in the chain and attract shoppers with an extensive production selection, exceptional customer service and special events and promotions.

Flex schedule: A flexible arrangement allowing employees to choose their hours outside traditional working hours to better balance their work and life responsibilities. While a flex schedule provides more control for employees, they are still typically required to work a minimum number of hours, and their working hours might need to fall within a certain time range to handle the workload properly.

Floating holiday: A flexible paid day off provided by employers as part of a workplace benefits package. Employees can take the floating holiday at their discretion as a religious or cultural holiday or personal vacation day as long as they comply with any blackout periods or restrictions.

Franchise tax: A payment that companies may have to make if they want to do business in a particular state. Also known as a privilege tax, a franchise tax is often paid in addition to income tax, small business taxes and similar costs.

Franchisor: A company or individual with an original business that grants licensing to another party to open a new location using its products, branding and intellectual property. The franchisor selects franchisees and creates an agreement with the franchisee to ensure they uphold the company’s standards.

Fringe benefits: A form of compensation in addition to standard wages for services performed. Examples of fringe benefits include employee stock options, meal subsidization, company car and a shorter workweek.

Full cycle recruiting: A process by which a single person manages every stage of the recruiting and hiring process. Any company can utilize full cycle recruiting, but it tends to be most common in smaller businesses that don’t necessarily have an entire team to dedicate to recruitment and hiring.

Full time equivalent (FTE): The number of hours worked by all full-time employees in a company. If your company has a 40-hour work week, employees who work 40 hours are considered 1.0 FTE and employees who work 20 hours are 0.5 FTE. Full time equivalent (FTE) is a standardized calculation method used for budgeting, forecasting, staffing and calculating wages.

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G

Gaslighting: An abusive behavior where someone manipulates another person in a way that makes them doubt or question their feelings or beliefs. Gaslighting is a serious issue in the workplace and can cause the person being abused to feel anxious, unsure of themselves and distrustful of your company’s management or other employees.

Gatekeeper: A person who can control or restrict access to a key decision-maker, usually an executive, at a company. A gatekeeper in business is often an executive assistant who handles the person’s administrative tasks and is the main point of contact for anyone wanting to speak to the executive.

Gender equality: The act of guaranteeing all genders have equal access to the same opportunities, rewards and resources at your company. There are many benefits to intentionally cultivating gender equality in the workplace, including a positive company culture, more creativity and an improved reputation.

Gender pronouns: Words that replace nouns in conversation when referencing someone in the third person, such as, “He got a raise.” Using the correct gender pronouns at work is a basic form of respect that can contribute to a more inclusive work environment. It’s important to understand that the gender pronouns a person prefers may not correlate with their outward appearance and could include terms like “they/them” or “ze/zem.”

Gig economy: A type of labor where people work temporary, flexible or freelance jobs with multiple companies instead of a traditional full-time job with a single company. For employers, tapping into workers in the gig economy can be a cost-effective way to fill short-term vacancies or get help with specialized skills without hiring a full-time employee.

Golden handcuffs: Financial incentives or benefits offered to the best performers as a way to prevent them from leaving the company. Golden handcuffs might include stock options, bonuses and other perks, and they typically require the employee to stay with the company for a specified length of time to avoid losing the benefit or having to pay it back.

Good management: The practice of handling and organizing tasks and people well by implementing healthy, proven management strategies. Good management practices can significantly improve employee satisfaction, productivity and retention.

Grievance: This HR word refers to a formal complaint, claim or concern from an employee about the workplace, the employer or a colleague. A workplace grievance might include accusations of discrimination, harassment, unsafe work conditions, unfair compensation or other issues and should be handled through a standardized grievance process established by the organization.

Group interview: An interviewing method in which the hiring manager interviews multiple candidates at the same time. Group interviews are often used when hiring for multiple similar positions or to narrow down similar candidates. They can vary in format with traditional interview questions or group activities where candidates work together on a project.

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H

Hazard pay: Additional compensation provided to employees who work under dangerous conditions or physical hardships to incentivize them to complete these less attractive work duties or jobs. For example, hazard pay may apply to people who work in mines, extreme climate conditions, logging or health care facilities.

Headhunter: A person who finds and recruits highly skilled employees to fill specific positions, often executive or high-level jobs, for other companies. Headhunters don’t work directly for the company that’s hiring but instead work independently or for an agency.

Help wanted ad: A physical marketing tool used to advertise a specific job vacancy at a company. A help wanted ad lists the details and requirements of the job to attract applicants and can be posted in many places, including newspapers, windows, websites and college campuses.

High volume hiring: This recruitment phrase refers to the practice of hiring a large number of new employees within a short period of time. High-volume hiring might be necessary when a company is experiencing major growth or has an increased need for seasonal employees to keep up with fluctuating workload demands.

Hiring manager: The person who is responsible for choosing and hiring a candidate for a specific job opening with the company. The hiring manager can be a member of the human resources team but is more often the manager of the department or team that has the job opening.

Holiday pay: A type of compensation in which an employer pays employees their normal wages for holidays even when they don’t work. Athough it’s not required under the Fair Labor Standards Act, holiday pay is a voluntary benefit that some companies offer. Some companies also pay a higher holiday pay rate for employees who have to work on holidays.

Hostile work environment: A workplace in which harassment, discrimination or unwanted conduct interferes with an employee’s ability to do their job and creates an environment that’s intimidating, threatening or humiliating. A hostile work environment can decrease productivity, cause employees to quit and potentially lead to legal action against the company per the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Hot desking: A flexible office organization method in which desks are shared rather than being assigned to specific individuals. This allows different employees to use the desks on a first-come, first-served basis. Companies that use hot desking might have limited workstations available and use this method to save space, reduce costs, increase flexibility and encourage teamwork and stronger employee relationships.

HR business partner (HRBP): An expert HR professional who works with a company’s leadership team to improve the HR department. An HR business partner works in a strategic capacity to align the HR department with the company’s goals by helping with decision-making and improving HR practices on a big-picture level.

HR professional: An individual involved in every aspect of an employee’s life cycle within a company. An HR professional plays a critical role in recruiting, hiring, onboarding and training employees, as well as ensuring legal compliance for the company.

Human resource development: A mix of training and career growth to promote better employee performance. Human resource development is an important part of an employee’s development, whether to excel in their current role or to prepare them for potential future roles.

Human resources (HR) department: The division of an organization that handles all employee-related functions, including recruiting, hiring, onboarding and training staff. The HR department interacts extensively with new hires and provides ongoing support for employees with activities related to compensation and benefits, training, safety, wellness, company culture, company policies, employee relations and disciplinary action.

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I

Inclusive workplace: A work environment where all employees receive fair, respectful treatment with equal access to resources and opportunities. An inclusive workplace makes all employees feel welcome, equal and supported regardless of their differences and allows employees to feel comfortable being themselves, which can foster improved morale, teamwork and employee retention.

Insubordination: Intentional non-compliance or disrespect from an employee directed at a superior in the workplace. Examples of employee insubordination can include refusing to do what a superior asks, mocking a supervisor, acting aggressively toward a higher-up, arguing disrespectfully with a manager and intentionally leaving work early without permission.

Insurable interest: The level of hardship someone would experience as the result of losing something or someone, which typically must be defined if your company wants to obtain an insurance policy. Insurable interest ensures that your company would be fairly compensated if you lost something that would bring your business to a halt, such as vital equipment or your office building.

Internal recruiting: The practice of looking for job candidates within the organization’s current workforce by sourcing talent from other teams or departments. Internal recruiting can lower the company’s hiring costs, save time and allow employers to find candidates who are familiar with the company and have a proven track record of success within the organization.

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Job abandonment: A situation where an employee doesn’t show up to work, has no plans to return to work and doesn’t give notice of quitting. Job abandonment is different from a no call/no show where an employee might have a valid reason for not calling, such as a medical emergency, an accident or a family crisis.

Job analysis: An internal process of analyzing the details of a specific position with the company to help make personnel decisions. A job analysis takes an in-depth look at the responsibilities, duties, skills, qualifications, educational requirements, working conditions, abilities, performance standards and other details of the position to ensure the job description fully captures the scope of the job.

Job bidding: A process primarily for internal recruitment where current employees submit proposals for the job they want, after which an employer can choose the option they prefer. Using job bidding to fill open positions can help your company find candidates whose goals align with yours while also ensuring you get the best value for your money.

Job board: A platform or website where employers can post job openings to recruit candidates and jobseekers can search for vacancies. Job boards can be general or specialized based on industry, location and other factors.

Job classification: A method of organizing and comparing all job positions within a company based on the scope of the roles. Job classifications group similar positions within the organization together and can help with tasks such as creating compensation plans, establishing training needs and finding candidates who can fit the needs of different positions.

Job crafting: The act of employees changing the duties of their positions to improve the role. Job crafting is a proactive way to make the role more compatible with the employee’s interests while still meeting the objectives of the position. This might include changes to the way the employee interacts with others, changing their mindset, improving work-life balance or switching up tasks and duties.

Job description: A written document that outlines the responsibilities, duties, requirements, skills and other key details for a specific role within the company. An organization should have a job description for every position to define each role and to guide all recruiting, hiring and training efforts when filling each position.

Job hopping: A habit of changing jobs frequently and voluntarily, working for many companies and staying in each position for positions for only 1-2 years at a time. While job hopping can be a red flag for recruiters, job hoppers tend to have multiple skillsets and be adaptable.

Job offer letter: An official written offer to invite a candidate to accept a position that includes key information like the start date, compensation, benefits and classification. A job offer letter might also include contingencies that the candidate must complete to get the job, such as passing a drug test, background check and references check.

Job posting: An advertisement or announcement for a specific job opening with a company that can be posted on the company’s website, various job boards and social media. Job postings typically include details of the position, such as the job duties, responsibilities, qualifications, requirements and benefits.

Job requisition: A formal document a manager completes to request to hire a new employee, whether it’s to replace an employee who leaves or create a new position. Job requisitions typically go to the human resources department for approval before the position can be posted and recruiting can start.

Job rotation: A technique where employees move to different roles within the company at set intervals. Job rotation allows employees to learn new skills and roles within the company, which increases flexibility and allows for coverage when employees are gone, while potentially improving employee satisfaction by keeping work interesting.

Job shadowing: The practice of observing another employee as they work to learn more about the job and pick up skills required for it. Job shadowing can be used as a method of on-the-job training or as a way for someone to see if they’re suited for a different position within the company.

Job sharing: An employment arrangement where two employees share the duties of a single full-time job, each working on the responsibilities to complete the total job successfully. Job sharing offers flexibility for employees who want to work fewer hours without sacrificing productivity and the completion of tasks that you need on a full-time basis.

Job specification: A list of requirements for a specific position with a company, including education, training, experience, skills and abilities. A job specification typically appears below the job description, providing specific details for jobseekers to help them determine if they’re qualified and guiding the hiring process to help the company find a candidate who meets their needs.

Job transfer: A situation in which an employee moves to a different position within the same company. A move to a different position is typically considered a job transfer when the new position is similar to the old position in rank and pay, but it could be a different type of job or in a different location or department.

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KSA: An acronym that means knowledge, skills and abilities, which was used to help with recruiting new hires for federal government jobs. While this is usually a supplement to a job application, Federal government recruiters appear to lean more toward using resumes to recruit potential candidates instead of KSA.

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Learning organization: A business that values continuous learning and development among its employees, fosters a culture of innovation and adapts to changing business environments. There are numerous benefits to turning your business into a learning organization, but the changes to this structure must start at the top and trickle down to be most effective.

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Matching and hiring platform: A website like Indeed that helps manage the entire hiring process from start to finish, including recruiting, screening, interviewing and hiring candidates. Companies use matching and hiring platforms to streamline the hiring process and create a centralized location where they can source and track applicants for current and future openings.

Management competencies: The skills, knowledge, habits, and motives that have been determined most successful in managing people. A few widely accepted management competencies include the ability to motivate others, problem-solving skills, integrity and excellent communication skills, both written and interpersonal.

Managing up: A series of steps an employee can take to make the most out of their professional relationship with a supportive manager. Employees learn how their manager works and communicates to implement changes that increase productivity and teamwork.

Marketing: Advertising a business’s launch, products, sales or hiring events. The goal of marketing is to create a brand image through specially crafted marketing materials such as logos, social media posts, blog articles, videos, etc., aimed at a particular audience.

Merit pay increases: Regular bumps in hourly or salary rates based on an employee’s performance. Giving merit pay increases to top performers rewards them for their hard work and shows others your business chooses to reward diligence and productivity rather than just expecting it.

Microagression: A small but impactful action that targets a specific group, often those who are already marginalized. This may include jokes and comments with any form of prejudice or exclusionary motive, regardless of the intent of the person delivering the comment. Avoiding microaggressions is key to creating a safe and comfortable work environment for employees of all backgrounds.

Micromanagement: A management style defined by excessive supervision to have more control over employees’ activities and behaviors, often making the team feel a lack of trust in their abilities. Micromanagement can produce results in the short term, but it often causes negative long-term effects, such as hurting employee morale, productivity and retention due to the lack of confidence in the team.

Mission statement: A concise sentence or short paragraph encompassing the values and motivation that drive a company’s success. Both customers and employees will connect a mission statement to a brand, making it a part of marketing and internal communications alike. Writing a new mission statement when a brand changes course is common to keep its image aligned with its updated operations.

Mobile recruiting: The use of mobile technology to engage with, recruit and hire potential candidates. A few examples of mobile recruiting include the use of mobile job postings, text messages, job sites, career pages and social media platforms.

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Nepotism: A type of favoritism where people with rank or high standing within a company hire their relatives despite there being more qualified candidates available. Nepotism can extend beyond the hiring process and generally includes any special treatment given to family members within the workplace.

Nine box performance grid: An evaluation tool that uses a grid to assess the company’s employees based on their current performance and growth potential. In a nine-box performance grid, employees are placed in low, moderate or high categories for performance and growth and placed into the corresponding square to give HR and the leadership team data about employees to help with planning.

NLRB (National Labor Relations Board): A federal agency charged with protecting the rights of workers to organize. Employees can file complaints with the NLRB if they believe their employer violated their right to join a union or to negotiate as a team to improve pay, benefits and working conditions without a union.

Non-exempt employees: This HR term refers to employees who are not exempt from the overtime rules established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A business must typically pay non-exempt employees overtime wages if they work for more than 40 hours during one week.

Nonemployee compensation: Money that you pay to an independent contractor who provides labor or a service but is not an employee of your business. Nonemployee compensation is a type of compensation that can include sales commissions, awards, prizes and payments made for completing tasks

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Offboarding: The process of separation when an employee leaves, whether it’s due to termination, resignation or retirement. Offboarding processes are typically standardized and often include tasks such as completing HR paperwork, removing access to resources, collecting company-owned items, announcing the departure and conducting an exit interview.

On the clock: The time when an employee is working and getting paid for their activities. Tracking employee time on the clock can include tracking software, time clocks, GPS clock-ins and self-reporting, with accurate employee tracking being especially important for hourly employees.

On-demand employees: Employees who work only when business needs require it. Hiring on-demand employees like day laborers, on-call employees, seasonal employees and temporary hires allows businesses to lower costs associated with payroll while also providing workers with more flexibility.

Onboarding: The process of bringing on and integrating new employees into their positions and the organization. Onboarding can vary by company but often includes HR paperwork, orientation, training, equipment setup, meeting the team and mentoring to help the employee learn about the company and feel comfortable in the role.

Operational departments: Oversees production processes from start to finish, including ensuring that these processes align with the goals and functions of other company departments. Operational departments have many duties, including building a consensus among employees, providing ample resources to managers, assessing existing business processes and enhancing company-wide performance.

Operational supervision: The practice of supervising both the day-to-day activities of a department or unit of a business and the people who work within it. Effective operational supervision can enhance productivity and efficiency to benefit businesses.

Opportunity cost: A benefit and risk analysis that determines the differences between an opportunity’s best possible outcome and the actual outcome. Opportunity cost is calculated using a simple formula where you determine the potential return on investment in the best possible scenario and subtract your actual gain (or loss) from that number to determine how much money was lost on a decision.

Orientation: A one-time session for new employees to introduce them to the company, their position and the other employees. New employee orientation is designed to give new hires the key information they need to get started while putting them at ease.

OSHA: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a regulatory agency the United States Congress created through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and is operated by the United States Department of Labor. OSHA sets regulations requiring employers in public and private sectors to provide safe working conditions for their employees, with varying rules based on industry.

Outplacement: A collection of services for terminated employees that can help them find new positions to reduce unemployment time and improve relationships. Outplacement services can vary depending on if the employee wants a similar position or an advancement opportunity and could include resume help, learning tools, job coaching, skills assessments and interview preparation.

Outsourcing: The practice of hiring a third party outside the company to perform a certain service or task. Businesses that outsource work often hire on a contract basis for a specific task, project or work function, with common options including content creation, IT services and human resources activities.

Overtime: According to the US Department of Labor, any hours a nonexempt employee works over 40 in a single workweek and the compensation received for those hours. Employers typically calculate overtime pay by multiplying an employee’s regular hourly rate by 1.5, but your company may pay a higher overtime rate.

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Paid sick leave: A benefit some employers offer that allows employees to receive their regular compensation when they take time off for a health-related need. Some states may require employers to offer paid sick leave.

Paid time off (PTO): A benefit allowing employees to take time off work and still receive their normal pay. Paid time off can be separated into categories such as vacation, sick pay, holidays and personal time or lumped into one to be used for any reason. Employees might receive all PTO at the beginning of the year or accrue it gradually.

Partial unemployment: A situation where a worker is employed less than full time due to a lack of work. In some instances, workers in this situation may be eligible to claim partial unemployment benefits through their state but only if they’re still actively trying to replace the working hours they’ve lost (versus working part time by choice).

Passive recruiting: The process of recruiting potential job candidates who are already currently employed (and generally happy with their jobs) but who are open to switching positions if given a better opportunity. Many companies include passive recruiting in their hiring strategy because the candidates found through these practices often have high levels of knowledge in their industry.

Pay equity: The practice of providing equal pay for equal work without consideration of an employee’s demographic information. Pay equity aims to eliminate wage gaps based on factors such as gender, age, race, disability and sexual orientation when employees have the same education, experience, skills and other job-related factors.

Pay stub: A written record of all pay information for a specific paycheck, including the gross pay, all deductions and the net pay. Pay stubs can be physical documents or electronic documents to inform employees about their wages and benefits, and state regulations might specify certain requirements for pay stubs.

Pay transparency: The practice of being open and transparent about pay rates among employees, which might be shared internally or publicly in job postings. Companies may have different degrees of pay transparency depending on how much they share with the goal of building trust with employees, attracting new employees and reducing the chances of wage gaps.

Payroll: An umbrella term that refers to the entire payroll management process. Duties that fall under the term “payroll” include paying employees over a specified period, acquiring necessary employee information and calculating things like hours, wages and deductions.

Payroll taxes: Taxes that are withheld from an employee’s paycheck and used to fund government programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance. It’s important to make sure that payroll taxes are handled in a way that is both legal and accurate.

PEO: A firm that offers full-service staffing and human resources solutions for small- to medium-sized companies that want to outsource those duties. Professional employer organizations (PEOs) can handle tasks such as payroll, recruiting, employee benefits, compensation, retirement plans, taxes, compliance and business planning.

Performance management: A management technique used to maintain and improve employee performance to increase productivity and efficiency and contribute to an employee’s career development. Performance management is an ongoing process that involves frequent communication between the employee and supervisor with clear expectations, goals, feedback and evaluations for continuous improvement.

Phone screen: An initial phone call to a job applicant to see if they meet the key qualifications for the job and should move on to the full interview process. Recruiters often conduct phone screening calls after choosing promising resumes to create a list of interviewees, and the questions typically aim to narrow down the pool of candidates before inviting them for an in-person interview.

PIP (performance improvement plan): A document outlining the steps to improve an employee’s performance when they’re not meeting expectations. Performance improvement plans identify the specific issue and include ways to resolve it, including performance goals, resources, support and consequences for failing to meet job expectations.

PMO: An acronym that stands for project management office, which is a department within an organization responsible for the creation, maintenance, and implementation of project management procedures and policies. Some companies outsource their PMO to an external company, while others may utilize in-house departments or staff for these purposes.

Pre-employment testing: Standardized evaluations or tests to assess specific traits of each candidate before extending a job offer. Pre-employment testing can look at different characteristics or qualifications, including job skills, personality traits, behaviors and cognitive abilities.

Presenteeism: The loss in productivity when an employee shows up to work but doesn’t perform at full capacity due to a situation that would justify them missing work, such as illness, injury, mental health issues and other health conditions. Presenteeism often happens when employees don’t have enough sick leave or PTO or the company culture promotes showing up to work over individual well-being.

Procurement: The process of obtaining product inventory, software, services or office supplies for your business, as required to maintain daily operations. Examples of duties that fall under procurement include negotiating price points, reviewing vendors and setting up effective supply delivery schedules.

Profit sharing: A compensation plan that gives employees a portion of the company’s profits, which might be divided based on salary, position or other factors. Profit-sharing plans can vary, with options including pay-outs as cash, stocks or contributions to retirement accounts, and could apply to all employees or only certain positions.

Project charter: A key document that outlines the direction of a project, serving as a roadmap to keep progress aligned with collaborator objectives and scope. Project managers utilize charters to present possible projects and keep teams on track during implementation.

Protected veteran: A retired service member that meets the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, a law passed to help veterans find employment after service. As a protected class, employers cannot discriminate against current or potential employees based on their military service or veteran status.

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Radical candor: An interpersonal communication approach that allows colleagues to challenge each other’s ideas without undermining authority or being too forceful. The term was coined by Kim Scott, a former executive at multinational technology companies, who learned how to have radically candid conversations that produce actionable results.

Recruitment: The process of sourcing, screening and hiring candidates for open roles within a company. The recruitment process can be handled internally by a recruiter in the HR department or outsourced to a recruitment agency that specializes in finding candidates who match specific job requirements.

Redundancy: The process of reducing a company’s workforce based on reasons outside job performance or employee behavior, such as finances, changes in company structure or termination of the business. Redundancy often happens if a position is no longer needed due to something like a merger or new technology that replaces the main functions of the job.

Remuneration: This HR word refers to the total amount of compensation an employee receives for the services or work they perform for a company. Remuneration can include various types of pay, such as base wages, bonuses, financial incentives, commissions, tips, stipends and reimbursements for covered expenses, such as travel or relocation.

Reprimand: A warning given to an employee for each occurrence of inability to follow company policy, meet performance requirements or otherwise engage actions that negatively impact the company. Reprimands can be written or verbal and can be used as a way to correct behavior and improve work performance.

Responsibility: A duty or task that a specific role must perform in the workplace. Work responsibilities can be assigned as daily, weekly, monthly or annual duties, and having clearly defined responsibilities for each role ensures all required tasks are completed to keep the business running smoothly.

Retention bonus: A lump-sum payment offered to a current employee as an incentive to encourage them to stay with the company. Retention bonuses can reward exceptional performance, make the company competitive, increase employee satisfaction and save money over hiring new employees. They also sometimes come with requirements, such as the employee staying for a certain length of time.

Role conflict: A phenomenon where an employee is asked to work in multiple, sometimes conflicting, roles at the same time. Role conflict may also occur on a smaller scale if an employee is assigned tasks that contradict each other, leading them to feel confused or overwhelmed by the conflicting requirements.

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Sabbatical leave policy: A written document that outlines the terms and procedures for taking a sabbatical leave, a period of extended time off, from work. The sabbatical leave policy should define details such as who can take a sabbatical, what activities qualify, how long it can last, how often sabbaticals are allowed, how to apply for sabbatical leave and any other requirements.

Salary band: A range of salaries that a company offers for a particular position, based on factors such as education, experience, and job performance. Different positions will have different pay bands depending on job duties to provide a framework for determining compensation, while helping to ensure that employees are paid fairly and competitively within their role.

Salary compression: A phenomenon where there is little difference in salary between employees despite differences in experience, skills or qualifications, which can affect employee morale, retention and recruitment. If the new employee earns a higher salary than their more experienced counterpart, this turns from salary compression to salary inversion.

Scale of salary: The range of pay from the minimum to maximum amount that an organization will pay a new hire for a specific role. The scale of salary gives the hiring manager a guide for determining the specific salary when creating a job offer.

Scoping statement: A document that outlines the work and resources needed to achieve the desired outcome within budgetary and time limits. Business impact, team constraints and external contractors or consultants are often included in a scoping statement.

Seasonal workers: Employees who work for a company during a specific, short period based on seasonal needs to support the increased workload during busier times. Examples of seasonal workers include summer camp counselors, tax preparers, ski resort workers, summer lawn care technicians, pool lifeguards and holiday gift wrappers or cashiers.

Second shift: A work shift that falls later than traditional work hours, often starting in the afternoon between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. and ending later in the evening around 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Second shift schedules are common for companies like manufacturers that operate 24/7 or businesses that stay open late like bars and restaurants.

Series A funding: The round of funding in which a start-up begins seeking out well-known firms who are looking to invest in both a strong idea and long-term business model. Typically, Series A funding is reserved for businesses that have prototypes or market test research available to present alongside their monetization strategy.

Shift differential pay: A monetary incentive employers may offer employees who work shifts outside standard working hours or on holidays many people don’t want to work. Shift differential pay is additional compensation over your company’s regular hourly rate and may include evening, night and weekend shifts or before, during and after holidays.

Shortlist: A list of the job candidates that best match the requirements and needs for the position. Employers typically create a shortlist of applicants after screening resumes and applications to create a group of final candidates to interview.

Situational interview questions: A type of interview question that asks the candidate to state how they would handle a particular hypothetical situation that they may have not yet experienced. Situational interview questions ask interviewees to predict how they would handle something in the future and are different from behavioral interview questions, which ask about how the candidate handled a situation in the past.

Skip level meetings: A discussion between a superior and an employee with a gap between their ranks within the organizational structure. Skip level meetings typically happen between an employee and their direct supervisor’s manager, skipping a level in the organizational chart. This is used as a way to increase communication, provide transparency or gather firsthand feedback from employees.

Small Business Administration (SBA): A government agency supporting small businesses with financing, training, counseling services, online tools and other resources. The Small Business Administration (SBA) can help new small businesses get started and support established small businesses as they grow and expand.

Small business insurance: An adjustable type of policy that protects business owners, their buildings and any equipment or merchandise inside. Small business insurance policies can vary on the types of accidents covered, with additional liability coverage helping to protect owners against injuries their businesses could be found liable for.

SMART goals: A method of developing short-term or long-term goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. The SMART method helps create realistic goals that are broken down into steps, making them easier to achieve.

Social exchange theory: An idea that social interactions and relationships are conducted based on a balance of risk and reward. In the workplace, social exchange theory is applied to determine whether a working relationship is providing the project or company with more rewards than risk. If not, the relationship is ended and a new, more rewarding solution is put in its place.

Split shift: A type of work schedule employers use to separate an employee’s workday into two or more partial shifts as an alternative to a straight 8-, 10- or 12-hour shift. A split shift typically has two or more hours between work periods.

Stack ranking: A controversial assessment model that places employees on a bell curve based on how they compare to other employees with options of top performers, meeting expectations and low performers. Stack ranking typically places a fixed percentage of the staff within the meeting expectations category, with the rest in the top or lower performers. Alternatives to stack ranking include peer performance reviews, 360-degree feedback and management by objectives (MBO).

Staff augmentation: The practice of supplementing full-time staff with temporary help, often relying on freelance workers or staffing agencies to fill business needs. Staff augmentation is often used on a project basis, with the temporary workers staying on staff until a certain project is finished.

Staffing: The process of finding and choosing the right candidates to fill open positions within an organization. Staffing is an ongoing process that includes recruitment, hiring and training and can be handled internally or outsourced to a staffing agency.

STAR interview format: A response method that a job candidate might use in an interview that includes a situation, task, action and result. The STAR interview format works well with behavioral interview questions and allows the candidate to demonstrate thoroughly that they’ve handled a specific situation so the interviewer can determine if they fit the needs of the organization.

Stay interviews: A conversation with current employees about job satisfaction to find out what’s keeping them with the organization. Stay interviews can help build positive relationships with employees and encourage open communication while giving the management team information that could help improve the employee experience and increase employee retention.

Strategic planning: The process of identifying organizational goals and developing strategies to achieve them for continued growth and optimized performance. Strategic planning often happens when the business starts and can happen as needed to adjust the strategy, especially if the industry changes or the business goes through major changes.

Strategic recruiting: The practice of using sales skills, marketing and employer branding when sourcing talent. Strategic recruiting involves aligning recruitment efforts with the organization’s strategic goals and objectives to ensure that the company has the right people in the right positions to achieve success.

Structured hiring: A standardized job candidate vetting process using a data-driven approach to ensure hiring decisions are as objective as possible. With structured hiring, all candidates undergo the same evaluations, including the same interview questions and pre-employment testing, to create a consistent process with the same data for all interviewees.

Structured interview: An interview method that uses a systematic approach of asking the same questions in the same order for every interviewee. Structured interviews focus on the specific skills and experience required for the position and help to make a more effective hiring decision with less bias.

Succession planning: The process of identifying potential leaders within your current workforce to plan for filling future leadership roles. Succession planning involves creating a talent pipeline to ensure that the company has the right people with the right skills and experience in place to maintain continuity and achieve long-term success.

Swing shift: A work shift that overlaps the day and night shifts, usually starting in the late afternoon and ending at night. Swing shifts can provide coverage between the day and night shifts or provide more coverage during busy times for businesses like restaurants.

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Talent: The collective group of employees or jobseekers that bring their skills to a company. Talent can have different meanings in the workplace and is often used when talking about talent acquisition, which is an ongoing recruitment strategy to find skilled workers, or talent pools, which are groups of prospective employees.

Talent acquisition: The strategic process of sourcing, hiring and onboarding new employees for a company. Talent acquisition is an ongoing process using various sourcing methods to keep a continuous stream of new prospects coming into the company, which is different from recruitment, which is typically a short-term strategy to fill a specific position.

Talent assessment test: An evaluation taken by job applicants to assess their skills or other traits to help with the selection process. Talent assessment tests can evaluate job skills, personality traits and other characteristics to anticipate how well a candidate might perform in the job or add to the company culture.

Target audience: A defined group of people who are most likely to use a company’s services or buy its products based on specific demographics. Identifying the target audience helps a business improve its marketing and adjust its products and services to better address the pain points of its typical customers.

Tax abatement: A tax break or reduction in the amount of taxes owed, typically offered by a local or state government. Tax abatements are sometimes offered on property taxes to encourage businesses to build or stay in a certain area, and the reduced tax amount typically lasts a specific number of years before returning to the normal rates.

Team building: Activities and exercises intended to improve the relationships between team members to create a more cohesive group of employees. Team building can take many forms, including social events, games and group challenges, and can focus on general bonding or specific skills, such as improving communication or group problem-solving.

Team norms: The guidelines that determine how team members interact, collaborate, communicate and work together. Team norms are often unspoken rules that aren’t written down and can be influenced by the company’s culture.

Temporary disability insurance: An insurance coverage option that pays a portion of an employee’s wages if they miss work due to a non-work-related injury or accident. Temporary disability insurance pays a percentage of the recipient’s wages and is limited to a specific timeframe.

Terminated: The ending of an employment relationship between an employee and a company. Termination of employment includes all reasons for the relationship ending, both voluntary and involuntary, including retirement, resignation, layoff, firing and the end of an agreed-upon contract and can be initiated by either party.

The Great Resignation: The increased rate of voluntary resignations from positions that began in early 2021. The cause of The Great Resignation is said to be the pandemic, which may have encouraged employees to rethink their priorities, look for employers who treated them better or find remote alternatives when companies started to require a return to the office.

Third shift: An overnight work shift that typically starts later at night by 11 p.m. and ends early in the morning around 7 a.m. Third shift is a necessity for businesses and services that operate 24 hours a day, such as manufacturing companies, hotels and health care facilities.

Time and a half: A pay rate of 50% more than the standard hourly pay, often used for hours worked beyond the standard 40-hour week. For example, time and a half for an employee who makes $20 per hour normally would be $30.

Time off in lieu (TOIL): This HR terms refers to when an employee receives paid time off as compensation equal to the hours of overtime worked. Time off in lieu might be offered in lieu of overtime pay to exempt employees who don’t typically receive overtime pay as a way to motivate employees and encourage work-life balance.

Tip pooling: The practice of combining all tips received by all employees and distributing them equally. The employees involved in tip pooling are typically only the ones who receive tips, such as servers, but could include other staff like the kitchen staff.

Tokenism: A form of discrimination where an organization takes action to present itself as an equal and equitable workplace, but the actions are superficial. For example, tokenism could be occurring if an organization hires a person belonging to a traditionally underserved community for a specific named role but fails to give that individual the responsibilities or voice associated with that role.

Transferable skills: The skills an employee has that aren’t specific to a certain job and can transfer to other positions, either at a similar or higher level. Examples of transferable skills include problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, teamwork, leadership and adaptability.

Tuition reimbursement: A workplace benefit that reimburses employees for the cost of certain college classes or approved educational courses and related expenses, such as textbooks. Tuition reimbursement programs often have specific requirements, such as only applying to specific courses of study, minimum grade requirements or how long the employee has to stay with the company.

Turnover: The act of employees leaving their positions at a company, leaving those roles in need of replacement employees. Turnover rates calculate the number of employees who leave during a specified period and can help an organization determine if changes need to be made to improve employee retention.

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Unconscious bias: The practice of subconsciously making decisions about a person based on stereotypes or beliefs. Unconscious bias could cause a person to favor certain people and discriminate against others without them realizing they’re doing it. It could happen at any point, including during hiring or while managing current employees.

Unemployment: A benefit that pays part of a former employee’s wages when they lose their employment due to layoffs or circumstances out of their control. Unemployment benefits typically don’t apply if the worker lost their job because of poor performance or quit voluntarily, and the pay is for a limited amount of time and requires the worker to look for new jobs.

Union shop: A place of employment where all employees are required to join the union and pay union fees as a condition of employment. Companies in right-to-work states may offer voluntary unions, but union shops aren’t allowed, which means employees can’t be forced to join the union to work for the organization.

Unlimited vacation: The practice of allowing employees to take as much time off of work as they want or need if it doesn’t interfere with the business or the employee’s ability to perform their duties. Unlimited vacation is based on the principle of trust and autonomy, where employees are empowered to manage their own time and balance their work and personal responsibilities. This may sometimes be known as open PTO.

Unstructured interview: An interview format that starts with an open-ended question and then follow-up questions that evolve based on the candidate’s responses. In an unstructured interview, the hiring manager doesn’t have a specific set of standard questions, instead allowing the conversation to develop naturally. However, this can create inconsistency and make it more difficult to compare candidates fairly.

Upskilling: The practice of improving or teaching new skills to employees to keep up with industry changes or provide advancement opportunities. Upskilling keeps employees happy by expanding their skill set and giving them opportunities to advance their careers. Meanwhile, the company gains new skills to fill talent gaps and remain competitive.

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Vacation: A benefit allowing employees to take time off work to relax and take a break from their jobs. Vacation time is often a paid benefit allowing employees to receive normal pay for the days they’re gone and typically must be requested and approved ahead of time.

Values: The beliefs, principles, morals and ethics that guide and shape a business. A company’s values often help define and guide the mission and goals of the organization and might include things such as accountability, inclusion, honesty, innovation, transparency and trust.

Virtual interview: A type of interviewing process that takes place remotely rather than in person, usually either via video conferencing or a phone call. Virtual interviews offer more scheduling flexibility, improve interviewing efficiency, allow companies to interview candidates outside the geographical area and can save money for the company and candidates.

Voluntary time off: A type of leave that gives employees the option of taking unpaid time off work. Voluntary time off is often used by companies to balance their staffing levels with unpredictable workloads by offering employees the option to take time off without spending vacation days or paid sick days.

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Wagner Act: A law that gives workers the legal right to organize and join labor unions, strike and use collective bargaining with employers. Officially known as the National Labor Relations Act, the Wagner Act was enacted in 1935 and aimed to end certain unfair labor practices.

WARN Act: An act that requires certain employers to give employees 60 days notice for plant closings and mass layoffs. The WARN Act only applies to certain employers, including those with at least 100 employees, and the closing or layoff has to meet specific requirements.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC): A federal tax credit companies can receive when they hire employees from specific demographics normally facing employment barriers, such as veterans, SSI recipients and ex-felons. The amount of the tax credit under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program varies based on the employee’s earnings, number of hours worked and specific demographic the employee fits.

Work order: A document that provides the details of an authorized maintenance task that needs to be performed. A work order creates a paper trail for maintenance and repair work and includes important details such as the person who authorized the work, the person who’s performing the task, a description of the job, where it’s located and how long it will take.

Work-life balance: The idea of keeping a separation between a person’s work and personal life and being able to give time and energy to both. Employers can encourage work-life balance by offering enough paid time off, limiting overtime, offering flexible schedules, providing support for heavy workloads, rewarding healthy habits and modeling a good work-life balance.

Workforce diversity: The makeup of the employees within an organization based on individual characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, experience and background. Improving workforce diversity makes an organization more inclusive and can improve things like productivity, innovation, employee satisfaction, retention, trust and recruitment efforts.

Workplace: A location where an employee performs their job duties for their employer. Workplaces can vary significantly based on the job type and could include commercial offices, home offices, retail establishments, farms, warehouses, manufacturing plants, entertainment venues and outdoor areas.

Workplace retaliation: A form of adverse action taken by an employer against an employee in response to a protected activity, such as reporting discrimination, harassment, or other violations of employment laws. Workplace retaliation might include termination, treating the employee differently or impacting their work with things like cutting hours or giving them an unwarranted negative review.

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