HR Glossary

The HR glossary for people teams

Plain-language definitions of the HR terms that come up every day, from onboarding and offboarding to HRIS, eNPS, and turnover rate. Pick a term to see what it means and why it matters.

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Onboarding & Preboarding
P
Probation period
A probation period is a trial period at the start of a new job, often three to six months, when the employer and new hire check whether the role is a good fit.
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Onboarding & Preboarding
N
New hire orientation
New hire orientation is a short, structured session, usually on the first day, that introduces new employees to the company, its policies, its people and the basics of their job.
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Onboarding & Preboarding
R
Remote onboarding
Remote onboarding is the process of welcoming, setting up and training a new hire who works away from the office, using online tools instead of in-person meetings.
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Onboarding & Preboarding
3
30-60-90 day plan
A 30-60-90 day plan is a written plan that sets goals and priorities for a new hire's first three months, split into the first 30, 60 and 90 days.
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Onboarding & Preboarding
T
Time to productivity
Time to productivity is how long it takes a new hire to reach the level of output expected for their role, measured from their start date to a defined performance target.
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Onboarding & Preboarding
B
Buddy program
A buddy program is an onboarding practice where each new hire is paired with an experienced coworker who answers everyday questions and helps them settle into the team.
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Employee Experience & Engagement
P
Psychological safety
Psychological safety is a shared belief in a team that people can speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes and share ideas without fear of being punished or embarrassed.
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Employee Experience & Engagement
E
Employee wellbeing
Employee wellbeing is the overall physical, mental, social and financial health of employees, and how their work and workplace support or harm it.
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Employee Experience & Engagement
S
Stay interview
A stay interview is a one-on-one conversation between a manager and a current employee to learn what keeps them at the company and what might make them leave.
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Employee Experience & Engagement
E
Employee recognition
Employee recognition is the act of noticing and openly thanking employees for their work, effort or behavior, through praise, awards or rewards, to show it is valued.
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Employee Experience & Engagement
E
Employee experience
Employee experience is everything a person sees, feels and goes through at a company, from the first job ad to their last day, and how they judge it.
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People Analytics & Metrics
P
People analytics
People analytics is the practice of collecting and analyzing workforce data, such as turnover, engagement and hiring metrics, to make better decisions about how a company hires, develops and keeps its people.
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People Analytics & Metrics
A
Absenteeism rate
Absenteeism rate is the percentage of scheduled work time that employees miss because of unplanned absences, such as sickness or no-shows, over a set period.
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People Analytics & Metrics
E
Early turnover
Early turnover is when new employees leave a company soon after joining, usually within their first 90 days or first year, often because of a poor start or a mismatch with the role.
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People Analytics & Metrics
C
Cost per hire
Cost per hire is the average amount a company spends to fill one role, found by adding up internal and external hiring costs and dividing by the number of hires in a period.
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People Analytics & Metrics
T
Time to hire
Time to hire is the number of days between a candidate applying for a job and that same candidate accepting your offer, a common measure of how fast a hiring process moves.
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HR Technology & Systems
E
E-signature
An e-signature, or electronic signature, is a way to sign documents online instead of on paper, often used in HR for offer letters, employment contracts and policy acknowledgments.
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HR Technology & Systems
H
HR workflow
An HR workflow is a defined series of steps for completing an HR process, such as onboarding or offboarding, that sets out what happens, who owns each step and when it is due.
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HR Technology & Systems
U
User provisioning
User provisioning is the process of creating accounts and giving employees access to the apps and data they need, then changing or removing that access when their role changes or they leave.
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HR Technology & Systems
E
Employee self-service
Employee self-service (ESS) is a portal or app where employees handle common HR tasks themselves, like updating personal details, requesting time off and viewing payslips, without contacting HR.
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HR Technology & Systems
A
Applicant tracking system (ATS)
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that helps companies manage hiring in one place, from posting jobs and collecting applications to scheduling interviews and sending offers.
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Compliance & Documentation
P
Policy acknowledgment
A policy acknowledgment is a record showing that an employee has received, read and agreed to follow a company policy, usually confirmed with a signature or checkbox.
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Compliance & Documentation
E
Employee data privacy
Employee data privacy is how a company collects, uses, stores, shares and deletes personal information about its job candidates, employees and former employees in a fair, secure and lawful way.
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Compliance & Documentation
B
Background check
A background check is a review of a candidate's history, such as past employment, education, references or criminal records, carried out before or during hiring to confirm they are a good fit for the role.
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Compliance & Documentation
R
Right to work check
A right to work check is the process employers use to confirm that a new hire is legally allowed to work in the country, usually by checking identity and immigration documents.
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Compliance & Documentation
E
Employee handbook
An employee handbook is a document that explains a company's policies, rules, benefits and culture so every employee knows what is expected of them and what they can expect back.
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Compliance & Documentation
E
Employment contract
An employment contract is the agreement between an employer and an employee that sets out the job, pay, hours, benefits and the rules both sides agree to follow.
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Offboarding & Transitions
I
Internal mobility
Internal mobility is the movement of employees into new roles, teams or locations within the same company, through promotions, lateral moves, transfers or short-term projects.
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Offboarding & Transitions
R
Reboarding
Reboarding is the process of helping an employee get back up to speed after time away, such as long leave, a sabbatical, a long absence or returning to the company after leaving.
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Offboarding & Transitions
A
Alumni network
An alumni network is a group that keeps a company connected with its former employees, so they can share news, refer talent, become customers or even return to work there later.
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Offboarding & Transitions
N
Notice period
A notice period is the time between an employee or employer announcing that a job will end and the employee's actual last working day, usually set by the contract or local law.
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Offboarding & Transitions
K
Knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer is the process of passing skills, know-how and information from one employee to another, so work keeps moving when people leave, change roles or join the team.
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Workforce & Lifecycle
H
Hybrid work
Hybrid work is a working model where employees split their time between the office and remote locations, such as home, based on a schedule or policy set by the company or team.
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Workforce & Lifecycle
C
Contingent workforce
A contingent workforce is the group of people who work for a company without being permanent employees, such as freelancers, contractors, temps and agency workers hired for a set time or project.
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Workforce & Lifecycle
H
Headcount planning
Headcount planning is the process of deciding how many people a company will employ, in which roles and when, usually for the next budget year, and what that will cost.
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Workforce & Lifecycle
W
Workforce planning
Workforce planning is the process of comparing the people and skills a company has today with what it will need later, then planning hiring, training and moves to close the gap.
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Workforce & Lifecycle
P
People operations
People operations, or People Ops, is a modern approach to HR that treats employees like customers and focuses on experience, data, and enabling people to do their best work.
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Workforce & Lifecycle
E
Employee lifecycle
The employee lifecycle is the full journey a person takes with a company, from first hearing about it through hiring, onboarding, growth, and eventual exit.
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People Analytics & Metrics
E
Employee retention
Employee retention is a company's ability to keep its employees over time and reduce the number who leave, usually expressed as a rate.
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People Analytics & Metrics
T
Turnover rate
The employee turnover rate is the percentage of employees who leave during a period, found by dividing departures by the average number of employees.
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People Analytics & Metrics
E
Employee turnover
Employee turnover is the rate at which people leave a company over a period of time and have to be replaced, counting both voluntary and involuntary exits.
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Employee Experience & Engagement
P
Pulse survey
A pulse survey is a short, frequent survey used to check in on how employees are feeling, instead of relying on one long annual survey.
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Employee Experience & Engagement
E
eNPS
eNPS, or employee Net Promoter Score, is a simple metric that measures how likely employees are to recommend their company as a place to work.
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Employee Experience & Engagement
E
Employee engagement
Employee engagement is how committed and motivated employees feel toward their work and company, which affects their effort, performance, and likelihood to stay.
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HR Technology & Systems
S
Single sign-on (SSO)
Single sign-on, or SSO, lets employees use one secure login to access many different work applications instead of a separate password for each one.
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HR Technology & Systems
H
HR automation
HR automation is the use of software to handle repetitive HR tasks automatically, such as sending onboarding tasks, reminders, approvals, and data updates.
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HR Technology & Systems
H
HRIS
An HRIS, or Human Resource Information System, is the central software where a company stores and manages its core employee data and HR records.
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Offboarding & Transitions
O
Offboarding checklist
An offboarding checklist is a structured list of every step needed when someone leaves, covering handover, equipment return, access removal, and final pay.
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Offboarding & Transitions
E
Exit interview
An exit interview is a conversation with a departing employee to understand why they are leaving and gather honest feedback about their experience.
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Offboarding & Transitions
C
Crossboarding
Crossboarding is the process of moving an existing employee into a new role or team inside the same company, with its own onboarding into the new position.
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Offboarding & Transitions
E
Employee offboarding
Employee offboarding is the process of managing an employee's exit, from their final tasks and knowledge handover to removing their access and learning from their feedback.
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Onboarding & Preboarding
O
Onboarding checklist
An onboarding checklist is a structured list of every task needed to get a new hire set up, from paperwork and accounts to introductions and training.
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Onboarding & Preboarding
P
Preboarding
Preboarding is the stage between a new hire accepting the offer and their first day, used to handle paperwork and keep them engaged before they start.
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Onboarding & Preboarding
E
Employee onboarding
Employee onboarding is how a company welcomes a new hire and gives them the tasks, training, and context they need to get up to speed and feel part of the team.
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