2.1: Introduction to Human Resource Management Terms

Ageing Population

Ageing Population

A higher average age of the population

Demography

statistical study of population trends, such as birth rates, death rates, age distribution, and net migration rates

Dismissal

employer’s decision to terminate a worker’s employment contract, usually due to the worker’s incompetence and/or a breach of their employment contract

External Factors

issues or factors that are beyond the control of the organization, e.g., national minimum wage legislation

Flexitime

form of flexible work practice that enables employees to work a set number of core hours each week, often at the office during peak periods of the day and/or week

Geographical Mobility

ability and willingness of employees to relocate to another location or country for work reasons

Gig Economy

Labour markets in which people are on short-term, impromptu, temporary contracts. This includes freelance worker and independent contractors

Homeworking

aspect of flexitime that involves people using their homes to conduct their jobs

Human Resource Management

broad term used to describe the overall management of an organization's workforce, e.g. attracting, selecting, training, assessing, rewarding and retaining workers

Human Resource Planning

management process of anticipating the organization’s current and future human resource needs

Internal factors

The issues or features that are within the control of the organization

labour mobility

Measures the extent to which workers have the ability and willingness to move between geographical locations and/or occupations for their employment

migrant workers

People who move to other countries in search of better job opportunities

net migration

measures the difference between the number of people from abroad who enter a country (immigration) and the number of people who leave (emigration), usually for employment purposes

Occupational mobility

ability and willingness of employees to do another job or pursue a different career

Portfolio Workers

People who carry out several different jobs, often for different contractors, at the same time and usually on a temporary basis

Redundancy

Occurs when an organization no longer has a job for the employee or when the employer can no longer afford to hire the employee, i.e., the job ceases to exist

Teleworking

Flexible working practice that involves employees being away from the office as they rely on the use of telecommunications technologies, e.g. Internet and mobile technologies

Training

provision of work-related education, either on-the-job or off-the-job, such as instructing and teaching (or mentoring) employees how to perform certain tasks in their job

Workforce

The total number of employees in a business organization at any particular point in time

Workforce planning

refers to the ongoing process through which the current and future human resource needs of a business are identified and anticipated