Human Resources Vocabulary

Affirmative Action

  • Definition: Employment activities designed to "right past wrongs" by increasing opportunities for minorities and women.

Reverse Discrimination

  • Definition: Discrimination against members of dominant or majority group (e.g. whites or males) usually as a result of policies designed to correct previous discrimination against minority or disadvantaged groups.

Job Analysis

  • Definition: A study of employees who hold various job titles.

Job Description

  • Definition: A summary of the objectives of a job, including:

    • The type of work to be done

    • Responsibilities and duties

    • Working conditions

    • Relationship of the job to other functions.

Job Specifications

  • Definition: A written summary of the minimum qualifications required of workers to do a particular job.

Recruitment

  • Definition: The set of activities used to obtain a sufficient number of the right employees at the right time.

Selection

  • Definition: The process of gathering information and deciding who should be hired, under legal guidelines, to serve the best interests of the individual and the organization.

Contingent Workers

  • Definition: Employees that include:

    • Part-time workers

    • Temporary workers

    • Seasonal workers

    • Independent contractors

    • Interns

    • Co-op students.

Training and Development

  • Definition: All attempts to improve productivity by increasing an employee's ability to perform.

    • Training: Focuses on short-term skills.

    • Development: Focuses on long-term abilities.

Orientation

  • Definition: The activity that introduces new employees to:

    • The organization

    • Fellow employees

    • Their immediate supervisors

    • Policies, practices, and objectives of the firm.

On-the-Job Training

  • Definition: Training at the workplace that allows the employee to learn by doing or by watching others and then imitating them.

Apprentice Programs

  • Definition: Training programs during which a learner works alongside an experienced employee to master the skills and procedures of a craft.

Off-the-Job Training

  • Definition: Internal or external training programs away from the workplace that develop a variety of skills or foster personal development.

Online Training

  • Definition: Training programs in which employees complete classes via the internet.

Vestibule Training

  • Definition: Training done in schools where employees are taught on equipment similar to that used on the job.

Management Development

  • Definition: The process of training and educating employees to become good managers, followed by monitoring their progress in managerial skills over time.

Networking

  • Definition: The process of establishing and maintaining contacts with key managers both in and outside the organization to weave strong relationships that serve as informal development systems.

Mentor

  • Definition: An experienced employee who supervises, coaches, and guides lower-level employees by introducing them to the right people and generally being their organizational sponsor.

Performance Appraisal

  • Definition: An evaluation that measures employee performance against established standards to make decisions regarding:

    • Promotions

    • Compensation

    • Training

    • Termination.

Cafeteria-Style Fringe Benefits

  • Definition: Allow employees to choose the benefits they want (up to a certain dollar amount).

Compressed Workweek

  • Definition: A work schedule that permits an employee to work a full number of hours per week but in fewer days.

Core Time

  • Context: In a flextime plan, this is the period when all employees are expected to be on their job stations.

Fringe Benefits

  • Definition: Financial extras beyond the regular paycheck, such as:

    • Health insurance

    • Life insurance

    • Sick leave

    • Paid vacation

    • Retirement.

Human Resources Management (HRM)

  • Definition: All the activities involved in:

    • Selecting

    • Acquiring

    • Maintaining

    • Developing

    • Motivating

    • Evaluating

    • Compensating

    • Scheduling employees to achieve organizational goals.

Job Sharing

  • Definition: An arrangement whereby two part-time employees share one full-time job.

Job Simulation

  • Definition: The use of equipment that duplicates job conditions and tasks so trainees can learn skills before attempting them on the job.

Flextime Plan

  • Definition: Work schedules that give employees flexibility in choosing when to work, provided they complete the required number of hours or assigned tasks.