Human Resources Glossary from A to Z — Human Resources

Human Resources Glossary — 139 definitions

All the terms defined in the 29 sections of the guide, listed in alphabetical order.
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Absence: Period when the employee does not work (leave, illness, family event, unjustified absence), with possible impact on pay.
Absenteeism: Measurement of absences; an indicator of workplace climate, working conditions and health.
Social and cultural activities: Benefits managed by the employee body for staff (leisure, perks), depending on the country.
Personnel administration: Managing the milestones of an employee's working life: contracts, files, working time, absences, payroll.
Social protection enrollment: Registering the employee with mandatory schemes (social security, supplementary health insurance, contingency coverage depending on the country).
Work-study contract: Contract combining employment and training (apprenticeship, vocational training) to gain a qualification. (FR: alternance.)
Ambassador: Satisfied employee who speaks positively about the company and boosts its attractiveness.
Needs analysis: Preliminary step before recruitment: reason for the position, duties, must-have vs nice-to-have skills.
Job ad (job posting): Text presenting the position and the company to attract relevant applications.
Fact-based approach: Handling a situation based on verifiable facts rather than rumors or impressions.
ATS: Applicant Tracking System: software for managing applications and the recruitment process.
Attractiveness: Ability of a company to generate applications and appeal to talent.
Authenticity: Consistency between the employer image communicated and the reality experienced by employees.
HR automation: Automatic handling of repetitive tasks (reminders, data entry, routine replies) freeing up time.
Training need: Gap between required and available skills, to be closed through a development action.
Algorithmic bias: Reproduction or amplification of discrimination by an AI tool, stemming from its training data.
Appraisal bias: Distorted judgment (halo effect, leniency/severity, recency effect) skewing the evaluation.
Recruitment bias: Automatic, irrelevant judgment (name, age, origin, appearance, gut feeling) skewing the evaluation.
Payslip: Document issued with each payroll detailing compensation, contributions and net pay.
Burnout: Professional exhaustion resulting from chronic stress and excessive workload.
Skills mapping: Inventory of the organization's jobs and skills, the basis for forward-looking analysis.
CDD: Fixed-term contract: for a specific temporary need, with an end date; strictly regulated. (FR: contrat à durée déterminée.)
CDI: Permanent contract: the standard, open-ended form of employment contract, with no fixed end. (FR: contrat à durée indéterminée.)
Skills (knowledge / know-how / soft skills): Knowledge, practical abilities and behaviors required for the position.
External competitiveness: Positioning of pay against the market to attract and retain talent.
Confidentiality: Protecting data against unauthorized access; access limited to those who need it.
Conflict: Disagreement or tension between people/groups at work, which can escalate if left unaddressed.
Paid leave: Paid days off earned through work, whose scheduling is regulated.
Consultation: Obligation to inform employee representatives and seek their opinion on certain topics/projects before deciding.
Employment contract: Agreement formalizing the employment relationship: duties, pay, duration, location, binding both parties.
Human oversight: Keeping the final decision with a human on important matters, AI remaining a support tool.
Collective agreement: Sector-level agreement setting rules specific to an industry (often more favorable than the law). (FR: convention collective.)
Employee referral: Recommendation of a candidate by a company employee; an often fast, effective channel.
Social contributions: Deductions funding social protection: employee share (deducted from gross) and employer share (paid on top by the employer).
CPF: Personal Training Account (France): training entitlement the employee can use directly. (FR: Compte Personnel de Formation.)
Objective criterion: Measurable, job-related element used to evaluate candidates without arbitrariness or discrimination.
CSE: Social and Economic Committee (France): the single body representing employees (merged DP, CE, CHSCT). (FR: Comité Social et Économique.)
Anonymous resume: Application hiding irrelevant personal data (name, age, photo) to reduce bias.
Resignation: Termination at the employee's initiative, who decides to leave the company (usually with a notice period).
Social dialogue: Organized exchanges between the employer and employee representatives on working conditions.
HR digitalization: Digital transformation of the HR function through HRIS, automation and AI.
Discrimination: Unfavorable treatment based on a prohibited criterion (origin, gender, age, disability…); forbidden by law.
Diversity: Variety of profiles in the organization (origins, genders, ages, backgrounds, disability, etc.).
End-of-contract documents: Documents issued on departure (employment certificate, final settlement, attestations) depending on the country.
Personal data: Information relating to an identified or identifiable person (identity, contact details, pay, health…).
Employee file: All administrative documents relating to an employee (contract, supporting documents, contact details, bank details…).
DPAE: Pre-hiring declaration (France): registering the employee with URSSAF before they start. (FR: Déclaration Préalable À l'Embauche.)
Labor law: All rules governing the employer-employee relationship (contract, hours, pay, safety, termination).
Retention period: How long data may be kept, limited to what is necessary/legal.
Working time: Working time regulated by law/agreement: reference duration, maximums, mandatory rest.
Skills gap: Difference between the skills available today and those required tomorrow.
Workplace equality: Principle of equal treatment, notably between women and men (pay, advancement, conditions).
Employability: Ability of an employee to keep or find a job thanks to their skills, maintained through development.
Engagement: Level of employee involvement and motivation, fostered by good working conditions.
Annual performance review: Review of the elapsed period (goals, achievements, difficulties) and setting of upcoming goals; focuses on performance.
Career development interview: Discussion about the employee's future and path (advancement, wishes, training); mandatory in France, distinct from appraisal.
Structured interview: Prepared interview following a common framework for all candidates, for fair, predictive evaluation.
Internal equity: Consistency of pay among employees with comparable responsibilities and contributions.
Training evaluation: Measuring the effects of training (satisfaction, learning, on-the-job transfer, results) — e.g. the Kirkpatrick model.
Feedback: Information on work (achievements, areas for improvement), ideally continuous, not just annual.
Continuous feedback: Regular feedback on work throughout the year, more effective than the annual review alone.
Job description: Document describing a position: title, duties, activities, required skills, conditions and profile.
Retention: All actions aimed at retaining and engaging employees over time (onboarding is a key lever).
Retention (talent retention): All actions retaining talent (prospects, recognition, development, working conditions).
Hiring formalities: Mandatory steps linked to hiring (declaration, staff register, medical visit, enrollments).
GEPP / GPEC: Forward-looking management of jobs and skills (GEPP replaced GPEC in France): anticipating skills needs and resources.
Performance management: Process aligning individual contributions with the organization's goals and supporting everyone's progress.
Talent management: Identifying, developing and retaining high-potential employees or those with key skills.
Time management: Module tracking employee schedules, attendance, leave and absences.
Payroll officer: Specialist in charge of issuing payslips and handling related social declarations.
Evaluation grid: Form scoring each candidate on the same criteria after the interview, for objective comparison.
Shortlisting grid: Tool listing (weighted) job-related criteria to evaluate applications consistently.
Harassment: Repeated acts (moral) or acts of a sexual nature degrading working conditions; forbidden, to be prevented and addressed.
Overtime: Hours worked beyond the reference duration, entitling to premium pay or time off in lieu.
Hierarchy of norms: Ranking of legal sources (law, agreement, contract) determining which applies.
AI in HR: Use of artificial intelligence in HR: application screening, chatbots, drafting help, predictive analysis.
Inclusion: Every person feeling fully integrated, respected and able to contribute.
HR indicator (KPI): Quantified measure of an HR aspect (turnover, absenteeism, hiring cost…) used for steering.
Job board: Job site posting openings and letting candidates apply.
Dismissal: Termination at the employer's initiative, requiring a real and serious cause and a strict procedure.
Manager: Team leader, HR's key partner for recruiting, evaluating, developing and engaging their staff.
Employer brand: Image and reputation of the company as an employer, influencing its ability to attract and retain talent.
Total payroll cost: Total cost of compensation for the company; keeping it under control conditions the sustainability of pay policy.
Mediation: Intervention of a neutral third party helping the parties find a solution to their dispute themselves.
STAR method: Questioning technique using concrete examples: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
At-risk occupation: Job under pressure, changing fast or threatened, needing special attention (training, retraining).
Minimization: Principle of collecting only data strictly necessary for a specific purpose.
Internal mobility: Move of an employee to another position in the company (promotion, job change, geographic mobility).
Neutrality: Impartial HR stance, taking no sides and guaranteeing fair treatment of people.
SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound goal serving as a clear benchmark for evaluation.
Goals: Expected results set for the employee for the period, serving as a benchmark for evaluation and contribution.
Safety obligation: Employer's duty to protect employees' physical and mental health (risk prevention).
Mutual obligations: Mutual duties: the employer provides work/pay/safety, the employee performs their work and follows discipline.
Onboarding: Integration path for a new employee, from pre-arrival through the first months, to welcome them and build their skills.
OPCO: Skills operator (France): body funding vocational training for companies in a sector. (FR: Opérateur de compétences.)
Buddy: Colleague designated to support the newcomer day-to-day during integration.
Strategic (HR) partner: HR role contributing to the organization's decisions (skills, headcount, culture) beyond administration.
Stakeholder: Party concerned by HR: management, managers, employees, employee representatives, sometimes candidates and external partners.
Probationary period: Initial phase of the contract letting employer and employee validate fit, with easier termination.
Skills development plan: Structured program of the company's training actions, derived from needs and strategy.
Succession plan: Preparing replacements for key positions to anticipate departures and ensure continuity.
Salary policy: Coherent set of pay rules and practices (scales, raises, variable pay, benefits).
HR stance: Positioning of HR as a neutral, credible intermediary reconciling company and employee interests.
Disciplinary power: Employer's right to sanction misconduct, regulated (graduated, proportionate sanction, procedure followed).
Pre-boarding: Preparing the arrival before day one (workstation, equipment, access, informing the team).
Shortlisting: Application screening step to keep a shortlist of profiles to interview.
Prevention: Actions on causes (organization, workload, management) to stop risks arising, rather than treating symptoms.
Target profile: Expected characteristics of a candidate (experience, education, skills, qualities).
Employer Value Proposition (EVP): What the company concretely offers its employees (work, development, conditions, purpose) making it attractive.
Age pyramid: Distribution of headcount by age, revealing upcoming departures and knowledge-transfer stakes.
Behavioral question: Question inviting the candidate to describe a lived situation ("tell me about a time when…") to evaluate real skills.
Discriminatory question: Question unrelated to the position touching on private life or a protected criterion; to be avoided.
QWL / QWCT: Quality of (working) life and working conditions: actions combining employee well-being and performance. (FR: QVT/QVCT.)
Corrective meeting: Meeting telling an employee a behavior must change, firmly but respectfully.
Recognition: Valuing contributions (positive feedback, thanks, advancement) fueling engagement.
Staff register: Document listing all company employees, kept obligatorily up to date.
Employee relations: Dialogue between the employer and employee representatives (unions, CSE) on working conditions.
Variable pay: Pay component linked to performance (bonuses, commissions), on top of base salary.
Employee representatives: Elected staff and/or unions (e.g. CSE) voicing employees in dialogue with the employer.
Employee representation: Elected and/or union bodies voicing employees to the employer.
Reclassification: Judicial reclassification of a misused contract (e.g. abusive CDD reclassified as CDI), with consequences for the employer.
Human Resources (HR): Function managing an organization's people: recruitment, payroll, training, employee relations, strategy. (FR: Ressources Humaines, RH.)
GDPR: European regulation on personal data protection, governing their collection and processing. (FR: RGPD — General Data Protection Regulation.)
PSR: Psychosocial risks: stress, burnout, ill-being linked to work and its organization. (FR: RPS — risques psychosociaux.)
CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility: the company's contribution to social and environmental stakes. (FR: RSE — Responsabilité Sociétale des Entreprises.)
RTT: Additional days off for reduced working time (France), per agreements, compensating hours above a threshold. (FR: réduction du temps de travail.)
Mutual separation agreement: Agreed termination (France) based on mutual employer-employee agreement, with severance. (FR: rupture conventionnelle.)
Contract termination: End of the employment relationship, through various legally regulated channels (resignation, dismissal, mutual agreement…).
Gross salary: Agreed compensation before deduction of employee contributions.
Net salary: Amount actually paid to the employee after deduction of employee contributions.
HR self-service: Feature letting employees/managers perform actions themselves (request leave, view a payslip).
HRIS: Human Resource Information System: tools centralizing and automating HR management. (FR: SIRH — Système d'Information Ressources Humaines.)
Sourcing: All actions to identify and attract candidates (posting ads, active search).
Active sourcing / headhunting: Direct search for candidates (notably passive ones) rather than waiting for spontaneous applications.
HR dashboard: Set of indicators presented synthetically to monitor and steer the HR function.
Talent / high potential: Employee whose skills or advancement potential are particularly valuable to the organization.
Turnover: Staff rotation rate (departures); high turnover often signals an underlying problem.
Social side of CSR: CSR dimension falling to HR: working conditions, equality, inclusion, training, dialogue.
Washing: Displaying values (diversity, CSR) not followed by real action, discrediting the company.