HR glossary
Clear, plain-language definitions of the HR terms used across recruiting, the employee lifecycle, performance, planning, compliance, technology and analytics — 140 and counting. Each entry links related concepts and the deeper guides that put them into practice, and connects to the resource center. Educational and evergreen — no salary data, no benchmarks, not legal advice.
Browse 140 HR terms
Metrics & analytics
Candidate Pipeline
A candidate pipeline is the pool of candidates in progress for current or future roles, and the metrics describing its health.
Open GlossaryCost per Hire
Cost per hire is the average cost of making a hire — total recruiting costs divided by the number of hires.
Open GlossaryEmployee Attrition
Attrition is the reduction of the workforce through departures, often emphasising roles that are not backfilled.
Open GlossaryEmployee Development Metrics
Employee development metrics describe how people grow inside the organisation — participation, internal mobility and roles filled internally.
Open GlossaryEmployee Retention
Employee retention is how well an organisation keeps the people it wants to keep over time.
Open GlossaryEmployee Turnover
Employee turnover is the movement of people out of an organisation over a period — the rate at which employees leave and need replacing.
Open GlossaryFull-Time Equivalent (FTE)
Full-time equivalent (FTE) expresses workforce size in terms of full-time workloads, so part-time roles count as fractions.
Open GlossaryHeadcount
Headcount is the number of people employed by an organisation, team or department at a point in time.
Open GlossaryHeadcount Growth
Headcount growth is the net change in workforce size between two points, as a percentage of the earlier figure.
Open GlossaryHR KPI
An HR KPI (key performance indicator) is a small set of HR measures chosen because they matter most for goals and decisions.
Open GlossaryHR Metrics
HR metrics are the measures used to quantify workforce and hiring — turnover, retention, time to hire, cost per hire and more.
Open GlossaryInterview-to-Offer Ratio
The interview-to-offer ratio is how many interviews are conducted for each offer made.
Open GlossaryKPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
KPIs (key performance indicators) are the few measures chosen to track progress toward what matters most.
Open GlossaryNew-Hire Retention
New-hire retention measures how many recent hires are still employed after an early-tenure window.
Open GlossaryOffer Acceptance Rate
Offer acceptance rate is the share of extended offers that candidates accept.
Open GlossaryOffer-to-Hire Ratio
The offer-to-hire ratio is how many offers it takes to make one hire.
Open GlossaryQuality of Hire
Quality of hire is a composite measure of how well hired people turn out — combining performance, ramp and retention signals.
Open GlossaryRecruitment Conversion Rate
A recruitment conversion rate is the share of candidates who advance from one funnel stage to the next.
Open GlossaryRecruitment Funnel
The recruitment funnel is the set of stages candidates pass through from first contact to accepted offer, with conversion at each step.
Open GlossaryRetention Rate
Retention rate is the share of a starting group of employees still employed at the end of a period.
Open GlossaryTime to Fill
Time to fill is the number of days between a role opening and a candidate accepting an offer.
Open GlossaryTime to Hire
Time to hire is the number of days between a candidate entering the pipeline and accepting an offer.
Open GlossaryTraining Effectiveness
Training effectiveness is the degree to which training changes behaviour and outcomes — not just whether it was completed.
Open GlossaryTraining ROI
Training ROI is the return on a training investment, expressed as the benefit relative to the cost.
Open GlossaryTurnover Rate
Turnover rate expresses separations during a period as a percentage of average headcount for that period.
Open GlossaryUtilization Rate
Utilisation rate is required work hours as a share of realistically available hours.
Open GlossaryVacancy Rate
Vacancy rate is the share of positions currently open — open positions divided by total positions.
Open GlossaryWorkforce Capacity
Workforce capacity is the amount of work your people can realistically do in a period, compared against the work required.
OpenRecruiting & hiring
Active Candidate
An active candidate is someone actively looking for a role and likely to apply directly.
Open GlossaryCandidate Assessment
Candidate assessment is the overall evaluation of how well a candidate fits a role, against defined, role-relevant criteria.
Open GlossaryCandidate Experience
Candidate experience is how it feels to move through your hiring process, from first contact to offer or rejection.
Open GlossaryCandidate Screening
Candidate screening is the first filter that assesses applicants against role requirements to decide who advances.
Open GlossaryCandidate Sourcing
Candidate sourcing is finding and reaching potential candidates — the activity that fills the top of the funnel.
Open GlossaryEmployer Branding
Employer branding is the reputation and value proposition an organisation has as a place to work.
Open GlossaryHiring
Hiring is the act of selecting and bringing a candidate into the organisation, from decision through offer to start.
Open GlossaryInterview
An interview is a structured conversation used to evaluate a candidate against the requirements of a role.
Open GlossaryJob Description
A job description sets out the purpose, responsibilities and requirements of a role.
Open GlossaryPassive Candidate
A passive candidate is someone not actively job-seeking but potentially open to the right opportunity.
Open GlossaryRecruitment
Recruitment is the process of finding, evaluating and hiring people for open roles.
Open GlossaryRecruitment Agency
A recruitment agency is an external firm that finds and presents candidates to employers for a fee.
Open GlossaryRecruitment Marketing
Recruitment marketing is attracting and engaging candidates using marketing techniques and channels.
Open GlossaryRecruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is outsourcing all or part of the recruiting function to an external provider.
Open GlossaryStaffing Agency
A staffing agency supplies workers — often temporary or contract — to organisations that need flexible capacity.
Open GlossaryStructured Interview
A structured interview asks every candidate the same role-relevant questions and scores them against defined criteria.
Open GlossaryTalent Acquisition
Talent acquisition is the broader, more strategic approach to hiring — building pipelines, employer brand and long-term talent supply.
Open GlossaryTalent Pipeline
A talent pipeline is a nurtured pool of candidates you can draw on when roles open, built ahead of need.
OpenEmployee lifecycle
Boomerang Employee
A boomerang employee is someone who leaves an organisation and later returns to it.
Open GlossaryCareer Development
Career development is helping people see and move along a path over time, beyond their current role.
Open GlossaryEmployee Alumni Program
An employee alumni program is a deliberate way to stay connected with former employees after they leave.
Open GlossaryEmployee Experience
Employee experience is the sum of how people perceive and feel about their interactions with an organisation across the lifecycle.
Open GlossaryEmployee Lifecycle
The employee lifecycle is the full journey a person has with an organisation — from attraction and hiring through development and retention to transition and offboarding.
Open GlossaryEmployee Orientation
Orientation is the early welcome that introduces a new hire to the role, people and ways of working.
Open GlossaryExit Interview
An exit interview is a conversation with a departing employee to learn why they are leaving and what could improve.
Open GlossaryInternal Mobility
Internal mobility is people moving into new roles, teams or levels inside the organisation.
Open GlossaryKnowledge Transfer
Knowledge transfer is capturing and handing over what one person knows before they move or leave.
Open GlossaryOffboarding
Offboarding is the structured process of handling an employee’s departure — access, assets, knowledge transfer and a respectful close-out.
Open GlossaryOnboarding
Onboarding is the structured process of bringing a new hire from offer to fully contributing, typically across the first 90 days.
Open GlossaryStay Interview
A stay interview is a proactive conversation to understand why a valued employee stays and what might make them leave.
Open GlossaryTime to Productivity
Time to productivity is how long a new hire takes to reach full effectiveness in their role.
OpenPerformance & development
360-Degree Feedback
360-degree feedback gathers input on someone from multiple sources — managers, peers and reports.
Open GlossaryCoaching
Coaching is helping someone improve by asking questions and giving feedback rather than giving answers.
Open GlossaryCompetency
A competency is a defined skill, behaviour or capability needed to perform a role well.
Open GlossaryEmployee Development
Employee development is the deliberate building of people’s skills and capability in their current role.
Open GlossaryFeedback
Feedback is specific, timely information about behaviour and its impact, given to help someone improve or continue what works.
Open GlossaryGoal Setting
Goal setting is turning intentions into clear, measurable, time-bound goals with owners and check-ins.
Open GlossaryLeadership Development
Leadership development is the deliberate building of people’s ability to lead — current managers and future leaders.
Open GlossaryLearning and Development (L&D)
Learning and development (L&D) is the function and practice of building organisational capability through learning.
Open GlossaryManager Feedback
Manager feedback is the everyday, specific feedback a manager gives a team member to support performance.
Open GlossaryMentoring
Mentoring is a developmental relationship where a more experienced person guides another’s growth.
Open GlossaryOKRs (Objectives and Key Results)
OKRs (objectives and key results) are a goal-setting structure pairing an objective with measurable key results.
Open GlossaryOne-on-One Meeting
A one-on-one is a regular, focused meeting between a manager and a team member.
Open GlossaryPerformance Appraisal
A performance appraisal is a formal evaluation of an employee’s performance, often part of a review cycle.
Open GlossaryPerformance Improvement Plan (PIP)
A performance improvement plan (PIP) is a structured plan to help an employee meet expectations within a defined period.
Open GlossaryPerformance Management
Performance management is the ongoing cycle of setting expectations, giving feedback and reviewing performance fairly and consistently.
Open GlossaryPerformance Review
A performance review is a structured conversation that looks back at performance and agrees next goals.
Open GlossarySkills Gap
A skills gap is the difference between the capabilities a role or organisation needs and those it currently has.
OpenWorkforce planning & org design
Business Continuity
Business continuity, from a workforce angle, is keeping critical work running when key people become unavailable.
Open GlossaryCapacity Planning
Capacity planning compares the work people can realistically do against the work the business needs done.
Open GlossaryHeadcount Planning
Headcount planning is deciding which roles you need, when, and in what order — including backfills and net change.
Open GlossaryOrg Chart
An org chart is a diagram of an organisation’s structure — who reports to whom and how teams fit together.
Open GlossaryOrganizational Design
Organizational design is deciding how an organisation is structured — roles, teams, reporting lines and decision rights.
Open GlossaryOrganizational Growth
Organizational growth is how an organisation matures as it scales — evolving structure, leadership and ways of working.
Open GlossaryResource Planning
Resource planning is matching people, skills and time to the work that needs doing.
Open GlossarySpan of Control
Span of control is the number of people who report directly to one manager.
Open GlossarySuccession Planning
Succession planning is preparing for changes in critical roles by identifying them and developing potential successors.
Open GlossaryTeam Structure
Team structure is how a team’s roles, ownership and ways of working fit together.
Open GlossaryWorkforce Allocation
Workforce allocation is distributing people and effort across competing work and priorities.
Open GlossaryWorkforce Forecasting
Workforce forecasting is estimating future people needs from goals, demand and attrition so hiring is proactive.
Open GlossaryWorkforce Planning
Workforce planning is deciding what people and structure an organisation needs to meet its goals — roles, numbers, timing and capacity.
Open GlossaryWorkforce Prioritization
Workforce prioritization is deciding which roles, hires and work come first when you cannot do everything.
Open GlossaryWorkforce Risk
Workforce risk is the set of people-related risks that could disrupt an organisation — key-person dependency, skill gaps and unexpected attrition.
OpenCompliance, policy & records
Code of Conduct
A code of conduct sets the shared values and standards for how people behave at work.
Open GlossaryData Retention
Data retention is keeping data for an appropriate period and disposing of it responsibly afterwards.
Open GlossaryDisciplinary Process
A disciplinary process is how conduct or performance concerns are addressed fairly and consistently.
Open GlossaryEmployee Data Privacy
Employee data privacy is handling the personal information of your people responsibly, securely and transparently.
Open GlossaryEmployee Grievance
An employee grievance is a formal concern or complaint raised by an employee.
Open GlossaryEmployee Handbook
An employee handbook gathers key policies, expectations and practical information into one accessible place.
Open GlossaryEmployee Record
An employee record is documented information about an employee held by the organisation.
Open GlossaryEqual Employment Opportunity (EEO)
Equal employment opportunity is the principle that people should be considered and treated on merit and role relevance, not personal characteristics.
Open GlossaryHR Compliance
HR compliance is keeping HR documentation, records, data and policy in good order and aligned with applicable rules.
Open GlossaryPersonnel File
A personnel file is the organised record of an individual employee’s employment information.
Open GlossaryPolicy Management
Policy management is the lifecycle of a policy — writing, communicating, applying and maintaining it over time.
Open GlossaryWorkplace Confidentiality
Workplace confidentiality is handling sensitive information discreetly and on a need-to-know basis.
Open GlossaryWorkplace Policy
A workplace policy is a written rule or guideline for how something is handled at work.
OpenHR technology & data
AI in HR
AI in HR is the use of artificial intelligence to assist HR work, such as drafting, summarising and surfacing information.
Open GlossaryApplicant Tracking System (ATS)
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that manages candidates through the hiring funnel — postings, applications, stages and communication.
Open GlossaryDocument Management
Document management is how an organisation organises, secures, finds and shares its documents.
Open GlossaryEmployee Self-Service (ESS)
Employee self-service (ESS) lets employees view and manage their own HR information directly, such as details and requests.
Open GlossaryHR Automation
HR automation is using technology to handle repetitive, rules-based HR work so people focus on judgement.
Open GlossaryHR Dashboard
An HR dashboard is a clear, at-a-glance view of the few people measures that matter most.
Open GlossaryHR Process Improvement
HR process improvement is making people processes faster, fairer and more reliable by understanding and refining them.
Open GlossaryHR Reporting
HR reporting is presenting HR data clearly and consistently to the people who need it for decisions.
Open GlossaryHR Workflows
An HR workflow is the defined path work takes — steps, order, owners and approvals — for an HR process.
Open GlossaryHRIS (Human Resource Information System)
An HRIS (human resource information system) is the core system of record for employee data and HR processes.
Open GlossaryHRMS (Human Resource Management System)
An HRMS (human resource management system) is HR software covering a broad set of HR functions, often overlapping with an HRIS.
Open GlossaryPeople Analytics
People analytics is the discipline of analysing people data to inform decisions about the workforce.
Open GlossaryWorkforce Analytics
Workforce analytics is the use of people data to understand and improve the workforce — spotting patterns in hiring, retention and capacity.
OpenEngagement & culture
Burnout
Burnout is a state of exhaustion from prolonged, unmanaged work stress.
Open GlossaryEmployee Engagement
Employee engagement is how connected, motivated and committed people feel to their work and organisation.
Open GlossaryEmployee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
Employee net promoter score (eNPS) is a simple measure of how likely employees are to recommend their workplace.
Open GlossaryEmployee Recognition
Employee recognition is acknowledging people’s contributions and good work.
Open GlossaryEmployee Satisfaction
Employee satisfaction is how content employees are with their job and workplace.
Open GlossaryEmployee Wellbeing
Employee wellbeing is the overall health and welfare of employees — physical, mental and work-related.
Open GlossaryOrganizational Culture
Organizational culture is the shared values, norms and behaviours that shape how people work together.
Open GlossaryPsychological Safety
Psychological safety is a shared belief that it is safe to speak up, ask questions and admit mistakes without fear.
OpenWork models
Distributed Team
A distributed team has members working from different locations, sometimes across time zones.
Open GlossaryFlexible Work
Flexible work is arrangements that give employees choice over when, where or how they work.
Open GlossaryHybrid Work
Hybrid work is splitting time between an office and remote work.
Open GlossaryRemote Work
Remote work is working away from a central office, often from home or anywhere.
Open GlossaryWork-Life Balance
Work-life balance is the degree to which people can manage work alongside the rest of their lives.
OpenRoles, functions & concepts
Compensation
Compensation is the pay and financial reward an organisation provides for work.
Open GlossaryEmployee Benefits
Employee benefits are the non-wage provisions an organisation offers, such as leave and other support.
Open GlossaryEmployee Relations
Employee relations is the area of HR focused on the relationship between employees and the organisation, including handling concerns.
Open GlossaryHR Business Partner (HRBP)
An HR business partner (HRBP) embeds with a business unit to align people strategy with business goals.
Open GlossaryHuman Capital
Human capital is the collective skills, knowledge and capability of an organisation’s people.
Open GlossaryHuman Resources (HR)
Human resources (HR) is the function responsible for managing people across the employee lifecycle.
Open GlossaryOnboarding Buddy
An onboarding buddy is an established colleague who helps a new hire settle in during their early days.
Open GlossaryPeople Operations
People operations is running HR as a smooth, scalable operation focused on the employee experience and efficient systems.
Open GlossaryTotal Rewards
Total rewards is the full value an organisation offers employees — pay, benefits, development and experience combined.
Open GlossaryWorkforce
The workforce is the total set of people who work for an organisation, including different work arrangements.
OpenFrom definitions to doing
The glossary connects to every cluster on the site.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the HR glossary?
The HR glossary is an educational encyclopedia of HR terms — clear definitions of the concepts used across recruiting, the employee lifecycle, performance, planning, compliance, technology and analytics. Each entry links to related terms and the deeper guides that put the concept into practice.
Are the definitions authoritative or legal?
They are educational and plain-language, not legal, tax or compliance advice and not official definitions. Terms and obligations vary by organisation and jurisdiction; confirm specifics with qualified professionals.
Do the entries include data or benchmarks?
No. There is no salary data, no benchmarks and no fabricated statistics. Numeric examples are simple, placeholder-based arithmetic illustrations of a formula or idea.
How is the glossary organised?
By theme — metrics, recruiting, lifecycle, performance, planning, compliance, technology, culture, work models and roles — and every entry cross-links related concepts and the relevant clusters.
Who is the glossary for?
Anyone learning HR vocabulary — founders, new HR professionals, managers and team leaders — and anyone wanting a quick, trustworthy definition with links to go deeper.