HR Glossary
A glossary of human resources terminology, where we explain the words and phrases used across the HR industry.
Absenteeism
Absenteeism refers to an employee's absence from work, meaning a failure to perform work within a specified period, without justified reason or the employer's consent.
Ageism
Ageism refers to all forms of discrimination or prejudice motivated by age.
Agile HR
Agile HR is an approach to human resources management that involves the rapid and flexible adaptation of HR strategy to changing market, business, and organisational conditions.
Assessment Centre
An assessment centre is a method for evaluating employees or job candidates, utilising various techniques such as simulations, group tasks, individual exercises, and psychological tests.
Baby Boomer Generation
The baby boomer generation, Generation BB, boomers – each of these terms refers to a specific generational cohort, specifically individuals born between 1946 and 1964.
Bradford Factor
Used to measure short-term absences from work, which are generally more disruptive to business than longer absences. Learn the formula and application of this factor.
Burnout
What is burnout? How to recognise it and what are its most common causes. What can be done to help an employee experiencing burnout?
Business Travel
Employee business travel – everything you need to know about business trips. Domestic and international travel, expense settlement, allowances, frequently asked questions.
Business Travel Allowance
Who is entitled to a business travel allowance and when. Allowance rates, common mistakes, frequently asked questions about business travel allowances.
Candidate Experience
Candidate experience refers to a job applicant's feelings and perceptions regarding the recruitment process they participated in. Every individual seeking employment forms an opinion about a company as an employer.
Commuting Allowance
What is a commuting allowance? How does it differ from a business travel allowance? What is the amount, when and to whom is it granted?
Competency framework
A competency framework is a list of skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to correctly perform the tasks of a given profession. Why are they defined? How do they differ from a competency matrix?
Confrontation meeting
A confrontation meeting is a situation where two or more parties meet to resolve issues between them.
Cost to Company (CTC)
Cost to Company (CTC) is an indicator that refers to the total costs incurred by a company for an employee, including not only their salary but also all benefits and allowances offered to employees.
Crossboarding
What is employee crossboarding, what are its benefits, why and how should you implement it in your organisation?
Culture Book
A Culture Book (or organisational culture book) is a document that outlines the values, beliefs, and norms important to a company. How do you prepare a Culture Book? What should you pay attention to when creating it?
Employee Briefing
An employee briefing is a meeting between an employer and employees, typically held before redundancy, restructuring, or company liquidation.
Employee Competencies
Employee competencies and their types. A list of hard, soft, key, personal, and professional employee competencies.
Employee Lifecycle
The employee lifecycle is a process that describes the stages of an employee's journey within an organisation, from recruitment to their departure.
Employee Performance Appraisal
Employee performance appraisal is a process of measuring and analysing an employee's achievements and behaviours at work to determine their effectiveness and progress.
Employee Performance Review Form
An employee performance review form is a tool used by employers and managers to assess employees' work.
Employer Branding
How do you build a strong employer brand? Learn about employer branding strategies that attract talent and foster team loyalty.
Feedback
Feedback is a communication given to an employee about their work, behaviour, or results, aimed at reinforcing desired actions or correcting those that require change.
Flexible Working Hours
Flexible working hours refers to a work system where an employee does not have a fixed schedule and is not required to work a specific number of hours daily, weekly, or monthly.
Generation X
Generation X is one of several generations identified by sociologists and psychologists. Alongside Generation Y (Millennials), it is currently one of the predominant generations in the labour market.
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the “Next Generation,” “Millennium Generation,” or “Digital Generation,” and most widely recognised as “Millennials,” refers to individuals born in the 1980s and 1990s.
Generation Z
Generation Z, Centennials, Generation C, Internet Generation, Gen Z, Post-Millennials, Multitasking Generation, Silent Generation, and finally, Zoomers.
Go-slow strike
A go-slow strike (also known as an Italian strike or work-to-rule) is a form of employee protest in which they refuse to work overtime or outside the hours specified in their contract, but do not completely stop working.
Golden handcuffs
In a relationship, you can find yourself in a 'golden cage', becoming financially dependent on your partner, and at work – bound by golden handcuffs. What does this mean?
Halo Effect in HR
The halo effect is the tendency to generalise opinions about one characteristic or behaviour of an individual to their entire personality.
Hawthorne Effect
What is the Hawthorne effect and how does it influence employee productivity? Discover how the awareness of being observed changes behaviour in the workplace.
Headhunter
A headhunter is an individual or a firm specialising in recruiting high-calibre specialists and managerial staff for companies.
Health and Safety Training
Health and safety training (BHP in Poland) is mandatory for all employees in Poland.
Hot Desking
Hot desking refers to the practice where employees do not have a dedicated desk, but rather use any available workspace.
HR Analyst
An HR Analyst is responsible for processing employee data and HR processes. They also identify best practices and provide recommendations to companies regarding their workforce strategy.
HR Audit
An HR audit, also known as a personnel audit or employee audit, is a process of evaluating and analysing the level of employee competence and performance, as well as the effectiveness of the currently applied human resource management methods.
HR Business Partner
An HR Business Partner, as defined by Dave Ulrich, who conceptualised HR Business Partnering in the 1990s, is responsible for achieving a company’s strategic goals through human resource management.
HRM System
An HRM System (Human Resource Management System) is software designed for managing human resources, which collects employee data and automates HR processes in one place.
Human Capital Management (HCM)
HCM is a system for managing human capital, encompassing all procedures related to employee management within an organisation.
Human Resources Management
Human Resources Management, or HRM, is a term referring to all organisational activities related to the development, work efficiency, acquisition, and retention of employees within a company.
IKE / IKZE (Polish Individual Retirement Accounts)
IKE (Indywidualne Konto Emerytalne – Individual Retirement Account) and IKZE (Indywidualne Konto Zabezpieczenia Emerytalnego – Individual Retirement Security Account) are voluntary forms of long-term retirement savings within the so-called 3rd pillar of the Polish pension system.
Implicit Bias
Implicit bias is a psychological concept referring to hidden or unconscious associations that influence how people perceive and evaluate others.
Incentive Travel
Incentive travel is a trip organised and funded by a company, serving as a reward for employees, sales teams, or business partners for achieving specific goals.
Inclusivity
Inclusivity (from English 'inclusion')
Interim Management
Interim management is a collaboration model where a company temporarily entrusts the management of an entire organisation, a specific department, or a particular project to an experienced external manager – an interim manager.
Job Classification
Job classification is one method of job evaluation, which is the process of determining the importance, difficulty, and value of individual positions within a company based on specified criteria.
Johari Window
The Johari Window is currently one of the most popular coaching tools. It is used to better understand oneself and one's relationships with other people.
Just in Time
What is the Just in Time method? How can this production management strategy be applied to other business processes? Find out how to implement JIT.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a concept developed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943.
Mentoring
Mentoring involves providing long-term support to an individual during their training process, as they develop their competencies.
Myers-Briggs Method
The Myers-Briggs Method is a psychometric tool used to identify personality preferences.
Nepotism
Nepotism is the practice of favouring relatives or friends in the hiring or promotion process within the workplace.
Networking
Networking is the process of establishing and maintaining business and social contacts to exchange information, gain new business or professional opportunities, and build long-term business relationships.
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is a way of conveying information using means other than words, i.e., without the use of speech or writing.
Offboarding
How to conduct effective employee offboarding? What elements should be considered? Process, statistics, tips.
Offshoring
Offshoring is the practice of relocating part of a business or business processes from the home country to other countries, usually for economic benefits.
Outplacement
Outplacement involves providing support to employees who lose their jobs due to major restructuring or the elimination of individual positions. This system is also legally defined as monitored redundancies.
Passive Candidate
Who is a passive candidate and how do they differ from an active candidate? How does recruitment work, and why is it worth looking for passive job seekers?
Periodic Medical Examinations
Periodic medical examinations are mandatory medical checks that an employer is obliged to provide to their employees in accordance with labour law regulations.
Piecework
Piecework is a type of manual labour that involves moving and arranging heavy objects or materials.
Pre-boarding
Pre-boarding is a process that begins after a new employee signs their contract and concludes the day before their first day of work.
Queen Bee Syndrome
Queen Bee Syndrome primarily affects women in senior positions, manifesting as clear discrimination against other female employees and favouritism towards men.
Question Order Effect
The question order effect is a phenomenon that occurs when the sequence of questions in a survey or test influences respondents' answers. How can you avoid it?
Quiet hiring
Quiet hiring is the process of acquiring new skills within a company to fill staffing gaps and increase productivity, but without permanently hiring new people.
Quiet quitting
Quiet quitting is a phenomenon that is changing the labour market. Find out how to recognise quiet quitting and prevent a decline in engagement.
Talent management
Talent management is a strategy focused on identifying, developing, and retaining the most valuable employees within an organisation.
Talent Pool
Discover what a talent pool is and why it's beneficial to build databases of candidates interested in working for your company.
Task-based working hours
Task-based working hours are a flexible work arrangement where the achieved outcome is of primary importance. What does task-based working hours entail and how should it be applied?
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is an approach that focuses on developing and enhancing the potential of others by inspiring them to achieve higher goals and realise their full potential.
Universal Basic Income
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a concept where the government pays every individual in society a certain, regular amount of money.
Upskilling
What is upskilling in a company? When and how should it be introduced? What benefits does upskilling offer both the company and its employees? Find out more!
Wage Indexation
Wage indexation (or wage valorisation) is the practice of increasing employee wages in response to rising prices and living costs (i.e., inflation). Its purpose is to maintain the real value of wages so that purchasing power does not decrease despite rising prices.
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is an individual who, acting in the best interest of all employees and the organisation itself, reports any irregularities within the company resulting from non-compliance with EU law to the appropriate authorities.
Work Buddy
A 'work buddy' is a colleague who supports the onboarding process when integrating a new employee.
Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is the equilibrium between professional and personal life, enabling employees to effectively combine work with other aspects of life, such as family, hobbies, friends, and rest.
Workaholism
Workaholism is a state where work has become an obsession, and an individual is unable to disengage from work despite detrimental consequences.
Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying is the systematic and persistent intimidation, humiliation, ignoring, ridicule, isolation, or other forms of negative actions undertaken by one or more individuals towards another person or group of people.
Workplace Wellbeing
Wellbeing describes a state in which a person enjoys good health and a broad sense of happiness.
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