GLOSSARY

Rival Learn: Integrated content for HR professionals

Unlock the power of human resource (HR) lingo with our comprehensive glossary. Packed with essential terms frequently used by HR professionals, this knowledge hub is here to empower you. Dive in, learn and put your newfound knowledge into action. Take advantage of this invaluable resource today!

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  • 30/60/90 Day Plan

    What is a 30/60/90 Day Plan?

    A 30/60/90 Day Plan is a structured roadmap designed for new employees to navigate their initial months in a company effectively. It allows individuals to outline their goals, objectives and critical deliverables within specific timeframes: the first 30, 60, and 90 days of their employment or transition into a new role in the event of a promotion or lateral move.

     

A

  • Assessment Center

    A collection of interviews, aptitude tests, and assignments intended to offer a standardized and objective measure of each candidates’ ability to perform the job for which they’re applying.

  • Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

    A tool used by recruiting and HR teams to organize open job listings, manage candidate applications, and track candidates as they move through each stage of the interview and hiring process.

  • Applicant Pool

    The complete collection of candidates who apply for a given job position.

B

  • Boolean Search in Recruitment

    Boolean Search is a method of navigating search engines that uses Boolean mathematical logic and words such as “and,” “or,” and “not” to achieve powerful and focused results. Boolean Search can be used by recruiters to search various hiring platforms (LinkedIn, Google, candidate portals, etc) for the best potential candidate matches.

  • Ban the Box

    A hiring movement that seeks to promote legislation removing the “criminal record” check box from applications in order to minimize hiring discrimination against former convicts.

C

  • Cross-Boarding

    Training an existing employee in a new role, responsibility, or department.

  • Cover Letter

    A document that summarizes and synthesizes an applicant’s resume, skills related to the job, and reasons for applying.

  • Counteroffer

    An offer made in responsive – and as an alternative – to an offer already presented, usually in the context of salary/benefit negotiations.

  • Compensation

    Agreed-upon payment to an employee for work or services performed. Also known as “salary” (if a set amount of money per calendar period) or “wage” (if an amount of money offered per hour of work performed). A “Compensation Package” encompasses not just base compensation, but benefits as well.

  • Candidate Portal

    An online platform or location within a website where job seekers can submit and manage applications, provide supplementary materials, answer questions, and more.

D

E

  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

    Ensuring that hiring is done without discrimination on the basis of legally protected classes, including race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, and physical or mental disability.

  • Employer Branding

    Aesthetic, linguistic, and cultural components of a company used to develop a coherent and unique corporate identity that can be used when marketing the workplace to potential workers.

  • Employee Socialization

    A part of the onboarding and orientation process that works to integrate new hires into the workplace socially and culturally. Examples include meet-and-greets with other departments, introductions to company clubs, and outside-the-office activities like corporate happy hours.

  • E-Learning

    Online learning opportunities such as web certification programs or online education courses.

F

  • Functional Job Analysis

    A method of analyzing jobs that seeks to gather information about all that goes into a particular role and what is required from a worker in that role, and qualitatively determine the best fit for the job. Functional Job Analysis (FJA) currently covers seven different categories for each job:

    1. Things (physical tools required to perform the job)
    2. Data (information relevant to the company that a worker must analyze)
    3. Worker Instructions (processes and procedures a worker is expected to follow)
    4. Reasoning (the need for a worker to think critically and make smart decisions)
    5. People (how well an employee must work with others)
    6. Math (how much a worker must work with numbers and mathematical skills)
    7. Language (a worker’s ability to read, synthesize, and communicate information effectively)
  • Full Life Cycle Recruiting

    A term used to describe a hiring process that covers all 6 stages of recruiting: preparation, sourcing, screening, selecting, hiring, and onboarding.

  • Facebook Recruiting

    Using the social media platform Facebook (Meta) to recruit new workers by advertising open positions, attracting potential candidates, and engaging them to complete the application process.

G

H

  • Human Resources/HR

    A department or individual within a company who is responsible for handling the company’s workforce needs, including leading the recruitment and hiring process, managing employee benefits, and dealing with potential legal issues such as harassment and discrimination claims.

  • Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

    A system or platform used by a human resources department to catalogue, organize, and manage information related to a company’s workforce.

  • Human Capital Management

    Practices that allow a company to optimize the potential of its workforce to provide the highest value for the organization. Human Capital Management can encompass recruitment, onboarding, professional development, upskilling, and more.

  • HR Software

    Software that gives tools to Human Resources departments to help them better manage their work and their workforce.

  • HR Analytics/Data-Driven Recruiting

    A recruiting strategy that utilizes HR technology to produce data and metrics which are then used to optimize the hiring process for efficiency and meeting internal goals.

  • Hiring Process

    An umbrella term for the entire process that begins with identifying the need to hire a new employee, continues through the recruiting and interview stages, and ends with that new employee finishing their onboarding.

  • Hiring Manager

    The manager to whom a candidate will report once the hiring process is complete. A hiring manager often collaborates with Human Resources to develop an appropriate job description and listing and will be a driving force in the interview process, as well as being the person that makes the final decision on which candidate to hire.

I

  • Induction

    A component of the onboarding process that involves fully integrating a new hire into the company and helping them fully understand the company’s culture, values, and goals as well as how their specific role contributes to those attributes. Induction typically begins once a new hire starts digging into their daily work and can last weeks or even months.

  • Inbound Recruiting

    Campaigning to attract more job applicants by using marketing tools, content creation, and social media platforms to promote a company’s strengths and competitive advantages.

  • I-9 Form

    The United States federal government’s Employment Eligibility Verification form. All companies based in the U.S. require this form to verify that applicants are legally eligible to work in the country.

J

  • Job Description

    A document outlining everything a potential hire (or current employee) may need to know about a particular position, including roles and responsibilities, compensation and benefits, necessary qualifications, and information on the organization’s mission, values, and culture.

K

L

  • Levels/Job Leveling

    A process involving clearly defining the roles, responsibilities, and hierarchical positioning for each position within an organization. Beyond a simple job description, the job leveling process should make it clear what the career path and opportunities for advancement will look like for an employee in any given role.

M

N

  • New Hire

    Any hire who has not been employed by the company for the past 60 days. Whether a hire is brand-new to the company or a former employee returning after a 60+ day span of unemployment, they are legally considered a new hire and must go through the onboarding process in full.

O

  • Org Chart

    A visual framework for the organizational structure and internal hierarchies within a workplace. Typically broken down into departments, an org chart clearly lays out who reports to whom and who is responsible for what.

  • Onboarding

    The process of introducing a new hire to their role within an organization. The onboarding process typically begins on a new hire’s first day and covers administrative responsibilities (like signing up for a health care plan or setting up direct deposit), introductions, training, and the first several months of work as the employee gets up to speed.

  • Offboarding

    The transition process as an employee leaves the company, whether through voluntary quitting, layoffs, or being fired. This can involve reassigning tasks, conducting exit interviews, revoking access credentials, and returning company equipment.

  • Offer Letter

    A letter or email sent to a candidate chosen at the end of the hiring process, extending an offer of employment. An offer letter can be an official or unofficial document and often includes information like salary/wage, a list of benefits, start date, etc.

P

  • Pre-Boarding

    An extension of the onboarding process that serves to make a new hire feel welcomed by the organization before their first day on the job. This can include small touch points such as welcome emails, what to expect from the onboarding process, and even simple info such as where to park.

  • People Operations

    The work Human Resources puts into developing programs focused on training, feedback, support and development, recognition, and organizational culture.

Q

R

  • Recruiter/Recruiting

    A recruiter is a professional whose job is to research, discover, and engage with potential job candidates on behalf of a hiring organization. Recruiters typically reach out to the strong candidates and conduct first-round interviews, at which point the process is handed off to the hiring manager or department head. A recruiter can be internal to an organization or contracted through a recruiting agency.

S

  • Systems/Platforms

    Tools that organizations or individual teams use to effectively communicate, provide feedback, track their work and benefits, and perform their jobs to the best of their abilities.

  • Stable Agility

    Finding a balance between sticking to the tried-and-true foundational practices of your organization (stability) while maintaining the ability to stay responsive in constantly shifting environments (agility).

  • Salary Bands and Salary Transparency

    A salary band is the range an organization is willing to pay for a particular position, with the exact salary determined by potential factors such as candidate experience, internal pay equity, and candidate negotiations. Salary transparency is the practice of being open about salary bands with potential job candidates.

T

U

  • Upskilling

    Employee training that works to develop and improve an employee’s existing skills.

  • Up-boarding/Employee Training

    Training a promoted employee for their new role as if they were a new hire, rather than assuming automatic proficiency.

V

W

  • Workflow

    How different tasks are sequenced in order to achieve a particular outcome or objective, or reach a certain goal.

X

Y

  • Yield Ratio

    The Percentage of an applicant pool that advances to the next stage in the hiring process.

Z

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