360-degree appraisal

A type of appraisal system that provides feedback from a range of people who work with or interact with the appraisee, such as their line manager, co-workers, subordinates and even customers.

Ageing population

A higher average age of the population.

Appraisal

Also known as a performance review, this is the formal procedure of assessing the performance and effectiveness of an employee, in relation to his/her job description.

Behavioural training

Type of training that focuses on developing the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills of workers.

Cognitive training

Method of training that focuses on improving an employee’s thinking skills in order to improve their performance and effectiveness in the workplace.

Demography

The study of population trends.

Dismissal

The employer’s decision to terminate a worker’s employment contract, usually due to the worker’s incompetence and/or a breach of their employment contract.

External factors

The issues or factors that are beyond the control of the organization, e.g. minimum wage legislation.

Flexitime

A form of flexible work practice that enables employees to work a set number of core hours each week, often at the office during peak periods of the day and/or week.

Formative appraisals

Type of appraisal that takes place on a continual basis in order to allow workers to improve their performance and effectiveness.

Geographical mobility

The ability and willingness of employees to relocate to another location or country for work reasons.

Human resource management

HRM is a broad term used to describe the overall management of an organization's workforce, e.g. attracting, selecting, training, assessing, rewarding and retaining workers.

Induction

Type of training intended for new employees in order to help them acclimatise with the people, policies and processes of the organization.

Internal factors

The issues or features that are within the control of the organization, e.g. staff remuneration and approaches to training.

Job analysis

The process of examining what a particular job involves, thereby enabling the HR department to determine the roles, tasks, duties, responsibilities and skills required to do the job.

Job description

Document containing the particulars of a job, e.g. the job title, roles and responsibilities, and other duties.

Job evaluation

An appraisal of the value of a job in relation to other jobs in the organization, so that the remuneration and other rewards can be determined in an objective, transparent and fair manner.

Labour mobility

Measures the extent to which workers have the ability and willingness to move between geographical locations and/or occupations for their employment.

Labour turnover

The amount of people who leave an organization, expressed as a percentage of the workforce, per time period (usually one year).

Mentoring

The training process of pairing, or attaching, an employee (the trainee or mentee) with a more experienced colleague (the mentor) who acts as a coach, trainer or advisor.

Migrant workers

People who move to other countries in search of better job opportunities.

Occupational mobility

The ability and willingness of employees to do another job or pursue a different career.

Off the job training

Type of training led by external specialists and takes place away from the place of work.

Offshoring

This activity happens when an organization relocates some of its operations overseas, usually due to cost advantages.

On the job training

Type of training that takes place within the organization, so employee are performing tasks at the place of work.

Outsourcing

Also known as subcontracting, this is the use of external (third-party) personnel for certain non-core business operations.

Person specification

Document containing details of the attributes and qualities of the ideal person for a particular job, such as preferred qualifications, experiences, knowledge, skills, and personality.

Promotion

The career advancement of an employee in terms of their hierarchical ranking and professional responsibilities.

Recruitment

The process of hiring a suitable worker. This would typically involve a thorough job analysis in order to attract suitable candidates and then to selecting (hiring) the one(s) most suited to the job.

Recruitment process

A major and vital aspect of human resource management, this refers to the procedures involved in the hiring of the right employees, with the right aptitudes and attitudes.

Redundancy

Occurs when an organization no longer has a job for the employer or when the employer can no longer afford to hire the employee, i.e. the job ceases to exist.

Re-shoring

The opposite of offshoring, as it is the process of bringing back business operations, such as manufacturing, that were previously offshored.

Retention

The opposite of labour turnover, this measures the ability of an organization to keep its employees at the firm.

Self-appraisal

A type of appraisal system that involves the individual employee reflecting on and rating his/her own performance against the pre-agreed standards.

Shortlisting

The process of employers selecting the most suitable applicants and inviting them for a job interview.

Summative appraisals

Type of appraisal conducted periodically or at the end of a task or project, so includes an element of making a judgment about whether the appraisee has passed the agreed standards.

Teleworking

Flexible working practice that involves employees being away from the office as they rely on the use of telecommunications technologies, e.g. internet and mobile technologies.

Training

This is the provision of work-related education, either on-the-job or off-the-job.

Training

The process of instructing and teaching (or mentoring) employees how to perform certain tasks in their job.

Workforce planning

Also known as human resource planning, this refers to the ongoing process through which the current and future human resource needs of a business are identified and anticipated.