The absence rate measures the frequency of employees failing to report to work when they are scheduled. Rates above 5 percent are typically considered high, indicating potential issues within the workforce or workplace environment.
An annual wage refers to a fixed salary paid out to an employee over the course of a year, generally used to determine total compensation for employment services provided within that period.
Background processing involves investigation by management of an employee's job history and personal references, ensuring that qualified personnel are placed in an organization. This process is also known as a background check.
A personnel system that collapses numerous pay ranges and classifications into a smaller number of broader pay ranges and classifications, offering an organization high flexibility and responsiveness in salary and job grouping.
A part-time worker whose livelihood is achieved from irregular, often temporary work. Such work is often seasonal and is performed in several successive locations.
Comparable worth, also known as 'equal pay for equal work,' is an employment theory advocating for compensation based on the value of the job to the organization, irrespective of who performs it. This principle is particularly relevant for addressing compensation inequities among female employees in the United States.
Compensation refers to the direct and indirect monetary and nonmonetary rewards provided to employees in recognition of the value of their job, their personal contributions, and their performance. These rewards must align with the organization's ability to pay and comply with relevant legal guidelines.
Compensatory time, often referred to as comp time, is time off that an employee is allowed to take in lieu of overtime pay.
Dehiring refers to the process of laying off, firing, or rejecting a previous hiring decision. It involves retracting the employment of an individual or group of employees after they have been hired.
Departmentalization is the process of forming employees into groups to accomplish specific organizational goals. It can be organized based on the functions performed, products offered, type of customer, or geographic divisions.
A disciplinary layoff is a suspension or temporary removal of a worker as a penalty for violating work rules on the job. This form of layoff entails the suspension of all salary payments during the layoff period.
Discrimination involves applying special treatment (generally unfavorable) to an individual solely on the basis of the person's ethnicity, age, religion, or sex.
Permanent termination of employment with an organization; being fired from a job.
Docking refers to the practice of reducing an employee's wage due to infractions such as lateness or absence, as per company policies.
Double time refers to a payment condition in which employees are paid twice their regular hourly rates for specific types of work, including overtime, Sundays, or holidays.
Early-retirement benefits are benefits a person is entitled to when retiring before the formal retirement age. Early retirement is increasingly common in the United States.
Conditions required to be covered by employee benefit plans such as pensions, under which minimum requirements, such as a certain number of years of service, must be met by an employee to qualify for benefits.
An employee is an individual who works for compensation, either direct or indirect, for an employer in return for stipulated services. Employees may be compensated hourly, daily, or annually. Employers have the right to control the work performed by their employees, including timing and means of accomplishing tasks.
Tangible personal property given as an award to an employee for length of service, productivity, or safety achievement.
An employment agency is a public or private organization that provides services for individuals seeking employment and for potential employers seeking employees.
A formal agreement between employer and employee, stating the terms of employment in an organization. Employers are bound by Federal Affirmation Action laws not to discriminate.
An Equal Opportunity Employer is committed to providing egalitarian practices in hiring, promotion, and other employment practices by assessing applicants and employees without discrimination.
An executive search firm, also known as a headhunter, is a specialized recruitment service that seeks out and hires top-level management and executive talent for companies across various industries.
An exit interview is conducted with an employee who is leaving an organization to obtain feedback about their experience and gain insights for organizational improvement.
The term 'fire' refers to the act of discharging or terminating an employee from their position. It is one of the most definitive actions a company can take in its relationship with an employee. This term is synonymous with 'sack'.
Flexitime (also known as flextime) is a daily work system where employees have the flexibility to choose their starting and ending times within agreed limits, while ensuring they fulfill a minimum number of required work hours.
A golden handshake, also known as a golden good-bye, is an ex gratia payment made by an employer to an employee upon termination of employment, such as in the event of a company takeover. Certain conditions may allow such payments to be partially or fully tax-free.
Gross earnings refer to an employee's salary or wages before any deductions for taxes, Social Security, and employee benefit contributions are made.
A process where individuals are interviewed collectively, either to gather opinions or as a method of evaluating potential employees in a collaborative setting.
A hatchet man is a company employee responsible for reducing personnel, often tasked with delivering notices of dismissal and communicating terms of severance.
Human resources refer to the personnel pool available to an organization. They are considered the most crucial resources within any organization, ensuring that the right number and kind of people are available at the right time and place to meet organizational needs.
An interview is a structured conversation between two or more people conducted with the aim of gathering information for purposes such as guidance, counseling, treatment, or employment.
Travel expenses paid to a prospective employee that are typically reimbursed by the employer.
Interviewer bias refers to the influences resulting from the personal prejudices of the individual conducting an interview. It is crucial in shaping the initial impression formed about a candidate.
Job analysis is the process of organizational analysis of a job to determine the responsibilities inherent in the position as well as the qualifications needed to fulfill its responsibilities. It is essential when recruiting to locate an individual having the requisite capabilities and education.
A detailed analysis and documentation of all the duties, responsibilities, conditions, and parameters required for the execution of a specific job.
Job enrichment involves motivating employees through expanding job responsibilities and giving increased control over the total production process. This empowerment often includes training, support, and enhanced input into procedures.
A job jumper, also known as a job hopper, is an individual who frequently changes jobs. This behavior can be perceived as detrimental to one's career as it may indicate an inability either to commit to an organization or maintain long-term employment.
Job placement involves the process of matching individuals' skills and qualifications with suitable employment opportunities, ensuring an optimal fit between management's needs and employee capabilities.
The concept of job sharing involves dividing the responsibilities and hours of one job between two people. It serves as a strategic alternative to layoffs, providing each employee with part-time work during challenging economic conditions.
Labor refers to the exertion of physical or mental effort for work, often performed for remuneration. It encompasses a broad group of individuals engaged in various occupational functions within organizations.
Labor piracy refers to the act of attracting workers away from a firm through inducements, often involving offering highly attractive employment opportunities to employees who are in great demand.
A labor pool refers to a source of trained personnel from which prospective workers are recruited.
A lay off involves removing, temporarily or permanently, an employee from a payroll due to economic conditions or production cutbacks, rather than poor performance or rule violations.
Lifetime security refers to a form of employee job security that guarantees protection against layoffs during economic slowdowns or plant closings.
A lockout is a management action that prevents employees from performing work in the organization until a labor settlement is reached, physically barring them from entering the workplace.
Longevity pay refers to salary or wages that are based on an employee’s seniority or length of service with an organization. The greater the length of service, the greater the longevity pay. It may also include bonuses for remaining on a job beyond a certain period.
The Management Action Planning (MAP) technique is a management simulation tool used for management development training. It allows group members to define their task groups by choosing those people most appropriate for working in them.
Management prerogative, also known as management rights, refers to the rights believed by management to be exclusively theirs and not subject to bargaining in a collective bargaining contract.
The Management Ratio refers to the ratio of management personnel to 1,000 employees, further broken down into the ratio of top management and middle management personnel per 1,000 employees. It's a critical measurement for evaluating organizational structure and management efficiency.
A systematic evaluation method used to assess employee performance or achievement, often influencing pay increments, promotions, or civil-service ratings.
Occupational analysis refers to the systematic process of describing an occupation in terms of various characteristics including purposes, task characteristics, task duties, necessary skills, and abilities.
An occupational group is a classification that organizes various job roles and responsibilities within the same broad occupational category, such as marketing, accounting, and management.
Organized labor, also known as unionized labor, refers to a group of workers who join together to negotiate with their employers regarding wages, hours, benefits, and other working conditions. The AFL-CIO is the largest union representing organized labor in the United States.
Pay for Performance is a salary scheme where employees accept a lower base pay in exchange for bonuses based on meeting production or other organizational goals.
Payday refers to the specific day set by employers on which employees receive their wages or salaries, typically in the form of paychecks or direct deposits into their bank accounts.
Payroll is the aggregate periodic amount a business pays its workers and a list of employees along with their compensation.
A term used to describe processes or organizations that require a significant amount of human labor to complete tasks, as opposed to being easily automated. Examples include hospitals and customer service centers.
Perquisites, often abbreviated as perks, refer to the privileges granted to employees in addition to basic wages and salaries. These can range from health insurance and pensions to executive benefits like automobiles, resort vacations, and more.
A Personal Data Sheet is a questionnaire often given by organizations to individuals for the purpose of eliciting specific information relative to the individual.
Personnel refers to the people who actually compose an organization's workforce. In other words, it is synonymous with Human Resources (HR) and entails the management and development of employees within an organization.
The Personnel Department, now commonly known as the Human Resources (HR) Department, is an organizational unit responsible for the administration of personnel policies and ensuring legal and proactive implementation of these policies.
Personnel Psychology focuses on understanding and improving the functioning of individual employees and teams within organizations. It is often synonymous with Industrial Psychology which also covers the broader organizational aspects.
A Phantom Stock Plan is a type of deferred-compensation plan that uses the employer's stock as a basis for determining the value of the compensation payment. It provides employees with the benefits of stock ownership without actually awarding them any company stock.
A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) is a firm that provides comprehensive HR solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, including payroll processing, employee benefits, human resources, tax administration, and regulatory compliance assistance.
A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) provides comprehensive HR solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, including payroll, benefits, regulatory compliance, and HR management.
A prospect refers to a potential client, customer, or employee who is expected to engage in a business transaction or association. The term is commonly used in sales, marketing, and HR contexts.
Quality of Work Life (QWL) is a concept that refers to the level of satisfaction, motivation, fulfillment, and well-being employees experience in their work environment. It addresses a variety of aspects in the workplace, including job satisfaction, work-life balance, relationships with colleagues, and work conditions.
The process of identifying, attracting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and onboarding employees for an organization. Recruitment is essential for sustaining an organization's workforce and ensuring its growth and development.
A recruitment bonus is a monetary incentive provided by employers or employment agencies to those who help find qualified candidates for job positions, particularly in fields experiencing a shortage of skilled professionals.
A rotating shift is a type of work schedule that continually changes the hours of work at predefined intervals. This schedule ensures that work is conducted around the clock, often involving different employees working various shifts over a certain period.
Terms referring to the dismissal or termination of an employee, originally implying that the employee collected their belongings (such as tools) and left the premises.
Regular compensation received by an employee as a condition of employment. Salaries comprise basic wage, performance-based pay, and indirect fringe benefit compensation, typically computed on an annual basis.
A salary continuation plan is an arrangement often funded by life insurance to continue an employee's salary in the form of payments to a beneficiary for a certain period after the employee's death. The employer may act as the beneficiary, collecting the death benefit and making payments to the employee's designated beneficiary.
A method based upon length of service for determining employment advantages, crucial for promotions and layoffs, and often strongly advocated by unions.
The separation of service refers to the action of an employee severing their connection with an employer, which may occur through resignation, termination, retirement, or layoff.
Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome and often intimidating verbal or physical sexual advances. It often carries threats of employment reprisals if such advances are refused and has been defined by federal government and courts as illegal employment discrimination.
Extra compensation paid as inducement to accept shift work, especially during evening and midnight hours.
Span of Control refers to the principle of management stating the number of people a manager can supervise effectively. The ability to supervise people depends on various factors including the nature of the job, the professional level of employees, and their geographical location.
A work shift that is interrupted with an unpaid time-off period, commonly seen in roles like school bus drivers who work early in the morning and late in the afternoon, with the middle of the day off.
Staff refers to personnel employed in an organization, performing various roles and functions necessary for the organization's operations. It can also denote specific management functions in the context of line and staff management.
A mandated benefit where employers provide weekly payments to employees unable to work due to sickness for a specified period, originally subject to partial government reimbursement.
Straight time refers to the standard time or number of work hours established for a particular work period. An employee working straight time is not being paid overtime.
A structured interview is a systematic method where the interviewer strictly controls the conversation topics and uses a defined question and response format. This approach aims to ensure consistency and comparability of findings across different interviews.
A suspension refers to a disciplinary action imposed on an employee for a specific period of time. It is less severe than discharge or dismissal, and the employee can resume their duties after the suspension period ends.
Theory Y posits that, under the right conditions, the average employee finds work to be a source of satisfaction, will exercise self-direction towards goals they are committed to, seeks responsibility, and is inherently creative. This theory contrasts with Theory X's more negative view of employee motivation and behavior.
Time-and-a-half refers to the payment of one and a half times the worker's regular hourly wage for work performed beyond 40 hours per week. This payment policy is mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
A timekeeper is responsible for recording and monitoring the working hours of employees, ensuring accurate time records for payroll and compliance.
A 'Tour of Duty' can refer to either the duration of a specific military assignment or the scheduled work hours of an employee in a contiguous block of time.
Vacation pay refers to the compensation provided to employees during their vacation leave. It can also include amounts paid even if the employee opts not to take a vacation.
The administrative procedure of establishing and supervising wage levels and operations within an organization to ensure fair compensation practices.
A survey conducted among employers in a labor market to determine pay levels for specific job categories. Typically conducted in the surrounding community or metropolitan area for the purposes of comparability.
A range of salaries for a particular occupation, often determined by levels of seniority and experience.
The highest pay possible within a particular wage bracket, agreed upon as the upper range, commonly used in salary negotiations and organizational pay structures.
A wage scale is a structured framework outlining the wage rate for each employee in a department, division, or company, taking into account the type of job, its duties, responsibilities, and the general labor market.
Wages costs are expenses incurred by businesses to compensate employees for their labor. These are a critical part of operating costs in any organization.
The process of reducing staff by offering financial incentives to employees with seniority, known as a workforce buyout, can be expensive but it helps maintain morale and loyalty among remaining employees.
