PHRi key terms

Software platform that stores and manages employee data such as records, payroll inputs, and benefits enrollment, and produces reports used for compliance and decision-making.

Periodic review that checks HR records for accuracy, completeness, and consistency across systems, often by comparing source documents with system entries and correcting discrepancies.

Written rules specifying which employee records must be kept, for how long, in what format, and when and how they are securely destroyed.

Employee-facing interface that lets staff update personal details, view pay statements, and enroll in benefits without submitting requests to HR staff.

Visual summary of key workforce indicators such as turnover, headcount, and time-to-fill, refreshed on a schedule so leaders can track trends and act quickly.

Degree to which HR goals, programs, and spending support the organization's overall mission, priorities, and long-range business plans.

Planning tool that lists an organization's internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats to guide strategy and priority setting.

Ongoing collection and review of external information such as labor market shifts, legislation, and competitor moves that may affect workforce plans.

Measurement framework that tracks HR performance across financial, customer, internal process, and learning perspectives to connect people programs to business outcomes.

Ratio comparing the financial benefit gained from a program with its total cost, usually expressed as a percentage, used to justify HR spending decisions.

Structured comparison of the expected costs of a proposed HR initiative against its expected benefits, used to rank options and support budget requests.

Process of forecasting the number, skills, and locations of people the organization will need, then closing gaps through hiring, development, or redeployment.

Systematic gathering of information about a job's duties, tasks, tools, working conditions, and required competencies, forming the basis for descriptions and specifications.

Written summary of a position's title, purpose, key duties, reporting lines, and working conditions, typically paired with the qualifications the role requires.

Framework describing the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that distinguish strong performance in a role, team, or the whole organization.

Structured interview technique that asks candidates to describe past situations and actions, on the premise that prior behavior predicts future performance.

Interview format in which every candidate receives the same predetermined questions, scored against a common rating guide to reduce bias and improve comparability.

Evidence that a screening or assessment tool actually predicts job performance or another relevant outcome, supporting defensible hiring decisions.

Average number of days between opening a requisition and the accepted offer or start date, used to gauge recruiting efficiency.

Deliberate identification and preparation of internal candidates for key roles so critical positions can be filled with minimal disruption.

Comparison of the current workforce's skills and headcount with forecast requirements, highlighting shortages that plans must address.

Structured process of identifying performance gaps and determining whether instruction, coaching, or another intervention is the appropriate remedy.

Four-level evaluation framework covering trainee reactions, learning gained, behavior change on the job, and results such as productivity or quality improvement.

Software used to deliver, track, and report on training content, including course completion, assessment scores, and compliance records.

Five-stage instructional design process: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation, used to build training that fits identified needs.

Guideline suggesting development comes mostly from challenging job experience, partly from relationships and coaching, and least from formal courses.

Developmental relationship in which a more experienced person offers guidance, feedback, and career support to a less experienced colleague over time.

Combined value employees receive from pay, incentives, benefits, recognition, and development opportunities, viewed as one integrated offering.

Fixed wages or salary paid for performing a role, excluding overtime, bonuses, and other variable or indirect compensation.

Comparing an organization's pay levels with market survey data for similar jobs to set competitive and internally defensible pay rates.

Minimum, midpoint, and maximum pay established for a job or grade, giving room to reward experience and performance within a controlled structure.

Statistical review of pay across comparable roles to detect differences associated with gender, ethnicity, or other protected characteristics and correct unjustified gaps.

Retirement arrangement in which the employer contributes a set amount, such as a percentage match, and the employee bears investment risk and outcome variability.

Degree to which employees feel invested in their work and willing to put in discretionary effort, shaped by management, recognition, and working conditions.

Distinctive mix of pay, benefits, culture, and career opportunity an employer offers, used to attract and retain talent in a competitive market.

Percentage of the workforce that leaves during a period, often split into voluntary and involuntary departures, used to diagnose retention problems.

Negotiation between employer representatives and a recognized union over wages, hours, and other terms of employment, resulting in a binding agreement.

Formal step-by-step process through which employees raise complaints about treatment or contract breaches and seek resolution, often ending in arbitration.

Escalating sequence of corrective steps, from verbal warning to termination, applied for repeated or serious misconduct after lesser measures fail.

Employee-representative body, common in parts of Europe, consulted by management on workplace matters such as restructuring, working time, and safety.