SHRM-CP key terms

Systematic process of gathering and documenting information about a job's duties, tasks, working conditions, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform it well.

Written document summarizing a job's essential duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, and qualifications, used for recruiting, selection, performance management, and legal compliance.

Combination of all compensation and benefit elements an employer offers, including base pay, incentives, benefits, recognition, development, and flexibility, viewed as one integrated package for attracting and retaining talent.

Compensation contingent on performance or results, such as bonuses, commissions, or gainsharing, rather than guaranteed base salary; used to link pay to outcomes and motivate productivity.

An employee's pay divided by the midpoint of the assigned pay range, expressed as a percentage; used to judge how pay is positioned relative to the range and to peers.

Situation in which pay differences between employees with different levels of experience or contribution become too small, often because new hires are paid near or above the rate for experienced incumbents.

Interview format using a fixed set of job-related questions asked of every candidate plus a consistent scoring guide, which improves reliability, comparability, and legal defensibility of selection decisions.

Performance rating method that evaluates behavior on a scale anchored by concrete examples of effective and ineffective performance, making ratings more objective and easier to defend in feedback discussions.

Performance feedback gathered from an employee's supervisor, peers, direct reports, and sometimes customers or the employee themself, providing a broad view of strengths and development needs.

Ongoing process of identifying critical roles, spotting employees with potential to fill them, and preparing those employees through development, stretch assignments, and mentoring so replacements are ready.

Structured program that integrates a new hire into the organization by providing the information, tools, relationships, and cultural orientation needed to become productive and stay engaged.

Process of comparing the organization's current workforce against forecasted future talent needs, then closing the gaps through hiring, development, redeployment, or restructuring.

Degree to which employees feel connected to, invested in, and willing to put discretionary effort into their work and the organization's success.

Integrated set of practices for attracting, developing, engaging, and retaining employees with the capabilities the organization needs now and in the future.

Shared values, beliefs, assumptions, and norms that shape how employees behave, make decisions, and treat one another, often transmitted through stories, rituals, and leadership example.

Number of employees who report directly to a single manager; wider spans produce flatter structures, while narrower spans create taller hierarchies with closer supervision.

Structured approach to moving individuals and teams from a current state to a desired future state, including communication, stakeholder engagement, and addressing resistance.

Planned, systematic effort to improve organizational effectiveness and health through interventions in structure, processes, culture, and group dynamics, typically guided by behavioral science.

Software system that stores and manages employee data such as records, payroll, benefits, and time, and produces reports used for HR operations and decision-making.

Practice of comparing the organization's practices, processes, or metrics with those of peers or recognized leaders to identify performance gaps and improvement opportunities.

Business approach in which the organization weighs its social, ethical, and environmental impact on stakeholders alongside financial results, often reflected in sustainability and community policies.

Measurable value that shows how well the organization or a function is achieving a critical objective, chosen because it signals progress toward strategic goals.

U.S. federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in hiring, pay, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Substantially different selection or promotion rate for a protected group compared with the group having the highest rate, which can signal discrimination even when no intent exists.

Narrow exception permitting an employer to require a characteristic tied to a protected class when that requirement is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the business.

Unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic that is severe or pervasive enough to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment and alter employment conditions.

U.S. federal law prohibiting discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities and requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodation unless doing so causes undue hardship.

Change to a job, work environment, or process that enables a qualified person with a disability to perform essential functions, such as modified schedules, equipment, or reassignment.

U.S. federal law requiring employers to provide workplaces free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm, and to record and report certain injuries.

State-administered insurance program that pays medical and partial wage benefits to employees injured on the job, generally in exchange for limits on the employee's right to sue.

U.S. federal law establishing minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor rules, and defining which employees are exempt from overtime requirements.

Doctrine permitting either the employer or the employee to end the employment relationship at any time for any lawful reason, subject to exceptions such as contracts and anti-discrimination law.

Negotiation between employer and union representatives over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, resulting in a contract that governs the workplace.

Laws and policies that shield employees from retaliation when they report illegal, unsafe, or unethical conduct by the employer to authorities or through internal channels.

Planning tool that maps internal strengths and weaknesses against external opportunities and threats to surface strategic issues and inform goal setting.

Framework for scanning external political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental forces that may affect the organization's strategy, workforce, and risk exposure.

Performance framework that measures progress from financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives, linking day-to-day activity to strategy.

Financial measure calculated by dividing the net benefit of an initiative by its cost and expressing the result as a percentage, commonly used to justify HR programs.

Method of comparing the current state of skills, performance, or capability with the desired future state to identify what must change and where to focus resources.