Ace Your SHRM Certification
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Ability to be sensitive to and understand one's own and other's emotions and impulses.
Global Mindset
Ability to have an international perspective, inclusive of other cultures' views.
Leadership
Ability to influence, guide, inspire or motivate a group or person to achieve their goals.
Organizational Learning
Acquisition and/or transfer of knowledge within an organization through activities or processes that may occur at several organizational levels. Ability of an organization to learn from its mistakes and adjust its strategy accordingly.
Integrity
Adherence to a set of ethical standards, reflecting strong moral principles, honesty and consistency in behavior.
Critical Path
Amount of time needed to complete all required elements or components of a task, determined by taking into account all project-task relationships.
Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)
Approach to determining the financial impact of an organization's activities and programs on profitability, through a process of data or calculation comparing value created against the cost of creating that value.
Evidence-Based
Approach to evaluation and decision-making that utilizes data and research findings to drive business outcomes.
HR Service Model
Approach to structuring and delivering an organization's HR services to support organizational success.
Culture
Basic beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors and customs shared and followed by members of a group, which give rise to the group's sense of identity.
Performance Standards
Behaviors and results defined by an organization to communicate the expectations of management.
Organizational Values
Beliefs and principles defined by an organization to direct and govern its employees' behavior.
Competencies
Clusters of highly interrelated attributes, including knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs), that give rise to the behaviors needed to perform a given job effectively.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Concept that a corporation has an impact on the lives of its stakeholders and the environment, encompassing such areas as corporate governance, philanthropy, sustainability, employee rights, social change, volunteerism, corporate-sponsored community programs, and workplace safety.
Comparable Worth
Concept that jobs filled primarily by women that require skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions comparable to similar jobs filled primarily by men should have the same classifications and salaries.
Radicalism
Concept that management-labor conflict is an inherent characteristic of capitalism and can be resolved only with a change in the economic system.
Mission Statement
Concise outline of an organization's strategy, specifying the activities it intends to pursue and the course its management has charted for the future.
Bias
Conscious or unconscious beliefs that influence a person's perceptions or actions, which may cause that person to become partial or prejudiced.
Performance Measures
Data or calculations comparing current performance against key performance indicators (KPIs).
Organizational Effectiveness
Degree to which an organization is successful in executing its strategic objectives and mission.
Diversity
Differences in people's characteristics (e.g., age, beliefs, education, ethnicity, gender, job function, personality, race, religion, socioeconomic status, though processes, work style).
Job Description
Document that describes a job and its essential functions and requirements (including tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities, responsibilities, and reporting structure).
Individual Development Plan (IDP)
Document that guides employees toward their goals for professional development and growth.
E-Learning
Electronic media delivery of educational and training materials, processes and programs.
Business Unit
Element or segment of an organization that represents a specific business function (e.g., accounting, marketing, production); also, may be called department, division, group, cost center or functional area.
Employee Engagement
Employees' emotional commitment to an organization, demonstrated by their willingness to put in discretionary effort to promote the organization's effective functioning.
Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
Employees' perceived value of the total rewards and tangible and intangible benefits they receive from the organization as part of employment, which drives unique and compelling organizational strategies for talent acquisition, retention and engagement.
Reliability
Extent to which a measurement instrument provides consistent results.
Inclusion
Extent to which each person in an organization feels welcomed, respected, supported, and valued as a team member.
Internal Equity
Extent to which employees perceive that monetary and other rewards are distributed equitably, based on effort, skill and/or relevant outcomes.
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)
Factor (such as religion, gender, national origin, etc.) that is reasonably necessary, in the normal operations of an organization, to carry out a particular job function.
Motivation
Factors that initiate, direct, and sustain human behavior over time.
Coaching
Focused, interactive communication and guidance intended to develop and enhance on-the-job performance, knowledge or behavior.
Labor Union
Group of workers who formally organize and coordinate their activities to achieve common goals in their relationship with an employer or group of employers; also called trade union.
HR Business Partner
HR professional who advises an organization's leaders in developing and implementing a human capital strategy that closely aligns with overall organizational mission, vision and goals.
Human Resource Information System (HRIS)
Information technology (IT) framework and tools for gathering, storing, maintaining, retrieving, revising and reporting relevant HR data.
ADDIE Model
Instructional systems design (ISD) framework consisting of five steps that guide the design and development of learning programs.
Employee Surveys
Instruments that collect and assess information on employees' attitudes and perceptions (such as engagement, job satisfaction, etc.) of the work environment or employment conditions.
KSAOs
Knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics.
Benefits
Mandatory or voluntary payments or services provided to employees, typically covering retirement, health care, sick pay/disability, life insurance, and paid time off.
Offshoring
Method by which an organization relocates its processes or production to an international location through subsidiaries or third-party affiliates.
Arbitration
Method of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) by which disputing parties agree to be bound by the decision of one or more impartial persons to whom they submit their dispute for final determination.
Gap Analysis
Method of assessing a current state in order to determine what is needed to move to a desired future state.
Conciliation
Method of nonbinding alternative dispute resolution (ADR) by which a neutral third party tries to help disputing parties reach a mutually agreeable decision (i.e., mediation).
Mediation
Method of nonbonding alternative dispute resolution (ADR) by which a neutral third party tries to help disputing parties reach a mutually agreeable decision (i.e., conciliation).
Liabilities
Organization's debts and other financial obligations.
Balanced Scorecard
Performance management tool that depicts an organization's overall performance, as measured against goals, lagging indicators, and leading indicators.
Applicant
Person who has applied for or formally expressed interest in a position.
Employees
Persons who exchange their work for wages or salary.
Disability
Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one's major life activities.
Hazard
Potential harm, often associated with a condition or activity that, if left uncontrolled, can result in injury or damage to persons or property.
Change Management
Principles and practices for managing a change initiative so that it is more likely to be accepted and provided with the resources (financial, human, physical, etc.) necessary to reshape the organization and its people.
Buy-In
Process by which a person or group provides a sustained commitment in support of a decision, approach, solution or course of action.
Outsourcing
Process by which an organization contracts with third-party vendors to provide selected services/activities, instead of hiring new employees.
Benchmarking
Process by which an organization identifies performance gaps and sets goals for performance improvement, by comparing its data, performance levels, and/or processes against those of other organizations.
Recruitment
Process by which an organization seeks out candidates and encourages them to apply for job openings.
Remediation
Process by which an unacceptable action or behavior is corrected.
Career Pathing
Process by which employers provide employees with a clear outline for moving from a current to a desired position.
Assessment Center
Process by which job candidates or employees are evaluated to determine their suitability and/or readiness for employment, training, promotion or an assignment.
Collective Bargaining
Process by which management and union representatives negotiate the employment conditions for a particular bargaining unit for a designated period of time.
Orientation
Process by which new employees become familiar with the organization and with their specific department, coworkers and job.
Career Mapping
Process by which organizations use visual tools or guides to depict prototypical or exemplary career possibilities and paths, in terms of sequential positions, roles and stages.
Negotiation
Process by which two or more parties work together to reach agreement on a matter.
Merger & Acquisition (M&A)
Process by which two separate organizations combine, either by joining together as relative equals (merger) or by one procuring the other (acquisition).
Onboarding
Process of assimilating new employees into an organization through orientation programs to help them. New employees' experiences in their first months of employment.
Job Enlargement
Process of broadening a job's scope by adding different tasks to the job.
Measurement
Process of collecting, quantifying, and evaluating data.
Job Evaluation
Process of determining a job's value and price to attract and retain employees, by comparing the job against other jobs within the organization or against similar jobs in competing organizations.
Job Enrichment
Process of increasing a job's depth by adding responsibilities to the job.
Performance Appraisal
Process of measuring and evaluating an employee's adherence to performance standards and providing feedback to the employee.
Job Analysis
Process of systematically studying a job in order to identify the activities/tasks and responsibilities it includes, the personal qualifications necessary to perform it, and the conditions under which it is performed.
Leader Development
Professional program that helps management- and executive-level employees develop knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs) related to leadership.
Career Development
Progression through a series of employment stages characterized by relatively unique issues, themes, and tasks.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Quantifiable measures of performance that gauge an organization's progress toward strategic objectives or other agreed-upon performance standards.
Business Intelligence
Raw data, internal and external to an organization, that is translated into meaningful information for decision makers to use in taking strategic action.
Mentoring
Relationship in which one person helps guide another's development.
Due Diligence
Requirement to thoroughly investigate an action before it is taken, through diligent research and evaluation.
Regulation
Rule or order issued by an administrative agency of government, which usually has the force of law.
Position
Scope of work roles and responsibilities associated with one or more persons.
Ethics
Sets of behavioral guidelines that an organization expects all of its directors, managers and employees to follow, in order to ensure appropriate moral and ethical business standards.
Conflict of Interest
Situation in which a person or organization may potentially benefit, directly or indirectly, from undue influence, due to involvement in outside activities, relationships, or investments that conflict with or have an impact on the employment relationship or its outcomes.
Focus Group
Small group of invited persons (typically six to twelve) who actively participate in a structured discussion, led by a facilitator, for the purpose of eliciting their input on a specific product, process, policy, or program.
Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
Software application that automates organizations' management of the recruiting process (such as accepting application materials, screening applicants, etc.).
Compliance
State of being in accordance with all national, federal, regional and/or local laws, regulations and/or other government authorities and requirements applicable to the places in which an organization operates.
Cash Flow Statement
Statement of an organization's ability to meet its current and short-term obligations, showing incoming and outgoing cash and cash reserves in operations, investments, and financing.
Balance Sheet
Statement of an organization's financial position at a specific point in time, showing assets, liabilities and shareholder equity.
Globalization
Status of growing interconnectedness and interdependency among countries, people, markets and organizations worldwide.
Governance
System of rules and processes set up by an organization to ensure its compliance with local and international laws, accounting rules, ethical norms, internal codes of conduct, and other standards.
Center of Excellence (COE)
Team or structure that provides expertise, best practices, support and/or knowledge transfer in a focused area.
Business Case
Tool or document that defines a specific problem, proposes a solution, and provides justifications for the proposal in terms of time, cost efficiency, and probability of success.
Realistic Job Preview
Tool used in the staffing/selection process to provide an applicant with honest, complete information about the job and work environment.
Analytics
Tools that add context or sub-classifying comparison groups to data so that the data can be used for decision support.
Performance Management
Tools, activities, and processes that an organization uses to manage, maintain, and/or improve the job performance of employees.
Remuneration
Total pay in the form of salary and wages received in exchange for employment (e.g., allowances, benefits, bonuses, cash incentives, monetary value of non-cash incentives).
Change Initiative
Transition in an organization's technology, culture or behavior of its employees and managers.
Pluralism
Type of labor environment in which multiple forces are at work, each with its own agenda, and conflict is overcome through negotiation.
Lagging Indicator
Type of metric describing an activity or change in performance that has already occurred.
Leading Indicator
Type of metric describing an activity that can change future performance and predict success in the achievement of strategic goals.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Umbrella term for the various approaches and techniques, other than litigation, that can be used to resolve a dispute (e.g., arbitration, conciliation, mediation).
Information Management (IM)
Use of technology to collect, process, and condense information with a goal of efficient management of information as an organizational resource.
