The department that turned firing into a growth opportunity.
Working whenever, wherever you want—as long as it's basically 9-5 in your home office instead of the corporate office.
When companies fire or force out unwanted employees instead of them voluntarily leaving; basically managed involuntary departure.
A company's ability to adapt quickly to change; loudly proclaimed in mission statements while organizational structures remain ossified.
The practice of openly sharing salary ranges, pay equity data, and compensation structures with employees and job candidates. The trend that makes HR departments simultaneously proud and terrified.
A legal agreement preventing employees from working for competitors after leaving. Controversial because it often favors the employer.
The software that filters job applications using algorithms, responsible for 75% of qualified candidates never being seen by human eyes.
A visual representation of how many employees from a cohort remain with the company over time, typically plotted by hire date or tenure. The downward trajectory that makes CFOs weep.
The strategic approach to attracting, developing, retaining, and deploying human capital. Sounds data-driven and impressive; usually means 'we hope our good people don't leave.'
Accumulated time that employees can take off while still being paid, provided they don't actually use it out of fear of being perceived as uncommitted.
The art of keeping various groups happy—executives, employees, regulators, and lawyers—usually by disappointing everyone equally.
The times you must be working even with flexible schedules, usually 10 AM to 4 PM, which defeats the purpose of flexibility.
The framework determining how and how much employees are paid, including base salary, bonuses, commissions, and equity. The secret formula you'll never fully understand because HR refuses to make salary bands public.
A third-party organization that legally employs staff on behalf of another company, handling payroll, benefits, and compliance. When you want employees but don't want the legal responsibility of actually employing them.
The utopian HR state where employees actually care about their work instead of just showing up for a paycheck and mentally checking out. It's measured through surveys nobody reads and results that somehow always conclude you need more team-building activities.
The formal act of cutting ties—whether that's employment, a business relationship, or negotiations. It's the corporate way of saying 'we're done here' with legal documentation and usually an awkward conversation.
The ongoing process of setting goals, monitoring progress, and documenting reasons to fire people later, usually disguised as 'development conversations.'
Compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay; a way for companies to avoid paying while pretending to care about balance.
What a company claims to offer employees beyond salary, usually something vague like 'meaningful work' or 'growth opportunities.'
Corporate euphemism for layoffs, distinguished by its clinical efficiency and HR's sincere belief that a better acronym makes job loss less traumatic.
A comprehensive approach to employee compensation integrating base salary, bonuses, benefits, equity, wellness programs, and non-monetary rewards. HR's way of saying 'we're paying you less than you're worth, but look at all this other stuff!'
A shortage of employees with skills essential to organizational survival or competitive advantage, requiring urgent action. When you realize your entire roadmap depends on a skill set exactly two people on Earth have.
The company's noble belief that employees will move between departments, cities, and roles for development, assuming they don't have families.
Anonymous input from boss, peers, and reports about your performance—designed to be objective and usually just reveals who dislikes you. Surprisingly, people are nice when anonymous.
Equal Employment Opportunity—the noble legal framework that says you can't discriminate based on protected characteristics. Compliance is required; actually achieving equity requires far more effort than the acronym suggests.