HR and Talent Terms

Company culture is the shared values, beliefs, habits and behaviour patterns that determine "how things really get done" in an organisation.

Company culture rituals are regularly repeated practices in a team or organisation that make shared values visible through behaviour.

DEI is the work of representing people of different identities and backgrounds (diversity), giving them fair opportunities (equity) and making them feel they belong (inclusion).

Employee benefits are the non-salary elements offered to employees — health insurance, meals, transport, leave, flexibility, development — forming the "rewards" pillar of the EVP.

Employee engagement is the emotional connection an employee feels to their work and organisation and their willingness to give discretionary effort; unlike satisfaction, it shows in behaviour.

Employee experience (EX) is the sum of every interaction, environment and emotion a person has with an organisation from candidacy to exit.

An employee journey map visualises the stages, touchpoints, emotions and communication needs of an employee from candidacy to exit.

Employee resource groups are voluntary, employee-led communities supported by the organisation and formed around shared identities or life experiences.

Employee satisfaction expresses how content employees are with their role, their working conditions and the opportunities the organisation provides.

Turnover is the share of employees who leave in a period relative to average headcount; retention measures the opposite: those who stay.

Employee voice is employees’ ability to express their views, suggestions and concerns about work and to contribute to the decisions that affect them.

Employee volunteering is employees giving their time or professional skills to a social need of their own free will, with the organisation’s support.

Employee wellbeing is the support of physical, mental, social and financial health at work: the foundation of engagement and sustainable performance.

An exit interview is a conversation that aims to understand, from the departing employee’s point of view, their experience of the organisation and the factors behind their decision to leave.

HR consulting is external expertise that supports companies with strategy and delivery in areas such as hiring, engagement, culture, communication and talent management.

Hybrid work is the model in which employees split the week between office and remote work: an arrangement that needs new rules for internal communication and culture.

Offboarding communication is the planned, respectful and clear communication that lets a leaving employee complete the process while keeping a good relationship; leavers are employer brand ambassadors too.

An onboarding buddy system pairs a new employee with a colleague who accompanies them in their early weeks, helping them learn how things work day to day and build connections with teams.

Organisational trust is an employee’s belief that the organisation will keep its word, act fairly in its decisions and share reliable information.

Pay transparency is openly sharing salary ranges, pay criteria and increase logic with employees and candidates: the new trust test for employer brands.

The psychological contract is the unwritten expectations that employees and employers draw from words, behaviour and experience about their obligations to each other.

Psychological safety is a team climate in which people can speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes or disagree without fear of punishment.

Quiet quitting is when an employee stays but does only the minimum and withdraws discretionary effort: the visible form of low engagement.

A stay interview is a conversation held during employment to understand why an employee stays with the organisation and which conditions could affect their wish to stay.

Talent management is the set of processes for attracting, developing, retaining and deploying the talent an organisation needs.