Topics A-Z
UNLEASH’s glossary page is filled with all the key terminology you might need to fully understand HR concepts and principles.
Interested in exploring HR topics in more detail? Then why don’t you browse our list of HR webinars and roundtables we have to offer.
In addition to this, UNLEASH America is just around the corner where some of the top HR speakers and influencers in the world will be covering some of the hottest trends and topics within the HR industry. It’s not too late to get your ticket to the #1 HR conference and exhibition in the US.
Most popular topics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Automation
- Career Tips
- Change Management
- CHRO Appointments
- Communication
- Company Culture
- Compensation and Benefits
- COVID-19
- Data and Analytics
- Digital Adoption
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
- Economy
- Emerging Tech
- Employee Experience and Engagement
- Fortune 500
- Future of Work
- Gig Economy
- HR for Good
- HR Technology
- Learning and Development
- Market News
- Organizational Design
- Payroll
- Performance Management
- Risk, Compliance and Regulation
- Skills Development
- Strategy and Leadership
- Talent Acquisition
- Talent Management
- Talent Mobility
- UNLEASH America
- UNLEASH World
- VR/AR
- Wellbeing
- Adaptive Leadership
- Adaptive leadership is a management model that focuses on the ability to experiment with change, innovation, adoption and look for collective solutions in the workplace. The core qualities of an adaptive leader are organization, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, growth and character.
- Artificial Intelligence
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of a machine to display and operate human-like capibilities and functions. It generally is attributed to robots or computers which have become so advanced that they possess complex human traits and characteristics such as learning capabilities, emotional responses, problem solving and language perception.
- Automation
- Automation in HR is a method of using software to automate and streamline time-consuming tasks such as onboarding administration, payroll, benefits and time-keeping. By reducing time spent on these tasks, automation allows HR teams to focus their time and energy into other elements of HR planning and strategy.
- Blockchain Technology
- Blockchain is a decentralized ledger that shows proof of transaction or the provenance of a digital asset. Each block in the chain has a number of transactions, and each time a new transaction occurs on the blockchain, a record of the transaction occurs on every participant’s ledger.
- Career Tips
- Career tips are essential pointers on how to get the best out of your career. They can help in the development of your role within an organisation, or aid in you getting a new job. They should be industry specific and look to give specialist advice to help the progression of someone's career.
- Change Management
- Change Management is the application of a process that facilitates the management of change and development within a business or organization. It helps employees prepare for both micro and macro organizational changes and tries to make transition as easy as possible for everyone involved, regardless of their level of seniority.
- CHRO Appointments
- CHRO appointments are the hiring or changing of roles of a Chief Human Resource Officer. This is information is often released when there is an appointment of this role at a major global brand.
- Communication
- Communication in HR is an essential in the development and execution of internal company strategies. It relates to the internal dialogues of key decision makers in a business with their employees. Effective communication within a business is key to driving the overall goals, mission and philosophy of a company throughout that organization.
- Company Culture
- Company culture can be understood as the core set of principles which defines an organization's goals, values, shared beliefs and philosophy. This can naturally occur within the organization and can simply relate to the way employees interact and engage with each other or even the decisions they make. A company culture can be reflected in things such as its dress code, business hours, office setup, client interactions, and various other aspects of its operations.
- Compensation and Benefits
- Compensation and benefits is a sub-category of HR payroll management. It refers to the salary and non-monetary benefits which an employee receives from an organization for services given. It aids in giving benefits to employees based on their performance and actions and encourages employees to give their best at their workplace.
- Data and Analytics
- Data and analytics is the organization of data for all uses (both operational and analytical) and the examination of data to drive business systems and processes with the aim of improving organizational outcomes through more effective decision making and use of company's first, second and third-person data.
- Digital Adoption
- Digital adoption is about helping your organization have as deep an understanding about its digital infrustructure and systems as it possibly can. It can include making sure they are using their software in its intended manner and making sure that every employee in the organization is getting the most out of the applications which they need to carry out their work efficiently. The ultimate goal of digital adoption is to leverage each technology used in an organization to the fullest and optimize technological process across the business.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are a set of principles laid out in an organization which ensures the processes and programs are impartial, fair and provide equal possible outcomes for every individual. In the workplace, that can mean the fair treatment of current and prospective employees regardless of differences in race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age and socioeconomic class.
- Economy
- Economy refers to a large set of co-existing and related production and consumption transactions that allow the determining of how scarce resources are allocated. The most common application of the concept of economy is the system according to which the money, industry, resources and trade of a country or region are organized and distributed.
- Emerging Tech
- Emerging technologies can be a variety of technological advancements and software that encompass several key areas including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation. These often supplement and help pave the way to creating a more efficient and progressive digital workspace environments.
- Employee Experience
- Employee experience is anything relating to what people encounter and see over the course of their time at an organization. This can cover areas such as employee engagement within an organization, the recruitment process and even your exiting experience from your employer.
- Fortune 500
- Fortune 500 refers to the annual list of companies produced by Fortune magazine and it ranks 500 of the largest companies in the U.S. by total revenue. The top 10 of 2021 included Walmart, Amazon, Apple and Exxon Mobil.
- Future of Work
- Future of Work is a concept focusing on how technology and shifting social conditions will impact the workplace and its workforce. COVID-19 pandemic is regularly cited as one of the catalysts for conversation around what the future of work will look like and how we will work in the future. Digital adoption of technologies as AI and automation software are also a factor of shaping the definition of the future of work.
- Gig Economy
- Gig economy allows workers who do not necessarily want the traditional nine-to-five job in a corporate structure to opt into small chunks of mostly project and task-based work – hence ‘gig’ – usually through a technology-enabled talent platform. This mostly relates to independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers and temporary workers.
- HR Technology
- HR technology is a broad ranging term which can be applied to anything within the Human Resource sector which is driven by technological change or innovation. It includes all aspects of automation and advanced software for employee payroll and compensation, talent acquisition and management, workforce analytics, performance management, and benefits administration.
- HRIS
- Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a software that stores, manages, and tracks employee-related data. As HR functions became more demanding, HRIS incorporates processes such as talent acquisition, recruitment, and ongoing employee data management and processing.
- Learning and Development
- Learning and Development (L&D) is a practice within HR which looks to empower employees to use their specific skills for the benefit of their organization. This can include upskilling, training and online course attendance to make sure the employee is developing in the appropriate way for both themselves and their employer. Talent gap analysis can be used in the process to spot skills shortage and improvement areas relating to an organizations overall goals, with the intention of developing an existing employee to fulfill the gap that has been identified.
- Market News
- Market news is content associated with up-to-date and breaking stories relating to the financial and business world. This can involve anything from stock market moves to changes in leadership roles at major organizations.
- Organizational Design
- Organizational design is the process of organizing a company's operational structures. It reviews the requirements of an organization and takes a holistic approach into organizing everything from systems, structures, people practices, rewards, performance measures, policies and culture. Organizational design is usually carried out by HR departments in collaboration with project managers and leaders of the organization.
- Payroll
- Payroll is the compensation a business pays out to its employees for a given fixed period or on a selected date. It is typically managed by HR or accounting departments of a company. Payrolls for smaller operations can be handled directly by the owner of that company. In calculating payroll, employees hours and holidays should be logged and tracked as well as any bonus schemes taken into consideration.
- Performance Management
- Performance management is a concept of ensuring that employees of an organization are carrying out their roles with the upmost efficiency and effectiveness. It often works as an ongoing process of communication between a manager and their employee and will have personal and company goals in mind throughout the conversations and development of it. It involves setting out clear and achievable objectives for any given working year, with regular checkups and tracking of the employee's performance.
- Recruiting
- Recruiting is the overall process of looking for, interviewing and hiring candidates to any given role within an organisation. The hiring manager, alongside someone from the HR department will often be the main two figures involved in any recruiting process. It can also extend to the onboarding of that employee and making sure that the whole process of integration into their role is as painless as possible.
- Risk, Compliance and Regulation
- Risk, Compliance and Regulation are terms which often fall under the responsibility of the legal department and HR of a company. They cover a companies potential exposure to legal penalties, financial issues and staying in accordance of industry laws and regulations.
- Skills Development
- Skill development is a process which allows trainees and the working population to gain access to knowledge that will help further enhance the skill-sets they have as an employee. This can be attained through vocational training and workshops aimed at increasing a person's overall workplace competencies.
- Strategy and Leadership
- Strategy and Leadership are core principles and attributes that are crucial to the succesful execution of an organization's long-term goals. It is essential for a CEO or leader of a company to show strategy and leadership qualities in order to efficiently drive a business towards profitability and growth.
- Talent Acquisition
- Talent acquisition is part of the recruitment strategy and is one of the core functions of an HR department. It's the process of attracting and hiring skilled employees to fulfill a company’s business needs and includes the development, implementation and evaluation of systems for sourcing, recruiting, hiring and orienting. As part of talent acquisition a business needs to create a strong employer brand and proactively nurture applicant pipelines to meet the needs of the company.
- Talent Management
- Talent Management is the continuous act of attracting, selecting, training and retaining employees in an organization. It is one of the key HR processes and its main function is to increase performance with the aim of motivating and engaging employees to make them perform better in their roles.
- Talent Mobility
- Talent mobility is related to an organization's ability to effectively understand the skills, experiences, and career interests of their employees. The ultimate aim of this is to internally shuffle employees into new roles where their abilities will be used to best use, and where new skills can be trained and developed.
- VR/AR
- Virtual reality is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world. Augmented reality, in some ways is the inverted notion of VR, as it places digitally produced objects into a real world environment. Virtual reality and augmented reality in HR can improve a variety of processes in recruitment, hiring, onboarding and employee training.
- Wellbeing
- Wellbeing is an umbrella term for the general emotional and physical condition and happiness of an individial in an organization. This can be effected by things such as work-life balance, company culture, comfort and environment in the office and the demanding nature of the job. Improving and creating an environment which has positive impacts on a worker's wellbeing is one of the most important tasks for an organization's HR department.