​Goldbricking definition Goldbricking refers to the practice of passing something worthless off as something valuable, akin to coating a normal house brick with gold plating and passing it off as bullion. In an employment sense, employees that do less than they could – while maintaining an air of being studious – are said to be goldbricking. Although goldbricking refers to […]

​HR word of the day – Human Capital Supply Chain “Human capital supply chain” refers to the integration of business planning, strategic workforce planning, staffing and recruiting processes and technology to enhance corporate productivity and profitability. Employing methods of common manufacturing and distribution supply chain management principles to human resources and human capital, corporations create an end-to-end, human capital supply […]

​Ghent System definition The Ghent system refers to arrangements where responsibility for paying unemployment benefits is undertaken by trade unions rather than government agencies or departments acting on behalf of the government. The system is named Ghent because it was first implemented in the city of Ghent in Belgium. Today it’s popular in Scandinavia, including in Denmark, Sweden and Finland […]

​Gender Divide definition Differences between women and women in society, used in a range of fields including sociology, politics and economics. Within the HR function, refers to differences in how men and women are treated in jobs market and workplace with regard to recruitment, pay, progression, job function, treatment, benefits and perception by colleagues and managers. Commonly referenced in discussions […]

​HR word of the day – Workplace flexibility  Flexibility in organization can be viewed in two main ways – flexibility for organisations and flexibility for individuals. Alis et al (2006) have made the distinction between flexibility of and flexibility for employees. The first of these is where organisations look for flexibility in the way in which they utilities the labour […]

​HR word of the day – Aesthetic labour  Aesthetic labour is where employees are required to look (dress, self-presentation) or sound (voice, language used) in a particular way as part of their paid employment, normally in order to match the desired image of the organisation.  The term aesthetic labour has been coined by Warhurst et al (2000) to refer to […]

​Gag Clause definition A gag clause is a contractual stipend that prevents employees from disclosing certain sensitive information amount a business, the way it operates, its intellectual and physical assets, and any future innovations. Gagging clauses are often discussed alongside whistleblowing – the clauses are often designed to prevent employees from speaking out about perceived wrongdoing in the workplace. Gag clauses differ […]

​Functional Job Analysis definition Functional job analysis, developed by the Employment and Training Administration of the United States Department of Labor, is concerned with qualitative analysis of a job role and worker that produces unique information based on the employee’s behaviour and actions. FJA breaks down job roles into seven areas: things, data, worker instructions, reasoning, people, maths and language. Analysis of […]

​Fraud Triangle definition The Fraud triangle is a framework designed to explain the reasoning behind a worker’s decision to commit workplace fraud. The three stages, categorised by the effect on the individual, can be summarised as pressure, opportunity and rationalisation. Broken down, they are: Step 1 – the pressure on the individual – is the motivation behind the crime and can be […]

​Forced Ranking definition A ranking system, also known as the vitality curve, forced distribution or rank and yank, grades a workforce based on the individual productivity of its members. Members, most often employees but sometimes managers, are graded into groups A, B, or C. A employees are the most engaged, passionate, charismatic, open to collaboration and committed. B workers do […]

​Fly In, Fly Out definition Fly in, fly out is a method of employment used in remote areas, particularly where industry is centred in a remote region (e.g. oil fields or mining). Employers will fly staff to the work site for a specific period of time, then fly them back to their home for a period of rest. This method […]

​HR word of the day – Resource Leveling Resource leveling is a technique of resource management which aims to find underused people or resources within a company and put them to work.  Resource leveling looks at all resources, people and equipment to determine if some of those assets are being underused or could be used more effectively elsewhere. An example […]

​Featherbedding definition Featherbedding, also known as overmanning in the United Kingdom, refers to practices, policies and behaviours designed to increase the number of workers employed by an organisation. Methods used may be duplicating tasks that don’t need duplicating or deliberately making processes inefficient. Featherbedding is typically union-driven as a way to prevent redundancies, often in response to new technology which […]

​HR word of the day – Servant leadership Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid.” By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. […]

​Factor Comparison definition A scientific method designed to rank job roles based on a breakdown of factors rather than the role as a whole. The ultimate goal of factor comparison is to assign the relative parts of each job role a financial value i.e. the amount of compensation offered for that part of the role. Factor comparison breaks down a […]

​Extrinsic Motivation definition Extrinsic motivation is action driven by rewards existing outside of the individual, such as recognition, money or pleasure. Note that extrinsic motivation can also drive behaviour that aims to avoid negative outcomes or punishments e.g. someone may study for an exam to get a good grade (reward) or avoid social ridicule (punishment). Extrinsic motivators are contrasted to […]