​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 […]

​Expatriate definition In general terms, an expatriate – commonly shortened to expat – is someone living in a country different to the one in which they were brought up. Generally the period of residency will be long-term to permanent. In business terms, expatriates are employees send to work abroad for long periods of time. This may include employees sent to […]

​Executive Search definition Executive search refers to locating and recruiting individuals for senior boardroom positions. The term is colloquially known as headhunting although nowadays the term headhunting often refers to any highly targeted recruitment campaign to attract one, talented candidate, regardless of the role’s seniority. Executive searches are commonly undertaken by specialist recruitment firms with boardroom access, although some executive […]

​Equity Theory definition First developed in the early 1960s by behavioural psychologist John S. Adams, equity theory is concerned with defining and measuring the relational satisfaction of employees. Adams suggested that employees try to maintain a balance between what they give to an organisation against what they receive, and base satisfaction with their own balance on perceptions of the same […]

​HR word of the day – Double Burden Double burden is a phenomenon where an individual is given two equally difficult and usually conflicting roles to play, and they are not given any monetary benefit for one of the roles. On a general note, the term Double burden is used to describe the position of women who two roles that […]

​Environment Scanning definition Environment scanning refers to thorough, consistent and often daily processing of an organisation’s internal and external environments in order to identify risks, trends and opportunities that could influence the organisation’s future, or the future of the industry or market. Environmental scanning differs from surveillance – the latter is tasked with a specific objective and a specific area. […]

​Enterprise Compensation Management (ECM) definition The organisation, processing and optimisation of compensation in a large organisation, typically run using HR software. Larger multi-site companies can use ECM software to compare compensation across multiple geographies, providing key information on different worker expectations. Questions that enterprise compensation management seeks to answer include: “Do our staff feel they are being adequately compensated?” “Are our […]

​Encore Career definition Encore careers are jobs taken between retirement and old age that balance remuneration, personal meaning and community and societal impact. The term ‘encore career’ was popularised by Marc Freedman is his book Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life. Commonly-cited examples of people who have transitioned to encore careers include Bill Gates, who transitioned […]

EDIS ​Employee-driven idea system  Employee-driven idea systems, often called employee-driven innovation systems because of their capacity for disruptive innovation, are organisational systems that encourage and incentivise staff to submit ideas for improvements directly to their line managers. EDIS are seen as an alternative to traditional suggestion schemes inTotal Quality (TQ) environments as a way to both improve the quality of suggestions […]