HR & Workplace Terms Glossary
HR runs on shorthand. If you sit in on a recruiter huddle, a benefits enrolment meeting, or a leadership review, you will hear "TA sent the JD to the HRBP" and "the L&D roadmap for the HIPOs is stuck in PIP season" in the same ten minutes. This glossary decodes the common HR acronyms, workplace abbreviations, and everyday jargon a hiring team actually uses, from the everyday (WFH, R&R, FTE) to the compliance-heavy (FLSA, FMLA, EEOC). Every entry is one line: what it stands for, what it means, and, where useful, what it is not.
We keep it scannable on purpose. If you are new to the function, read the "Everyday terms people ask about most" section first, then dip into the alphabetical reference. If you are a seasoned HR leader running a bulk hiring cycle, jump to the acronym you are hunting.
A quick note on where Fabric fits: Fabric is an AI interview platform that handles Round 1 for recruiters, from sourcing and eligibility screening through the live AI-led interview. So the acronyms most relevant to Fabric users cluster around recruiting and screening: ATS, JD, TA, RPO, KPI, FTE, HIPO. You will find those defined below alongside the general HR terms.
Table of contents
- Everyday terms people ask about most
- Recruiting and talent acquisition acronyms
- Compensation, payroll, and benefits acronyms
- Learning, performance, and analytics acronyms
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion acronyms
- Compliance and U.S. labour-law acronyms
- Executive and org-structure acronyms
- FAQ
- Related Posts
Everyday terms people ask about most
These are the workplace terms and abbreviations non-HR people search for most often. Short definitions, no jargon.
WFH: Work From Home
An arrangement where the employee works from their residence rather than a company office. WFH is not the same as remote (which usually implies no office at all) or hybrid (a mix of both).
R&R: Rewards and Recognition
The set of programs, bonuses, spot awards, and public appreciation practices companies use to reinforce behaviour and retain employees. R&R can be monetary (bonuses, gift cards) or non-monetary (shout-outs, extra time off).
FIFO: Fly-In Fly-Out (or First-In, First-Out)
In workforce and shift contexts FIFO means Fly-In Fly-Out, a rotational model where employees fly to a remote worksite, work a fixed rotation (for example, 14 days on, 7 days off), then fly home. In accounting and inventory contexts FIFO means First-In, First-Out, the practice of using the oldest stock first.
Ad hoc
Latin for "for this." In business, an ad hoc task, meeting, or committee is created for one specific purpose and then dissolved. An "ad hoc report" is a one-off analysis, not a recurring dashboard.
Arrears
Money owed but not yet paid, or a payment made after the period it covers. "Paid in arrears" means an employee is paid for work already completed, for example on the 5th of the month for the previous month's work. Salary arrears specifically are back-pay owed for a past period.
Partial payment
A payment that covers only part of a total owed, whether a partial salary payment (for a mid-month joiner, for example), a partial invoice payment, or a partial payout of a bonus. Distinct from arrears in that it is agreed in advance rather than owed after the fact.
Peers
Colleagues at the same level, on the same team or across teams, who are neither your manager nor your direct report. "Peer feedback" and "peer review" both use this definition. In HR analytics, "peer benchmarking" means comparing your metrics to organisations of similar size or industry.
Cross-functional team
A group of people from different departments (engineering, product, marketing, HR, and so on) brought together to work on one shared outcome. Cross-functional teams are usually temporary and outcome-based, not permanent org units.
Full-time
There is no universal legal definition. In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) leaves "full-time" to the employer, though the IRS uses 30 hours per week as the threshold for Affordable Care Act coverage. Most employers set full-time at 35 to 40 hours per week. Anything below that is usually classified as part-time.
Recruiting and talent acquisition acronyms
If your day starts with a requisition and ends with an offer, these are the terms that show up most on your Slack and in your ATS notifications.
ATS: Applicant Tracking System
Software that stores and moves candidates through the hiring funnel, from application to offer. An ATS is the system of record for recruiting. The rest of the recruiting stack (sourcing tools, assessment platforms, interview platforms like Fabric) plugs into it.
JD: Job Description
The document listing a role's responsibilities, requirements, and often compensation range. A JD is both a legal document (it sets the basis for eligibility screening) and a marketing asset (it is often the first thing a candidate reads).
TA: Talent Acquisition
The broader function that includes sourcing, employer branding, workforce planning, and recruiting. "TA" is often used as a job title, as in "TA partner" or "senior TA specialist."
RPO: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
An arrangement in which an external firm takes over part or all of a company's recruiting function, either on-site or off-site. RPO providers typically bill by role filled, by month, or per hire.
SJT: Situational Judgement Test
An assessment that presents candidates with realistic workplace scenarios and asks them to pick the best response. SJTs are common in bulk hiring for customer-facing roles.
TAT: Turnaround Time
The elapsed time from one milestone to another, most commonly "requisition open to first shortlist" or "interview complete to offer." Recruiting TAT is one of the metrics screening automation is expected to move.
CPH: Cost Per Hire
Total recruiting spend for a period divided by the number of hires in that period. CPH includes agency fees, ATS licence costs, employer branding, and internal recruiter time.
HIPO: High Potential Employee
An internal employee identified as capable of growing into a bigger role. Most HIPO programs pair identification with an accelerated L&D plan.
BOE: Basis of Experience
Shorthand for the years-of-experience benchmark used in a JD or eligibility filter. "BOE 5+" means the role expects at least five years of relevant experience.
KPI: Key Performance Indicator
A metric tied to a specific goal. In recruiting, common KPIs include time-to-hire, offer-acceptance rate, first-year attrition, and quality-of-hire score.
Fabric's Interview Engine screens, scores, and shortlists on eligibility parameters like budget, location, and years of experience before the AI Round 1 interview begins. It is designed to give the recruiter a signal to weigh, not to make the final call.
Compensation, payroll, and benefits acronyms
The money side of HR. Getting these wrong on a payslip creates trust problems faster than almost anything else HR does, so definitions matter.
C&B: Compensation and Benefits
The umbrella function covering base pay, variable pay, equity, allowances, insurance, and non-cash perks. In some organisations C&B sits under HR. In larger companies it is a specialist team of its own.
CTC: Cost to Company
The total annual cost of employing someone, including base salary, allowances, employer contributions to insurance and retirement, and any variable pay at target. CTC is the number Indian and many APAC employers list on offer letters. U.S. offers usually cite base plus a target bonus instead.
FTE: Full-Time Equivalent
A unit that converts headcount and part-time hours into full-time-equivalent bodies. Two people at 20 hours per week each equal one FTE. Workforce planning is done in FTE, not headcount.
HRA: House Rent Allowance
An allowance paid on top of base salary to cover rented accommodation, common in Indian salary structures and often partially tax-exempt.
EAP: Employee Assistance Program
A benefit that gives employees confidential access to short-term counselling, legal help, or financial advice, usually through a third-party provider.
ESOP: Employee Stock Ownership Plan
A benefit that grants employees equity in the company, typically vesting over several years. Distinct from RSUs (restricted stock units) and stock options in mechanics and tax treatment.
PF: Provident Fund
A mandatory retirement-savings contribution in India (and several other countries), with a matched percentage from employer and employee going into a portable individual account.
EPF: Employees' Provident Fund
The specific Indian statutory scheme administered by EPFO under the EPF Act. See our compensation and payroll guide for how the deductions flow.
CPP: Canada Pension Plan
Canada's federal contributory retirement scheme; the equivalent building block to Social Security in the U.S.
DA: Dearness Allowance
A cost-of-living allowance paid on top of base salary, most common in Indian public sector and legacy private-sector structures. Adjusted periodically to offset inflation.
TA: Travel Allowance (payroll context)
Distinct from the recruiting "TA" above. A monthly or reimbursable allowance for work travel. Context makes clear which meaning is intended.
Learning, performance, and analytics acronyms
The HR terms that show up in review cycles, learning platforms, and people-analytics dashboards.
L&D: Learning and Development
The function responsible for skill-building, training, and career development. Overlaps with talent management but is usually a separate team.
LMS: Learning Management System
Software that hosts, delivers, and tracks employee learning. A LMS handles enrolments, quiz scoring, and compliance-training records.
IDP: Individual Development Plan
A written plan agreed between an employee and their manager, listing skills to build, learning activities, and timelines. IDPs are the operating document behind most L&D programs.
KSA: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
A three-part framework for describing what a role demands. Used in JDs and structured interview scoring.
PIP: Performance Improvement Plan
A formal, time-bound plan for an underperforming employee, listing measurable expectations. PIPs are legal documents in most jurisdictions and are often the last step before termination for cause.
360: 360-Degree Feedback
A performance-feedback method that collects input from an employee's manager, peers, direct reports, and sometimes external stakeholders.
MBO: Management by Objectives
A performance-management approach in which managers and employees agree on specific goals, then measure performance against those goals.
OKR: Objectives and Key Results
A goal-setting framework in which a qualitative Objective is tracked by three to five quantitative Key Results. OKRs are usually set quarterly.
HRA: HR Analytics (context-dependent)
In an analytics context, HRA sometimes means Human Resource Analytics, the discipline of measuring people outcomes with data. Same acronym as House Rent Allowance above. Context makes clear which is meant.
ELTV: Employee Lifetime Value
The total value an employee produces over their tenure, minus the total cost of hiring, retaining, and developing them. A relatively new metric borrowed from customer-lifetime-value modelling.
eNPS: Employee Net Promoter Score
An engagement metric based on the single question "how likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work?" scored from 0 to 10.
TO: Turnover Rate
Voluntary and involuntary exits over a period, divided by average headcount. Often reported alongside attrition and retention rate. See the attrition vs. retention rate guide for the formulas.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion acronyms
DEI vocabulary shifts faster than any other corner of HR. What follows is the current stable set.
DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The umbrella term covering programs to broaden representation, ensure fair opportunity, and create a workplace where a range of identities feel included. See our DEI, culture, and benefits guide.
DEIB: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
An expanded version of DEI that adds "belonging," a separately measurable outcome of inclusion work.
ERG: Employee Resource Group
A voluntary, employee-led group organised around a shared identity or interest (women in engineering, LGBTQ+ colleagues, working parents, and so on). ERGs typically have executive sponsors and small budgets. See allyship, ERGs and cultural competence.
ESG: Environmental, Social, and Governance
A broader corporate-responsibility framework. The "S" overlaps heavily with DEI reporting.
AAP: Affirmative Action Plan
A written plan U.S. federal contractors must maintain, outlining recruiting and workforce goals to correct under-representation.
Compliance and U.S. labour-law acronyms
The alphabet soup of workplace regulation. This is the section HR generalists print out and pin above their monitor.
FLSA: Fair Labor Standards Act
The U.S. federal statute governing minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment. See the U.S. Department of Labor's FLSA overview for the current thresholds and coverage rules. Most exempt-vs-non-exempt questions trace back to this law.
FMLA: Family and Medical Leave Act
A U.S. federal law giving eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for specified family and medical reasons.
ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act
A U.S. civil-rights law prohibiting discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities. The U.S. EEOC enforces the employment sections.
EEO: Equal Employment Opportunity
The principle, backed by federal law, that hiring, promotion, and pay decisions must be free of discrimination based on protected characteristics.
EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. federal agency that enforces the anti-discrimination provisions of Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and related laws.
ADEA: Age Discrimination in Employment Act
A U.S. federal statute protecting workers aged 40 and above from age-based discrimination in employment decisions.
WARN: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
A U.S. federal law requiring employers of a certain size to give 60 days' notice of a mass layoff or plant closure.
I-9
The U.S. form used to verify a new hire's identity and eligibility to work in the U.S.
W-4
The U.S. form employees fill out at hire so the employer can withhold the correct amount of federal income tax.
OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The U.S. agency that sets and enforces workplace safety standards.
PII: Personally Identifiable Information
Any data that could identify a specific individual. HR systems handle a lot of PII (national ID numbers, bank details, home addresses) and are governed accordingly.
ROI: Return on Investment
Not an HR-specific term, but the one that turns up in every business-case slide for HR technology and programs.
Executive and org-structure acronyms
The titles and structures at the top of the HR org, plus the acronyms that describe how the function is organised.
CHRO: Chief Human Resources Officer
The executive who owns the people function end-to-end. See CHRO vs. Chief People Officer for how the roles differ.
CPO: Chief People Officer
Similar scope to CHRO with a stronger cultural framing. Not to be confused with Chief Product Officer, also CPO in tech.
HRBP: HR Business Partner
An HR generalist who is embedded with a specific business unit and acts as its strategic partner on people questions.
COE: Centre of Excellence
A specialist internal team (for example a compensation COE, a talent COE) that supports HRBPs across business units.
HRIS: Human Resources Information System
The core HR system of record, holding employee data, org structure, and lifecycle events. See the HRIS comparison guide for a rundown of the major platforms.
HRMS: Human Resource Management System
Very similar to HRIS. In most vendor marketing today the two are used interchangeably, with HRMS often bundling payroll and time-tracking directly.
HCM: Human Capital Management
A superset of HRIS/HRMS that adds strategic modules like workforce planning, succession, and analytics.
SME: Subject Matter Expert
A named person a project relies on for domain expertise. In HR contexts SMEs are often line managers pulled into JD design, interview scorecards, or L&D content review.
PEO: Professional Employer Organisation
An arrangement in which a third-party firm becomes the co-employer of your workforce, taking on payroll, benefits administration, and compliance. Common for smaller U.S. employers.
EOR: Employer of Record
Similar to PEO but used mainly to employ people in countries where the hiring company has no legal entity.
FAQ
What are the acronyms of HR?
HR uses hundreds of acronyms; the most common are ATS, HRIS, HRBP, JD, KPI, FTE, CPH, DEI, ERG, EAP, PIP, L&D, R&R, TA, RPO, OKR, FLSA, FMLA, ADA, and CHRO. This glossary lists each one with its expansion and a one-line definition.
What does WFH stand for?
WFH stands for Work From Home, an arrangement where an employee performs their job from their residence instead of a company location. It is distinct from "remote" (usually no assigned office) and "hybrid" (a mix of office and home).
What is R&R in HR?
R&R stands for Rewards and Recognition, the set of programs, bonuses, and public appreciation practices companies use to reinforce desired behaviour and retain employees. It can be monetary (spot bonuses, gift cards) or non-monetary (public shout-outs, extra leave).
What does FIFO stand for?
In workforce contexts FIFO stands for Fly-In Fly-Out, a rotational work model common in mining, oil and gas, and remote construction. In accounting and inventory contexts FIFO means First-In, First-Out.
What is considered full-time employment?
There is no universal legal definition. Under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act the threshold is left to the employer, though the IRS uses 30 hours per week for Affordable Care Act coverage. Most employers in practice set full-time at 35 to 40 hours per week.
What does "ad hoc" mean in business?
Ad hoc is Latin for "for this." A business uses it to describe a task, meeting, or committee created for a single, specific purpose rather than as a permanent function.
What is a cross-functional team?
A cross-functional team is a group of people from different departments (engineering, product, sales, HR, and so on) brought together to work on one shared goal or project. They are usually temporary and dissolve once the outcome is met.
What are HR jargons?
HR jargon includes acronyms like ATS, HRIS, HRBP, and terms like attrition, absenteeism, benchmarking, and requisition. Every function has its own vocabulary. The ones in this glossary are the acronyms non-HR colleagues bump into most often.