HR glossary of terminology

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Human Resources Glossary - C

California Labor Laws

California labor laws are unique to the State of California and deal with worker rights and job safeguards. In general every company that has employees in the state is required to treat them under California labor regulations and those laws protect anyone employed in the state. 

In addition specific categories of workers are exempt from certain labor laws most notably executive administrative and professional workers. However an exemption does not mean that a worker is exempt from all labor laws in California; instead it only applies to the ones governing minimum wage rest breaks meal breaks and overtime pay.

Candidate Experience

The candidate experience is how a candidate feels as they progress through the hiring process at your company. This comprises the initial job search and application procedure as well as the screening procedures interviews and onboarding procedures used by your company.

Career Path

A career path is a chart that outlines the stages you should take in your professional life to develop into new or more senior responsibilities at work. Employees are guided toward achieving their long-term professional ambitions and future aspirations through various positions and experiences.

Employees are not the only ones who gain by choosing their career path. Employee engagement in their work and long-term relationships with the organization is also advantageous to employers. In addition to raising employee morale this increases employee productivity.

Career Plateau

The easiest way to define a professional plateau is when you feel like you have reached a stage in your career where you cannot advance. The inability to find fulfillment and feeling stuck in one's career or position are telltale signs. In the end it comes down to having the impression that you are unable to advance from where you are now.

Career Progression

The term "career progression" refers to all the actions a person takes to advance in their career whether in terms of title salary or abilities—typically it's a winning combination of all three.

Carer's Leave Law

Employees taking time off from work to care for a loved one with a severe illness are said to be on "carer's leave."

CASDI

The short-term disability insurance program for Californian workers is called CASDI or California State Disability Insurance. State income tax deducted from employees' paychecks is used to pay for the program. Employees in California who are temporarily unable to work due to a non-job-related sickness or accident are eligible to receive weekly tax-free payments until they can return to work up to a maximum of one year through this short-term disability program. People receiving CASDI can receive between 60 and 70 percent of their typical quarterly gross income.

Certificate of Good Standing

A company's state certification proving it has fulfilled all relevant licensing and regulatory requirements to operate is known as a "certificate of good standing." When assisting small firms banks that offer business loans and accounts typically request a certificate of good standing. Businesses can also use a certificate of good standing to demonstrate that they have complied with local regulations while registering as foreign entities in other states.

Circular A

The IRS issued the Agricultural Employer's Tax Guide. The document gives employers guidance and instructions about the federal tax obligations of farm laborers which differ from those of regular employees (those that use Circular E). The fundamental IRS regulations for withholding depositing and submitting employer tax obligations are contained in Circular A.

Circular E

Circular E refers to the Employer's Tax Guide a publication of the IRS. The publication gives employers advice and instructions regarding their federal tax obligations. In addition it provides the fundamental IRS guidelines for filing employer tax obligations withholding and depositing taxes and filing tax withholdings.

Cloud HR Software

Tools as a service (SaaS) subscription models frequently include cloud-based HR software. You can access a software solution that stores your data processes and HR work in exchange for a monthly or annual charge.

The providers handle all the usual technical issues for cloud-based HR solutions including operation troubleshooting and ongoing development.

Code of Conduct

An employee's behavior at work is governed by a set of rules known as a code of conduct. It typically takes the form of a paper outlining proper conduct for employees of an organization whether remote or physical.

Collaborative Learning

A teaching strategy called collaborative learning uses groups to improve the teaching and learning process. This typically involves teams of at least two students collaborating to learn new ideas resolve issues or finish projects.

Learning can occur more actively when students process comprehend and apply the concept or knowledge offered to them in a group setting. Instead of simply knowing particular facts or numbers by heart.

Common-Law Test

The IRS uses a set of rules called the Common-Law Test to determine whether workers are independent contractors or employees.

The test gauges the degree of behavioral and financial control an employer has over an employee and the nature of their relationship. An "employee" is someone who satisfies the requirements of the Common-Law Test.

Company Core Values

The North Star of your business is its core values. When making decisions or acting in the best interests of your company personnel at all levels should keep these values tenets or broad philosophies in mind. Essentially they represent how employees behave work together or view themselves at work.

Company Culture 

Company culture is the combination of your formal and informal procedures attitudes and beliefs that result in the experience that both your employees and consumers have. Company culture is fundamentally the way things are done at work.

Compassionate Leave

Employees are granted time off for compassionate reasons when a close relative or other family member passes away. This gives the staff members time to process their loss plan and attend a funeral or service.

Compensation

An employee's regular salary or hourly rate as well as any other forms of payment like overtime bonuses retirement benefits health benefits stock options and other non-financial incentives are all considered compensation.

Compensatory Time Off

Compensatory time off also called comp time is an optional method of compensating workers who put in extra hours. For example instead of paying time and a half in overtime pay a company with a compensatory time off policy will pay employees in the form of paid time off (PTO). In other words a worker may be eligible for paid vacation time rather than overtime pay.

According to the number of hours worked PTO is typically awarded for compensatory time off. Employers should have a precise thorough system to track collected comp time hours. If a company doesn't give workers the necessary time off they risk being sued.

Competency-Based Pay

A compensation structure known as competency-based pay rewards employees based on their skill set knowledge and experience rather than their position or job title. By taking ownership of enhancing their abilities and productivity employees are encouraged by a competency-based pay structure to achieve their desired pay rate.

Competency Management

The practice of identifying critical abilities (competencies) needed by personnel to achieve short- and long-term goals for a company is known as competency management. 

Four essential components make up the competency management process:

  1. Determining the abilities required to accomplish goals
  2. Identifying the workforce's present competencies
  3. Creating a development plan for staff from A to B
  4. Putting that idea into action and refining it

Compulsory Redundancy

When a company ends an employee's employment agreement due to business needs rather than difficulties with conduct or performance this is referred to as mandated redundancy.

Conditions of Employment

Conditions of employment are the guidelines the employer and the employee agree to follow when working for the same organization. They define each party's obligations and rights. Terms of employment are another name for conditions of work.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is the informal or formal process that two or more parties use to settle their disagreements amicably.

Constructive Discharge

Constructive discharge a type of unlawful termination in which an employer's actions cause an uncomfortable circumstance that leaves an employee feeling as though they have no other choice than to resign is another name for involuntary resignation in the United States. 

Constructive dismissal termination and discharge are all synonyms for an employee leaving on ostensibly voluntary terms due to an unfriendly work environment or an unpleasant working position. Discharge dismissal and termination are terms used to describe these circumstances because even though it seems like a voluntary leave the separation was forced.

Constructive Feedback

Giving team members helpful advice or recommendations will enable them to produce a positive output. It is particular based on observation and aimed favorably at an employee's performance abilities conduct or capacity for teamwork.

Contingency Recruiting

When a company uses a contract recruiter or staffing agency to identify candidates for a vacant position this is known as contingent recruiting. The recruitment firm or contractor will receive a payment if the business chooses to hire a candidate they suggest. Typically the recruiting cost is equal to 20% of the pay of the post filled.

Contingent Worker

Someone who works for an organization but is not officially hired as an employee is known as a contingent worker. Workers considered contingent might offer their services on a permanent temporary or as-needed basis. In contrast to permanent employees who take on a constant unending job they are frequently employed to finish a specific project.

Continuous Professional Development

Professionals retain and grow their skills knowledge experience and understanding through continuous professional development (CPD). Employees must actively pursue track record and reflect on activities that help them improve at what they do as part of CPD.

Core Competencies

Core competencies are known as the skills and benefits that set a company or person apart from the competition.

Thanks to C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel for tapping into staff competencies core competencies have advanced as a business strategy approach. By using these personal skills employers can proactively identify methods to develop their workforce and find the best personnel.

Core HR

Core HR (Core Human Resources) is a catch-all phrase that refers to the primary duties of the HR department the information it gathers about the company's employees and the software it deploys to support essential personnel procedures.

Corporate Culture

The idea that your work makes a lasting and noticeable influence on past present and future employees by just existing is referred to as corporate culture. The emotional climate at work is shaped by and defines interactions between coworkers customers and managers as well as between these groups of people. In essence it permeates every aspect of your organization.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a corporate strategy that enables an organization to uphold its social obligations to its stakeholders the community and itself.

For the benefit of society the economy or the environment this business model aims to benefit the world. Companies may restructure their business to implement corporate social responsibility.

CP 575 Letter

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can validate the special Employer Identification Number (EIN) it has given to a new business by issuing a CP 575 EIN Confirmation Letter. Similar to how the IRS uses a Social Security number to identify an individual an EIN is used by the IRS to identify a business for tax purposes.

CPP (Certified Payroll Professional)

A CPP or Certified Payroll Professional is an expert in modern payroll processing software and law. Employers who want to maintain high levels of payroll proficiency in-house might encourage employees to pass the CPP test and get certified in payroll.

Cross-Functional Teams

An organization's cross-functional team is a collection of employees from various departments. A company might for instance assemble a cross-functional team made up of one or more representatives from marketing engineering product sales and human resources.

Cultural Fit 

The possibility that a job applicant can fit in and adapt to the fundamental values and group behaviors that make up a business is known as cultural fit. Therefore human resource departments look at two factors when assessing job candidates: cultural fit and functional fit.

Cultural Web Model

The cultural web concept created in 1992 by Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes aids in defining the "paradigm" or the actual lived experience of working within an organization. Additionally it's a way of investigating an organization's many components and how they can affect how people interact with them as clients or employees.