Knowledge

HR Glossary

By Redaktion techport.ai, HR-Beratung · Last updated on 21 August 2026

Terms from HR, employment law, and HR technology, explained as we use them in our projects. Where a term plays a role on one of our topic pages, it is linked.

Active Sourcing: The proactive approach to candidates who have not applied, typically via career networks or professional communities. Beneficial for hard-to-fill roles that cannot be filled through advertisements. Read more
Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG) (General Equal Treatment Act): This Act prohibits discrimination based on age, gender, ethnic origin, religion, disability, or sexual identity, including in the application process. Rejected applicants can assert claims within two months, which leads to the usual retention period of six months for applicant data. Read more
Age Structure Analysis: Analysis of the age distribution of the workforce per department, job family, or role, usually with a forecast for five and ten years. Forms the basis for succession planning and knowledge transfer. Read more
Working Time Account: An account where discrepancies between contractual and actual working hours are recorded and subsequently balanced. Requires comprehensive time tracking. Read more
Betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement (BEM) (Company Integration Management): The procedure according to § 167 Absatz 2 SGB IX, which employers must offer to employees who have been unfit for work for more than six weeks within one year. The aim is to overcome the incapacity for work and preserve the employment. Read more
Betriebsvereinbarung (Works Agreement): A contract between the employer and the works council that applies to all employees of the company. For HR systems, it regulates purpose, data, evaluations, access rights, and deletion periods, and can serve as a legal basis for data processing. Read more
Applicant Tracking System: Software for managing job postings, applications, and selection processes. Should map channel origin, deletion periods, and talent pool with consent. Read more
Compa-Ratio: The ratio of an individual salary to the midpoint of the associated salary band, expressed as a percentage. Indicates where an individual stands within the band and highlights discrepancies between groups. Read more
Data Protection Impact Assessment: A risk assessment required under Article 35 GDPR for processing operations with a high probability of high risk. Generally necessary for comprehensive HR systems and ideally developed in conjunction with the works agreement. Read more
Deprovisioning: The systematic withdrawal of access, authorisations, and devices upon leaving or changing roles, ideally automatically controlled by the exit date in the HR system. Read more
Digital Omnibus: An EU amendment package that, among other things, postponed the deadlines of the AI Act. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 entered into force on 27 July 2026 and shifts the high-risk obligations for HR systems to 2 December 2027. Read more
Aptitude Diagnostics: The totality of procedures used to measure the fit between a person and a position: structured interviews, work samples, tests. Effective procedures are predefined, measure defined requirements, and are tested for their predictive validity. Read more
Conciliation Committee: A company-level arbitration body that decides when the employer and the works council cannot agree on matters subject to co-determination. Composed of assessors from both sides and an impartial chairperson. Read more
Employee Experience: The sum of experiences employees have during the formative moments of their working life, from application to departure. Designed by treating these moments as processes and deliberately shaping them. Read more
Employer Branding: The development and maintenance of the employer brand, i.e., the image that applicants and employees have of the company as an employer. This is only credible if the employee experience delivers on its promise. Read more
Pay Transparency Directive: Directive (EU) 2023/970 on strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay. It requires salary information to be provided before job interviews, rights to information, reporting obligations for companies with 100 or more employees, and a reversal of the burden of proof. The implementation deadline was 7 June 2026, which Germany missed. Read more
Early attrition: The proportion of new hires who leave within the first twelve months. This is the most important metric for the quality of selection and onboarding. Read more
Salary band: A range from minimum to maximum salary for a specific level within a job family, usually with entry, mid, and end points. This forms the basis for transparent salary decisions and for the criteria that must be disclosed according to the Pay Transparency Directive. Read more
Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz (HinSchG) (Whistleblower Protection Act): This law requires companies with 50 or more employees to establish an internal reporting channel for tip-offs regarding legal violations, with deadlines of seven days for acknowledging receipt and three months for providing feedback. It protects whistleblowers from reprisals. Read more
High-risk AI system: A classification under the AI Act for systems posing a significant risk to fundamental rights. This includes AI systems for recruitment, promotion, termination, task allocation, and performance appraisal. Obligations apply to these systems from 2 December 2027. Read more
HR Business Partner: A role within the HR operating model that strategically advises business units on HR matters. This only works if routine tasks are delegated to a service desk and self-service options. Read more
HR Information System (HRIS): The central software system for HR master data, organisational structure, and HR processes. It should be the leading system for HR data and supply other systems via interfaces. Read more
Interessenausgleich und Sozialplan (Balance of Interests and Social Plan): Two agreements with the works council in the event of operational changes according to §§ 111 ff. BetrVG (Works Constitution Act). The Interessenausgleich regulates the 'what and how' of the measure, while the Sozialplan addresses compensation for disadvantages faced by employees. Read more
Job architecture: The organisation of all jobs within a company into job families and levels with consistent criteria. This forms the basis for salary bands, career paths, skills management, and the demonstration of equal value work. Read more
Calibration: The alignment of performance appraisals among managers within a department before they take effect. This prevents leniency in one team and strictness in another from determining salary and promotions. Read more
KI-Verordnung (AI Act) (AI Regulation): Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 on the regulation of artificial intelligence. It prohibits certain practices, such as emotion recognition in the workplace, classifies HR applications as high-risk, and requires transparency for chatbots. Read more
Competency model: A description of the skills critical for jobs or job families, usually with three to five proficiency levels. It only works if it is concise enough to be maintained. Read more
Leitender Angestellter (Senior Executive/Manager): A group of individuals narrowly defined in the Betriebsverfassungsgesetz (Works Constitution Act) and Arbeitszeitgesetz (Working Hours Act) with independent authority to hire and dismiss, or comparable responsibility. This group is significantly smaller than many companies assume, and therefore not an excuse for failing to record working hours. Read more
Learning Management System (LMS): Software for organising, conducting, and documenting training courses and e-learning. Particularly valuable for mandatory training with proof of completion requirements. Read more
Co-determination: The co-determination rights of the works council under the Betriebsverfassungsgesetz [Works Constitution Act]. For HR systems, this primarily concerns § 87 paragraph 1 number 6 BetrVG for technical devices suitable for monitoring, as well as §§ 90, 94, 95 and 99 for planning, assessment, selection and individual personnel measures. Read more
Succession Planning: The systematic safeguarding of critical roles through designated successor candidates with a development plan and timeframe. Not an executive board matter, but a method for any role whose vacancy would harm the company. Read more
Nachweisgesetz [Proof of Employment Terms Act]: The act obliges employers to document the essential terms of employment. Since 2025, text form is sufficient for this in most cases, enabling fully digital pre-boarding. Read more
Offboarding: The structured process for employee departures: knowledge transfer, asset return, deprovisioning, exit interview, alumni contact. The mirror image of onboarding and equally rarely well-designed. Read more
Onboarding: The process from contract signing to the end of the probation period, including pre-boarding, first day, induction and feedback points. The process with the greatest impact on early attrition. Read more
Outplacement: Support for departing employees in their career reorientation, usually provided by specialist consultants. Part of a fair separation process and often more cost-effective than legal disputes and reputational damage. Read more
Paired Comparison: The comparison of one's own remuneration with that of an individual of the opposite sex performing the same or equivalent work. Since the Federal Labour Court's ruling of 23 October 2025, it is sufficient to establish a presumption of discrimination. Read more
People Analytics: Answering specific executive decision-making questions with HR data. Starts with the question, not the dashboard, and requires a framework agreed upon with data protection authorities and the works council. Read more
Pre-Boarding: The phase between contract signing and the first day of work. Often neglected, although commitments are withdrawn and loyalty is formed during this time. Read more
Pulse Survey: A short, regular employee survey with a few questions that remain stable over time, usually conducted quarterly. Replaces or supplements the longer annual survey. Read more
Referentenentwurf [Draft Bill]: The initial draft of a law from a federal ministry, before cabinet approval and the parliamentary procedure. Indicates the direction, but is not binding and frequently changes. Read more
Shared Services: The consolidation of standardisable HR services into a central unit with a ticketing system, knowledge database and defined response times. In SMEs, usually implemented as a lean HR service desk. Read more
Single Source of Truth: The principle that every data field has exactly one leading system from which all other systems are supplied. Ends the situation where five systems report five different employee numbers. Read more
Skills Management: The combination of a competency model, recording existing skills and deriving learning and staffing measures. The foundation for strategic workforce planning and internal mobility. Read more
Stay Interview: A conversation with employees whom the company wishes to retain, about what keeps them and what would make them leave. The counterpart to the exit interview, conducted while there is still an opportunity for change. Read more
Job Evaluation: The evaluation of jobs based on criteria such as knowledge, responsibility, workload and working conditions, independently of the individual. This forms the basis for groups of equivalent work in accordance with the [Entgelttransparenz-Richtlinie](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023L0970) (Pay Transparency Directive). Read more
Strategic workforce planning: The planning of the skills a company will require in three to five years, compared with existing resources and demographics. This differs from budget planning, which only considers positions and costs. Read more
Talent pool: A collection of candidates who are suitable for future positions, with documented consent for data storage and regular contact. Without consent and maintenance, it is legally impermissible and practically useless. Read more
Time-to-Fill: The calendar days from the publication of a job advertisement to the acceptance of an offer. One of three sub-metrics of hiring time, alongside Time-to-Approve and Time-to-Start. Read more
Time-to-Productivity: The time until new employees reach a productivity threshold defined with the department. This measures the effectiveness of onboarding and requires a definition for each job family. Read more
Trust-based working hours: A working time model in which employees determine the timing and distribution of their working hours themselves. This remains possible even under the obligation to record working hours; times must still be recorded. Read more
Maximum weekly working hours: The model proposed in the draft bill for the reform of the Arbeitszeitgesetz (Working Hours Act) from June 2026, which replaces daily maximum working hours with an average maximum weekly working time of 48 hours. Not yet adopted. Read more