Glossary

Employee Experience Terms & Definitions

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Explore terms and definitions on topics related to employee experience, internal communication, collaboration, intranet, and more.

Glossary

A

  • Active Listening

    Active listening is the art of being fully present to those who are speaking—without interruptions, preconceived notions, or judgment. Active listeners are never impatient or dismissive.

  • Asynchronous Communication

    Definition and basic overview Asynchronous communication refers to exchanges of information in which the sender and receiver are not required to communicate simultaneously. Common examples include emails, chat forums, and social media platforms.

B

C

  • Capacity Planning

    Capacity planning is the business process of determining the resources required to meet anticipated demand, ensuring smooth and efficient operations. It analyzes the production capabilities of current resources—equipment, personnel, infrastructure, etc.—and weighs that capability against expected future demand to make sure the organization is prepared.

  • Career Development

    Career development is an ongoing process that assists individuals in managing their career paths and achieving their full potential. This process encompasses education, job training, mentoring, and coaching, aimed at equipping individuals with the skills, knowledge, and experiences required to attain their career objectives.

  • Change Management

    Change management involves a structured process to guide individuals, groups, and organizations from their current situation to a desired future state. This process consists of identifying changes’ effects, reducing potential risks, and maximizing benefits for stakeholders.

  • Chief Experience Officer (CXO)

    Organizations want to provide a good experience to everyone they come into contact with. This includes customers, employees, partners, suppliers, and contractors.

  • Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)

    When looking at the titles of executives in major corporations, it is common to see an individual with the title of Chief Human Resources Officer. A look at multiple organizational charts shows this general trend.

  • Chief People Officer (CPO)

    A chief people officer (CPO) is an executive-level position that is responsible for overseeing and managing the operations and initiatives that impact employee experience and company culture. The CPO’s role lies in shaping the company’s people strategy, including talent acquisition, employee engagement, leadership development, and training programs.

  • CMS Intranet

  • Collaboration

    Digital technology has a massive impact in the workspace and elsewhere, yet this would amount to little without human connection, communication, and a feeling of community. Without these in the workplace, there is no shared vision around the company’s mission.

  • Company Culture

    Company culture describes the shared characteristics of an organization; this includes your values, mission and goals, practices, and attitudes. However, other aspects also contribute to work cultures, such as the working environment, company policies, and employee behavior.

  • Content Governance

  • Corporate Communications

    Corporate communications is how companies share information to internal and external audiences and engage these audiences in a bid to manage brand perception. Corporate communication is made up of three major categories, which are management communication, marketing communication, and company communication.

  • Corporate Wiki

       

  • Crisis Communication

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration

    Cross-functional collaboration is a business process in which individuals from different departments or disciplines within an organization work together to achieve a common goal. This collaboration involves sharing knowledge, skills, and resources across functional boundaries to enhance problem-solving, decision-making, and innovation.

  • Cross-Functional Team

    A cross-functional team is a team of people with diverse backgrounds, skills, and expertise who come together to work on a specific project or goal. These teams often consist of members from different departments or functions within an organization, bringing a variety of perspectives and knowledge to problem-solving and decision-making processes.

  • Customer Experience

    As competition intensifies across various industries, businesses increasingly focus on providing a great customer experience. Customer experience is now one of the key differentiators between successful and unsuccessful companies.  In 2016, McDonald’s launched a campaign tagged Create Your Taste, a self-ordering kiosk to empower customers to satisfy their taste.

D

  • Deskless Worker

    Deskless workers are employees who are not assigned to a specific or permanent workstation and are not required to work from a desk—spending a considerable portion of their time outside a conventional office environment.  According to a study by Emergence Capital, approximately 2.7 billion workers globally do not sit behind a desk, accounting for 80% of the global workforce. In the US, around 80 million deskless workers work across various industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, and retail.

  • Digital Transformation

    IBM’s digital transformation definition offers a great starting point: It involves “using AI, automation, hybrid cloud, and other digital technologies to leverage data and drive intelligent workflows, faster and smarter decision-making, and real-time response to market disruptions.” And although that’s correct, it’s a lot to take in. We’ll peel back those layers below, but for now, it suffices to say that digital transformation is when businesses use new online technologies to replace old methods and then integrate them into all areas of business.

  • Digital Transformation Strategy

    A digital transformation strategy is a detailed plan including the objectives, steps, and measures of a company’s digital transformation efforts. As companies grapple with modern challenges and competition intensifies, the digital workplace has become useful in more ways than one.

  • Digital Workplace

    A digital workplace, sometimes referred to as an electronic workplace, is a collection of technologies that create a virtual, digital office environment. This type of workplace helps people collaborate, be productive, and work flexibly, regardless of where they are.

  • Distributed Workforce

    We’re going to discuss the concept of a distributed workforce, what it means, how it’s different from remote and virtual situations, and how it highlights the significance of a state-of-the-art internal communication system to hold far-flung employees together. This sounds like a contradiction in terms, so let’s take a closer look at what a distributed workforce actually is, how it benefits employees and organizations alike, what the challenges of a distributed workforce are, and best practices.    

  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

    The letters DEI stand for diversity, equity, and inclusion. It encompasses a mindset and series of actions intended to drive reform and transformation globally across every type of organization or institution imaginable.

E

  • Employee Advocacy

    Employee advocacy is the unpaid promotion of a brand by an individual who works there. It happens when an employee shares a positive message about the company or brand with other people in their social circle, mainly through word of mouth, on the internet, and by using branded items.

  • Employee Communication

    Simply put, employee communication is the sharing of information, ideas and feelings between employees and the managers of an organization. Employee communication can be verbal, over email, through mobile applications, within intranets, or various other collaboration tools.

  • Employee Connectivity

    Employee connectivity refers to employees’ connections with each other and with their organization. This can also include the tools and methods used by organizations to promote greater connectivity between employees not just on a professional level, but also on a personal level.

  • Employee Development

    Employee development or growth is an all-encompassing concept hinged on training; the ideology transcends beyond a mere course; it is a long-term plan for employees that puts their skills enhancement and growth at the forefront while discharging their duties. Not giving room for employee development is equally detrimental to the growth and success of any company.

  • Employee Directory

    The digital era has revolutionized the way businesses operate. Among the most important corporate resources we have today are employee directories.

  • Employee Empowerment

    Employee empowerment gives employees a voice and fosters an environment of ownership and independence. If management can hand over some of the power, there will be increased personal investment by employees.  With greater responsibilities and opportunities created by an empowering leadership style, employees are encouraged to take on greater challenges, benefit from opportunities, and progress more effectively in their careers.

  • Employee Engagement

    Employee engagement has been at the forefront of HR leaders’ minds for quite some time. It impacts every vital aspect of your organization, such as revenue, customer experience, employee retention, and profitability.

  • Employee Experience

    Employee experience (EX) has become a buzzword, but organizations can be sure it is much more than that. In short, employee experience is what it feels like to be in an organization.

  • Employee Experience Management

    The employee experience can be defined as the result of the employee’s interactions with an organization forming attitudes and perceptions of the organization. This means that any point of contact (touchpoint) the employee has with the organization – from the moment they interview for a job to when they exit – shapes their experience.

  • Employee Experience Strategy

    Employee experience is what it feels like to be in an organization. Therefore, the goal of those entrusted with delivering a differentiated employee experience is to create an optimal work environment so everyone can flourish.

  • Employee Feedback

    Employee feedback refers to the information, comments, or suggestions employees provide to their managers or coworkers regarding their performance, behavior, or work-related activities. It can be positive or negative, formal, or informal, and come from various sources, including managers, colleagues, customers, and even self-assessment.

  • Employee Onboarding

    Employee onboarding is the process of integrating new hires into a company. The process differs from company to company and may involve tasks, activities, and functions that can last a couple of days, weeks, or months.

  • Employee Productivity

    Employee productivity, or workforce productivity, is the quantifiable measure of an employee’s output or efficiency in completing their assigned tasks or responsibilities within a specific period. This can be measured in terms of the work’s quantity, quality, or timeliness.

  • Employee Pulse Survey

    An employee pulse survey is frequently used in companies to measure employee engagement and satisfaction. These quick, regular surveys featuring a small number of questions provide real-time insights into the workforce, allowing management to make informed decisions about improving the work environment.

  • Employee Relations

    Employee relations are the creation and maintenance of positive relationships across all levels of a company, professionally and interpersonally. When working optimally, employee relations professionals keep track of all emotional, physical, practical, and contractual employee considerations and act as an advocate for each in strategic planning discussions.

  • Employee Retention

    Employee retention is a goal that most organizations hold dear. It’s the desire to prevent employee turnover and retain talent that the company has invested time and money to attract and train.

  • Employee Satisfaction

    Employee satisfaction is the level of contentment that employees feel about their jobs. It points to how happy they are with their roles and their company.

  • Employee Turnover

    Employee turnover is the departure of people from a company over a certain period and can happen for many reasons. Some are voluntary departures, some involuntary.

  • Employee Value Proposition

    An employee value proposition consists of the incentives and rewards an organization can offer its employees in return for their skills, capabilities, experiences, and performance in the workplace. EVP is the sum of the benefits, perks, and compensation packages your employees can expect.

  • Employee Voice

    Employee voice is an essential business concept that refers to the ability of employees to express their opinions, ideas, and concerns within an organization. It encompasses the various channels and mechanisms through which employees can actively contribute to the decision-making process, provide feedback, and participate in shaping the work environment.

  • Employee Well-Being

    Employee well-being has become an increasingly important topic for businesses and companies. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the importance of prioritizing the well-being of employees even as remote working is gradually blurring the line between work and personal life, as many people have faced unprecedented stress and uncertainty.  Before now, many companies rarely valued or never considered well-being initiatives as essential.

  • Exit Interviews

    An exit interview is a final interview conducted with an employee who is leaving the organization. It aims to gather feedback on the employee’s overall experience, identify areas for improvement, and gain insights into the company’s culture, management styles, and processes.

  • External Communications

    External communication refers to exchanging information between a company and external entities such as customers, suppliers, investors, media, and the general public. It involves conveying messages and information about the company, its products or services, and its values to the outside world.  The focus of external communications is simple: to build a thriving relationship between your organization and your customers, other companies, your suppliers, and other entities in the value chain distribution.  So, every strategy, every message, and every image are carefully designed to create and sustain external communications with every other entity your company interacts with.

  • Extranet

    An extranet is a private network designed by an organization to provide third parties with controlled access to protected business information or operations. These third parties may be suppliers, partners, customers, or other businesses.

F

  • Frontline Worker

    Frontline workers are individuals who work in essential sectors such as health care, emergency services, food supply, and public safety. They stand at the forefront of providing direct services during critical situations or emergencies.

G

  • Great Resignation

    In 2021, the marketplace saw a significant increase in voluntary employee turnover due to pandemic-related factors, work-life balance, and career advancement. This trend, known as “The Great Resignation”, was more pronounced in light of the pandemic and the rise of remote work and hybrid roles.

H

  • Hybrid Workforce

    We’re going to define the term “hybrid workforce” and discover what’s behind its steady gain in popularity. We’ll discuss the characteristics of successful hybrid workforce models, their benefits, the challenges they present, how to overcome those, and best practices.

I

  • Internal Communications

    Wikipedia defines internal communications as the function responsible for effective communications among participants within an organization. So, in simple terms, the definition of internal communications is to keep everyone in the organization informed.

  • Intranet

    An intranet is a private network that organizations use to share information between employees securely. They are web-connected sites on networks, such as Local Area Networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs).

  • Intranet Portal

    Companies and other large organizations use intranet software to help people communicate and work together efficiently. At its most basic, an employee intranet portal is the access point through which intranet users access the software, but it can be much more than that.

K

  • Knowledge Base

    A knowledge base is an integral part of an organization’s strategy to ensure that its employees get timely answers to their questions, and can resolve issues without spending large amounts of time searching for answers. It is a repository of information about a product, service, or topic.

  • Knowledge Management

    Knowledge management definition At its core, knowledge management can be defined as the efficient handling of information within an organization. It can include anything from AI-powered data mining to online collaboration among human teams.

L

  • Leadership

    Some things never change, and good leadership is one of them. Way back in the 5th century BC, Sun Tzu, a Chinese general and military strategist, said, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists; when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” Fast forward to today, and we have this quote from Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq: “Empowering those around you to be heard and valued makes the difference between a leader who simply instructs and one who inspires.”  While it’s clear to see that the basic principles of good leadership haven’t changed over the last millennia, leadership challenges are mostly very different today, and we have different attitudes, resources, and environments to meet those.

M

  • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

    “M&A”, or “Mergers and Acquisitions,” is a specialty in business, law, finance, and accounting that deals with the intricate process of combining two or more business entities into a single corporate entity or the purchase of one company by another. The term ‘M&A’ can also denote the transactions themselves.

P

  • Passive Listening

    Passive listening means to listen without responding. In conversation, passive listeners absorb and process the information being communicated without interrupting or asking questions.

  • Prescriptive Analytics

    So, what is prescriptive analytics? The Harvard Business Review defines prescriptive analytics as “the process of using data to determine an optimal course of action.

Q

R

  • Remote Work

    Remote work has become increasingly popular in recent years as technological advances have made it easier for remote workers to remain productive and connected without requiring a traditional office space. While remote work does not (and cannot) apply to every position at every company, many corporations now have at least some remote workers, making remote work efficiency of vital interest to a wide variety of businesses across every industry.

S

  • Social Intranet

    With the increased migration of workplaces to digital interfaces and cloud-based platforms comes the need for more effective collaboration and communication tools. This is essentially what an intranet is.

  • Strategic Communications

    Strategic communications is a specialized approach to distributing and receiving information. It means communicating the best message, through the correct channels, to the right people, at the right time and using feedback from this process to stay focused on company goals.

T

  • Talent Management

    Talent management is the process of attracting, hiring, retaining, and developing skilled individuals for an organization. It involves identifying and nurturing the abilities and potential of each employee to ensure their optimal development and growth—for the well-being of every employee and for the company’s bottom line.

V

  • Virtual Workspace

    A virtual workspace is a digital environment that allows employees to work from anywhere, anytime. It includes tools and technologies such as cloud storage, video conferencing, and project management applications to enable seamless collaboration and communication.

W

  • Workflow Automation

    Workflow automation is the approach of automating the flow of tasks, documents, and information by defined business rules. When implemented, this type of automation should be a straightforward process executed regularly to improve everyday productivity.