Definitions
Plain definitions of the terms that come up around productivity, pay and monitoring. Each entry gives the definition first, then what the rule or the research actually says, and what the term is commonly confused with.
An automated employment decision tool (AEDT) is software that uses machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics or artificial intelligence to produce a score, classification or recommendation that substantially assists or replaces a human decision about hiring or promotion.
Billable hours are the hours of work that can be charged to a client at an agreed rate, as distinct from non-billable hours spent on internal, administrative or business development work.
A biometric time clock is a time and attendance device that identifies an employee by a physical characteristic, such as a fingerprint, hand geometry, face or iris, rather than by a badge, card or PIN.
Compensatory time, or comp time, is paid time off granted in place of overtime pay. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act it is available only to public agencies, and it must accrue at one and a half hours for every overtime hour worked.
Deep work is professional activity performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes cognitive capability to its limit. Its opposite is shallow work: logistical tasks performed while distracted, which are easy to replicate.
eNPS, or employee Net Promoter Score, is the percentage of employees who would recommend the organization as a place to work minus the percentage who would not, on a 0 to 10 scale.
An exempt employee is one the Fair Labor Standards Act excludes from its minimum wage and overtime requirements, because they are paid on a salary basis at or above a set threshold and their actual job duties fall within a recognized exemption.
Parkinson's law is the observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion, so that a task given a week will usually take a week regardless of how much effort it needs.
Presenteeism is working while unwell or otherwise impaired, so the person is present but not functioning at full capacity. Its cost is usually larger than absenteeism because it is invisible in attendance data.
Quiet cracking is a persistent sense of unhappiness at work that erodes motivation and performance while the employee stays in the role, typically because leaving feels too risky.
Quiet firing is making someone's job worse until they resign, rather than managing or dismissing them. It is usually avoidance rather than strategy, and it transfers the cost of a decision onto the employee.
Return to office (RTO) is an employer requirement that employees who have been working remotely resume working from a company location, either full time or for a set number of days per week or month.
Shift differential is extra pay for working a less desirable shift, such as nights, weekends or holidays. It is a voluntary practice under federal law, but it must be included in the regular rate when overtime is calculated.
Span of control is the number of direct reports a single manager has. A wide span means many reports and a flatter organization; a narrow span means fewer reports and more layers.
Turnover rate is the number of employees who left during a period, divided by the average headcount over that period, expressed as a percentage.
Workforce analytics is the analysis of aggregated workforce data to understand how work gets done and to inform staffing, capacity and process decisions.
Workforce management (WFM) is the set of processes an organization uses to have the right number of people with the right skills working at the right times: forecasting demand, scheduling, time and attendance, absence management and labor compliance.