HR glossary

Here are terms and abbreviations that you who work in HR should know – whether you are new to the profession or want a refresher. Having control over the most commonly used expressions in HR, management and work life can make communication more effective, ensure better understanding and strengthen your professional role. Explore our glossary and become more confident in the HR language!

A

AAP
AAP is a welfare scheme that stands for employment verification benefits, and often applies when you have been out of work for 1–4 years.

Altinn
Altinn is a digital portal for reporting and dialogue with the public sector. HR personnel use it for, among other things, A-reports, sick leave and contact with NAV and the Norwegian Tax Administration.

AML – Working Environment Act
Law that regulates rights and obligations between employer and employee in Norway.

AMU – Working Environment Committee
A work environment committee is intended to improve the working environment by having management and employees collaborate on HSE.

The employee journey
The employee journey describes the entire employee experience within the organization – from recruitment and onboarding to development, well-being and termination. The goal is to create a holistic, positive experience that strengthens engagement and loyalty.

Employment contract
An employment contract or employment contract is a written agreement between employer and employee that describes the employment relationship.

Recommendation (Certificate)
A documented assessment of work effort, competence and collaboration skills as a professional end to the employment relationship. The certificate shows that you as an employer value the employee's efforts.

ARP
ARP (Employers' Activity and Reporting Obligation) is a statutory obligation to promote equality and prevent discrimination in the workplace. Public enterprises and private companies with more than 50 employees must annually report on their equality work.

API integration
System integration programming interface

B

Bonus scheme
An agreement for additional compensation based on performance or results.

Gross income
Income before taxes and other deductions.

C

CIPD – Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
A membership organization and certification body for HR professionals working to promote competence and development within HR and personnel development.

COC – Code of Conduct
Ethical guidelines for how employees and managers should behave.

CSRD – Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
EU directive requiring large businesses to report on sustainability in a standardized manner. 

Cross-boarding
Crossboarding is the process of moving an employee internally to a new role, department or company within the same group. It requires structured onboarding to ensure the transition is effective and the employee quickly gets started in their new role.

D

Part-time position
A position with a lower work rate than a full-time position.

DEI – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Measures and culture for diversity, fairness and inclusion in the workplace.

Discrimination
Unfair discrimination based on gender, age, religion, disability, etc.

E

Self-report
An employee's own reporting of short-term sick leave (up to 3 days).

E-learning
Digital training via online platforms.

E-signature
Digital signing of contracts and forms.

Ethical guideline
Internal guidelines for ethical behavior in the business.

Employer Branding
Employer Branding is about how a business builds and communicates its reputation as an employer to attract and retain talent.

Employee Experience
Employee Experience (EX) describes the overall experience an employee has throughout their entire employment relationship – from recruitment to termination – and is crucial for engagement and loyalty.

ESG
It is about how the business looks after people and the working environment. HR is often given responsibility for the S section (Social), which includes reporting on the working environment, diversity, pay gap and well-being.

F

Holiday Act
Law regulating employees' rights to vacation and holiday pay.

Permanent position
A position without time limit, with predictability and security.

Remote work
Remote work means that employees work outside the workplace, often from home or another location, using digital tools. It provides flexibility, but requires good management, clear communication and secure IT use.

FTE – Full-Time Equivalent
Unit of measurement for position percentage (1.0 = full-time position). 

G

GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation
The EU General Data Protection Regulation applies to the processing of personal data.

H

HSE – Health, Environment and Safety
Measures and routines to ensure a safe and health-promoting working environment.

Home office
Home office means that employees work from their own home instead of from the workplace.

HR
HR or Human Resources is about people – finding them, developing them and creating a workplace where they thrive and grow. That means everything from recruitment and onboarding to learning, culture and great tools that make everyday life smarter and more meaningful.

HRBP
The HR Business Partner is a strategic HR role that works closely with leaders to support business goals through good people management. This role works as a link between HR and the organization, with a focus on organizational development, leadership support and change processes, among other things.

HRM :
HRM stands for human resource management – a term that encompasses both personnel administration and the more strategic aspects of HR work.

HR Master
HR master in the HR context refers to a central database that collects and maintains all core employee information in one place. It acts as a “single source of truth” for personnel data and ensures consistency and quality in HR processes across systems and departments. Read more .

HR system:
An HR system is a digital tool that helps businesses manage and streamline HR tasks such as personnel data, recruitment, absence, payroll, onboarding and skills. It provides better overview, saves time and ensures structure in HR work. Read more .

HR analysis
Use of data and statistics to gain insight into employees, processes and organization, and used to make better decisions about e.g. recruitment, sick leave, employee engagement and competency needs. Read more .

IN

Inclusive working life (IA)
A collaboration between the authorities and the parties in employment to create a more inclusive working life.

Interview
Conversation between employer and job seeker as part of the recruitment process.

J

Job analysis
Systematic mapping of requirements and tasks related to a specific position.

Legally binding agreement
A contract or agreement that has legal effect and is enforceable by law.

K

Competence development
Measures to increase employee skills and knowledge.

Conflict management
Processes for resolving disagreements or problems in the workplace.

KPI – Key Performance Indicator
Key figures used to measure performance and goal achievement.

L

Leadership development
Programs or measures to strengthen management skills.

Salary policy
Guidelines for how wages are determined and regulated in the business.

Payroll master
Payroll Master helps businesses manage and visualize payroll agreements and data in a structured and clear way. It provides digital workflow from employment agreement to pay slip, supports transparent payroll formation and provides valuable insight for HR, managers and employees alike – without being a payroll system in itself.

Equal Pay Directive
The Equal Pay Directive is an EU regulation that aims to ensure transparency around pay and strengthen the right to equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender. For employers, this means, among other things, requirements for salary mapping, reporting and transparency of salary levels. Read more about a solution for salary transparency .

LMS – Learning Management System
System for administration and implementation of training and courses.

M

Performance appraisal
A structured conversation between manager and employee about work, well-being and development.

Temporary employment
A fixed-term employment that ends at an agreed time.

Microlearning
Microlearning is a form of learning where employees acquire knowledge through short, focused sessions – often digitally. It is well suited for training “on the go” and contributes to effective competence development in a travel everyday work.

N

NAV
NAV is a government agency that administers a number of public benefits and services related to, among other things, working life, sick leave, layoffs, parental benefits and unemployment. For employers and HR departments, NAV is a key partner in following up on employees and handling statutory obligations and rights.

NHO – Confederation of Norwegian Industries
An employer organization for Norwegian companies.

Presence
Opposite of absence; focuses on presence and well-being.

O

Restructuring
Changes in the organization's structure or operations that affect employees.

Training plan
A plan for how new or existing employees will acquire the necessary skills.

Onboarding
Onboarding is the process of integrating new employees into the organization through training, introduction, and facilitation. The goal is to ensure that new employees quickly become confident, productive, and part of the corporate culture.

Offboarding
Structured process for termination of employment.

P

Staff handbook
A document that describes guidelines and rules for employees in a business.

Probation
An initial period in an employment relationship where the employer and employee can assess the collaboration.

Pre-boarding
Activities that occur after a signed contract, but before the first day of work.

Personnel system
A personnel system is a digital tool for managing and organizing personnel data, such as employment contracts, absences, skills, documentation and reporting. It gives HR and managers overview, efficiency and compliance with laws and procedures.

Personnel register
A personnel register is an overview of all employees in the company, with necessary information such as name, position, date of employment, salary and working conditions. The register is required by law and is used to ensure correct personnel administration and compliance with reporting requirements. Read more.

Q

(Q is rarely used in Norwegian HR terminology, but can include e.g.:)

Quality Management
Quality management to ensure that services and processes meet high standards. Read about our solutions for QMS here .

R

Recruitment
The process of attracting, selecting and hiring new employees.

Re-skill / Upskill
Learning new skills (reskill) or further developing existing ones (upskill).

Rights and obligations
Statutory and agreed-upon relationships between employer and employee.

S

Job description
Document that describes the duties, responsibilities and requirements of a position.

Sick leave
Absence from work due to illness, both self-reported and sick leave.

SSO – Single Sign-On
Technology that allows users to log in once to access multiple systems.

Special position
In an HR context , a special position means a position where the employee has such a high degree of independence and control over their own working hours that they are not covered by the working hours provisions in the Working Environment Act (sections 10-12).

For HR managers, this means that such positions do not have overtime entitlements, and that the assessment of responsibility, position type and real freedom must be documented and clearly justified.

T

Talent Management
Strategic work to attract, develop and retain key competencies. 

Collective agreement
An agreement between a trade union and an employer organization regarding wages and working conditions.

Time registration
It involves recording employees' working hours, overtime, absences and breaks. It is important for correct pay, compliance with the Working Environment Act and effective resource management. Read more .

Turnaround
Working time arrangement where working hours vary according to a fixed schedule, often used in healthcare.

U

Educational leave
Right to leave to pursue education, subject to certain conditions.

Development interview
Conversation between manager and employee with a focus on competence and career development.

V

Notification
To report objectionable conditions in the workplace, cf. the Working Environment Act.

Business transfer
When a business or part of a business is transferred to a new owner – employees have rights under the AML.

W

Work-life balance
Work-life balance, important for well-being and productivity.

X

(X is rarely used in HR, but can be mentioned as an example:)

X-boarding
X-boarding is a collective term in HR for processes that address transition phases in the employee lifecycle – such as onboarding, offboarding, reboarding and crossboarding. The goal is to ensure good transitions and follow-up throughout the entire employment relationship.

X-factor
Informal term used for candidates with unique characteristics or extraordinary potential.

Y

Occupational injury
Injury that occurs as a result of work or working conditions.

Vocational training
Training or on-the-job training that provides practice and skills in a profession.

Z

(Rarely used in HR, but creative example:)

Zoom culture
New term after the pandemic that describes work culture in digital meetings.

A, B, C

Man-years
A measure of workload, equivalent to a full-time position for one year (usually 1,750–1,950 hours/year).

Increased engagement
A measure of motivation and engagement among employees – often used in employee surveys.