Glossary

360-degree feedback is a review process whereby individuals receive feedback from multiple perspectives (e.g. a range of colleagues and other internal/external stakeholders). This approach allows for a more rounded and objective view of someone's performance at work than simply relying on feedback from a line manager.

An ability test is a type of psychometric assessment. These assess a person's underlying cognitive ability. Research of different assessment methods suggest ability tests are one of the most accurate predictors of job performance - suggesting that the manner in which someone performs in an ability test is likely to predict how the way they will process information in their job role.

Absenteeism is an employee's intentional or habitual absence from work. While employers expect workers to miss a certain number of workdays each year, excessive absences can equate to decreased productivity and can have majorly affect company finances, morale and other factors.

Abstract reasoning is an individual’s ability to analyse and draw logical conclusions from diagrammatically presented data. It is independent of numerical or verbal skills, being more focused on the processing of logical information. Abstract or Diagrammatic reasoning tests require participants to identify similarities and differences between groups of patterns and then to apply this understanding to help categorise additional patterns.

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a software application for handling recruitment processes. Employers use an ATS to increase efficiency and compliance as well as saving time. 

An appraisal interview is a conversation that happens following a performance appraisal in which a person discusses with their line manager how they have rated themselves and how their manager has rated them. These discussions are used to talk about ways an individual can leverage their strengths and improve on their development areas.

An apprenticeship is a training scheme in which a person is taught a recognised trade vocationally. The apprentice learns on the job, trained and mentored by someone experienced in the area.

Assessment centres are often part of a selection process. Employers normally include various assessment tasks to explore a range of aspects, including the personality, cognitive ability, values, motivations, and work behaviours of current or potential employees. Assessment centres include multiple assessors and can vary in length, lasting from a few hours to several days. 

Assessment exercises are a method which involves conducting live assessments to assess a candidate's current or potential performance in a role, and the behaviours they may demonstrate in the future. Assessment exercises can be used as standard or tailored to a company's culture and job competencies. There are various formats, including group exercises, presentations, role plays, case studies, and work simulations. 

Attrition is the voluntary reduction of staff numbers; i.e. when employees leave and  the organisation chooses not to replace them. It differs from turnover as turnover involves the organisation continuing to hire. 

Candidate experience is the journey someone has when progressing through a company's job application or development process. The experience includes all communication and interaction in regards to the assessments, from the initial contact onwards. 

Candidate matching is the process of selecting the right candidate for the right job based upon the candidate's skills, motivators, and personality, compared to the job role and requirements. 

Pre-selection (also known as sifting) is a method that reduces the volume of job applicants to be invited to the next stage of the recruitment process by screening candidates to find those that most closely match the skills and competencies required of the job. Often this process is carried out online using assessments such as ability tests and Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) to automatically screen out the least suitable candidates. In lower volume situations, it can be as simple as reviewing CVs and cover letters.

The process during which a job applicant is chosen for a job from a wider group of applicants. 

Sifting (also known as pre-selection ) is a method that reduces the volume of job applicants to be invited to the next stage of the recruitment process by screening candidates to find those that most closely match the skills and competencies required of the job. Often this process is carried out online using assessments such as ability tests and Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) to automatically screen out the least suitable candidates. In lower volume situations, it can be as simple as reviewing CVs and cover letters.

A career path is a sequence of roles that an individual could possibly progress through. In a single organisation, a career path can also be the developmental trajectory of an employee.

Change Management is a discipline that applies a systematic approach to dealing with change within an organisation or the environment it operates in. This can include identifying and putting in place strategies, procedures, frameworks and tools to help employees deal with change.

Coaching is a development activity that has various models and approaches. It is a holistic method that takes into account the whole of the person in order to help them work towards using their talents to achieve their goals. Coaches assist people with developing their potential according to their personality, values and motivation - helping them learn and be self-empowered, rather than teaching them. 

A cognitive ability test is used to measure a person's intelligence and general mental ability. 

Company culture is the collective attitudes and behaviour of people who are part of an organisation and the meanings which they attach to their actions. Company culture influences the way in which people interact with others within the organisation, as well as with clients and stakeholders. Culture is made up of values, social norms, working language, systems, visions, beliefs, symbols and habits. The collective behaviours and assumptions that are taught to new members of an organisation as ways of thinking and understanding are also essential to its culture.

Competence is a person's ability to perform effectively in a role, usually in comparison to company-defined models called competency frameworks. 

A competency is made up of a set of specific, related behaviours, arising from underlying characteristics or attributes of an individual (e.g. personality, ability, motivation, values, knowledge and skills) that are relevant to successful job performance.

A competency framework is a structure that employers use to define the competencies required for their employees' successful performance in a way that links with the organisation's operational objectives. This ensures that everyone in the organisation understands what 'excellent' job performance should look like, setting a benchmark for development activities.

Competency Management is the structured and consistent application of competencies to the processes of selection and development to ensure the succesful performance of employees in their roles. 

Competency profiling is creating a set of descriptions that outline the skills, behaviours and knowledge required for successful performance in a role or organisation. Competency profiles help employees align their behaviour with the organisation's strategy.

A competency based interview is a job interview based on the behavioural competencies required to be successful in the role. These competencies are used to structure the interview and focus questioning on candidates providing examples of when they have demonstrated certain behaviours.

Connect is Cubiks' new fully integrated assessment platform that hosts a range of leading edge tools for selection and development purposes.

Constructive dismissal is an employer deliberately making the working environment unpleasant for an employee so they will be inclined to resign. In these eventualities, an employee holds the right to seek compensation as the employer has breached their contract.

Core competencies are a set of competencies that have been identified as essential to the way an organisation and its employees work. These competencies differentiate an organisation from others and contribute to its competitive advantage.

Cultural fit can be defined as the extent that an individual’s attitudes, values and beliefs are in line with the values and culture of an organisation. 

A development centre is similar to an assessment centre in that it is an assessment experience usually made up of a number of assessments that participants undertake. However, the difference is that these type of centres aim to assess a participant's performance in a role, often succeeded by constructive feedback that contributes to their development. Development centres involve multiple assessors and can be anything from half a day to several days long.

A development programme is an educational or training programme put in place to increase the skills, knowledge and experience of employees in order to support their professional growth.

E-learning is a term that covers all types of learning and teaching that are delivered or enabled electronically.

Emotional intelligence is defined as the ways in which a person manages their personality to be both personally and interpersonally effective in their role. It can be considered as the bridge between personality and performance. 

Employee engagement is a term referring to the degree to which an employee is emotionally attached to their job, colleagues and organisation, whether positively or negatively and the influence this has on their willingness to learn and perform at work. Employee engagement is a combination of an individual’s commitment to, involvement with and satisfaction with their work. Employee engagement is an important part of employee retention.

Employer branding is marketing an organisation to potential and current employees. This includes using marketing techniques to attract applicants, as well as communicating with and retaining existing staff.

Feedback culture is the extent to which people are able and encouraged to provide and receive feedback - formally or informally. This occurs when employers foster a work environment in which people are comfortable to do so, often being educated in the developmental opportunities that can arise from this kind of company culture. 

Flexible working is a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, for example having flexible start and finish times, non-standard working days, or working remotely.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the remuneration for men and women in comparable roles. Widespread statistics suggest women are often paid less than men, and some companies publish these statistics publicly. 

Graduate recruitment or campus recruitment refers to the process whereby employers host an organised program of attracting and hiring students who are about to graduate from schools, colleges, and universities. 

The 'halo / horn effect' refers to a type of interviewer bias which happens when an interviewer is prejudiced in their overall impression because of their perception of an individual's traits - either being positive (halo) or negative (horns). 

HiPo or High Potential is term that organisations assign to employees who they believe have the ability to be successful in a role that goes beyond their current range of responsibilities. Wider pools of talent are assessed to identify HiPos.

An employees who performs their job from their own home or remotely. This will often mean that the place of work stated in their contract is their home address. 

Human capital is a term used in HR to refer to the value found in people's collective knowledge, skills and abilities in the workplace. Human Capital can also be used to refer to the entire workforce of an organisation.

Human resource management is the staffing aspect of the management process. This can include a variety of activities such as training, rewarding, recruiting and appraising employees.

An in-tray exercise is a live assessment that simulates an email inbox.

Ipsative (sometimes referred to as 'forced choice') is a type of measure used in assessments that asks participants to choose between two or more answer options. This is the opposite of 'normative' assessments in which participants give ratings based on statements.

An item bank is a collection of questions associated with an assessment from which items are randomly selected to offer a different test for each participant. This ensures that tests are fair as participants are unable to learn the test content.

Job analysis is the process of defining what duties are involved in a role and what competencies are required to fulfil them effectively.

A job description is an agreed set of responsibilities and tasks that are associated with a  specific role. This can also include the qualifications necessary to fulfil the role, as well as indicating who the employee in this job reports to.

Job profiler is a questionnaire connected with PAPI (Personality and Preference Inventory) that helps define the requirements of a role. This questionnaire can be sent to a number of job experts within an organisation to generate an 'ideal' role profile. This role profile can then be compared to an individual's profile from their PAPI assessment.

Job rotation is where individuals move between roles within an organisation for short periods of time to expand their experience and aid their developmen.

Simulation is creating scenarios and environments for training or assessment that place participants in realistic situations in order to evaluate them or enhance their skills.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measures of an organisation's performance in each of its specific operational areas. Organisations use these to gain insight into how they are performing and how they can improve in various areas.

Leadership is a concept that does not have a single definition. It is loosely defined as the capacity to influence people in order to achieve a shared goal. Cubiks has conducted research that resulted in the Cubiks Leadership Model, which includes a clear description of the tasks and responsibilities of leaders at four organisational levels. This model links these to a set of competencies that are necessary for a leader’s effective performance.

Leadership development is putting in place activities and initiatives to help people grow in the competency areas related to leadership.

Logiks General is an online test that measures different elements of an individual’s cognitive ability - widely accepted as one of the most accurate indicators of future job performance. 

Mentoring is matching up inexperienced individuals with those who have a greater depth of experience in order to give them guidance and assist with their career development. Mentoring differs from coaching, as a mentor is a specialist in their mentee's field of work and gives specific insight or advice on the job. Coaching provides a broader outlook, focusing on working with an individual to develop their skills and competencies in order to work towards a goal or goals.

See 360 review

Normative is a type of assessment measure in which participants give ratings based on statements. This is the opposite of ipsative or forced choice assessments in which participants are asked to choose between two or more answer options.

Occupational psychology is the application of psychology within work and business. It is also known as business psychology, organisational psychology, work psychology and industrial psychology. Occupational psychology aims to make organisations more effective and enhance the job satisfaction of employees.

See company culture

A panel interview is an interview conducted by a group of people.

PAPI (Personality and Preference Inventory) is a leading work related personality assessment used by HR professionals and line managers to evaluate the behaviour and preferred work styles of individuals operating at all levels.

People Analytics is the next stage in the journey of analysing data. It's not concerned with measuring where we are at right now, but to use data to predict what’s coming next, stay ahead of possible trends, and anticipate challenges of the future. It's also about identifying complex patterns and trends beyond basic analysis, for instance using company data and metrics. 

A performance appraisal is an evaluation of an employee's job performance, carried out at agreed intervals. Performance appraisals are usually linked with salary reviews.

Performance management is the process of monitoring and working to improve the work performance of individuals, with the aim of enhancing performance for the organisation in general.

Performance related pay (PRP) is linking pay increases to pre agreed objectives for individual performance.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Personality is a complex set of psychological qualities and characteristics that influence an individual's behaviour across different situations and over time. Personality is relatively stable over time, unlike attitudes. 

Personality assessments explore the personality and preferences of an individual through a series of questions to which a candidate responds. As personality is so complex, the outputs of these tests will often break down personality from larger factors to more specific elements. Results will often need to be discussed with a candidate to align with their own perspectives and maximise accuracy. 

Potential is considered as the qualities and characteristics a person has, in order to perform effectively and contribute in broader or different roles in the future.

Psychometric tests are a standard and scientific method of testing used to measure individuals' cognitive abilities and behavioural style. Psychometric tests are designed in practice to measure candidates' suitability for a role based on the required personality characteristics and aptitude (or cognitive abilities).

Recruitment is the process of searching for, attracting and hiring candidates to fill vacant or new postions.

Reliability is defined in psychometrics as the accuracy with which a tool measures ‘true’ scores and its overall consistency. A measure with high reliability will produce similar results under consistent conditions.

Role plays are used as a training and assessment tool. Actors and participants play the parts of people in a workplace situation. This creates a realistic simulation of how individuals will respond to various scenarios or challenges faced at work.

Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs), also known as Situational Judgement Questionnaires (SJQs) are assessments that ask participants to indicate how they would respond to hypothetical situations they may face in the workplace. Usually conducted online, these assessments provide a realistic job preview for applicants as well as a system for employees to automatically filter out candidates whose responses do not match what a company is looking for. 

Social recruitment is using social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook to recruit potential job applicants. Recruiters may deploy software to search social networks for relevant information. They can also distribute information about job vacancies through these channels.

Talent acquisition is similar to recruitment but describes a longer term approach. Candidates are not just hired for a position at that moment in time but also for possible career succession. 

Talent identification is often used interchangeably with potential identification and describes the process of finding employees that have the qualities and characteristics to perform effectively and contribute in broader or different roles in the future.

Retention is retaining people in employment at an organisation. Employers put in place strategies and policies for retention, aimed at satisfying the needs of employees and creating a workplace that encourages them to stay with the company.

Volume hiring is a selection process where a company needs to process a large number of applications, so will use online assessments and sifting protocols to reduce the number of applications they have. This allows for a more manageable number of applications to assess in more detail, leading to several role offers.