Your A-Z Guide of HR Acronyms & Abbreviations

HR acronyms and abbreviations form the backbone of the unique language spoken fluently by HR professionals. Much like any living language, this wordbook is continuously enriched with new terms and acronyms, making it essential to understand HR today.

HR acronyms and abbreviations are a vital part of the industry’s jargon. Understanding these terms is like second nature for seasoned HR practitioners, but the vast amount of HR acronyms can be overwhelming (and confusing!) for those just starting out.

This article unpacks 60 Human Resources acronyms and abbreviations, including a usage example for each. A handy resource to jump back to next time you encounter a cryptic acronym.

A

1. ACR: Application Completion Rate

• HR acronym usage example: “An organization’s ACR reflects the effectiveness of its application process.”

2. ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act

• HR acronym usage example: “Under the ADA, ‘reasonable accommodation’ means that employers need to take appropriate steps to accommodate employees with disabilities so that they can enjoy the same employment opportunities as their non-disabled colleagues.

3. ADDIE: Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate

• HR acronym usage example: “The ADDIE training model was developed in the 1970s and remains the most widely used model for instructional design because it is simple and highly effective.”

4. AIHR: The Academy to Innovate HR

• HR acronym usage example: “AIHR is the perfect place to learn the skills you need to advance your career and secure a job at the forefront of HR.”

5. AOR: Agent Of Record

• HR acronym usage example: “An AOR plays a crucial role as an intermediary connecting businesses with contractors all over the world.”

6. ATS: Applicant Tracking System

• HR acronym usage example: “Key features of ATS software often include resume parsing, advanced search, and candidate sourcing.”

B

7. BIK: Benefits In Kind

• HR acronym usage example: “Examples of a BIK include healthcare benefits, meal vouchers, retirement plans, childcare assistance, and accommodation.”

C

8. C&B: Compensation and Benefits

• HR acronym usage example: “In our C&B Certificate Program, you will learn how to develop a comprehensive Total Rewards Strategy.”

9. CHRO: Chief Human Resources Officer

• HR acronym usage example: “The CHRO is usually viewed as the most senior HR position within the scope of careers in HR.”

10. CPH: Cost Per Hire

• HR acronym usage example: “If you hire 30 people for the year, and you spend an estimated $60,000 on the hiring process annually, your CPH is $2,000.”

D

11. DEIB: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

• HR acronym usage example: “In our DEIB Certificate Program, you will learn how to develop and implement meaningful DEIB strategies.”

Did you know

Research conducted by McKinsey shows that organizations ranking in the top 25% for diversity are 36% more likely to surpass the financial averages of their sector. Another study reveals that nearly 80% of workers expect their executive team to both initiate and enhance DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) efforts to foster significant change in the workplace.

12. DTO: Discretionary Time Off

• HR acronym usage example: “Key benefits of DTO include the fact that it increases job satisfaction and improves retention.”

E

13. EAP: Employee Assistance Program

• HR acronym usage example: “Implementing an EAP benefits your organization in multiple ways.”

14. EB: Employer Branding

• HR acronym usage example: “Employer branding plays a key role in talent acquisition because it can help you clarify what your unique proposition is and what your organization stands for.”

15. EEO: Equal Employment Opportunity

• HR acronym usage example: “Companies often declare their commitment to EEO in an Equal Opportunity Employer Statement.”

16. EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

• HR acronym usage example: “The EEOC has the authority to investigate charges of discrimination against employers who are covered by the law.”

17. ELC: Employee Life Cycle

• HR acronym usage example: “The typical ELC consists of seven stages, starting with attracting a candidate and ending with a departing employee.”

18. ELTV: Employee Lifetime Value

• HR acronym usage example: “A high ELTV has a positive impact on business outcomes as the employees truly bring value to the organization.”

19. eNPS: Employee Net Promoter Score

• HR acronym usage example: “HR can use a standardized eNPS questionnaire to gauge the likelihood of employees recommending their company.”

20. ER: Employee Relations

• HR acronym usage example: “ER is typically a Human Resources department function. It can fall under the general duties of an HR professional, or there may be a manager or team dedicated to ER.

21. EVP: Employee Value Proposition

• HR acronym usage example: “A company’s EVP defines what employees gain from working there, while a company’s employer brand tells other people about it.”

22. EX: Employee Experience

• HR acronym usage example: “EX is the HR equivalent of customer experience.”

Did you know

A study by Harvard Business Review, analyzing three years of data from a global retail giant, revealed that improving a store’s employee experience from the bottom to the top quartile can boost its revenue by over 50% and nearly as much in profits.

F

23. FJA: Functional Job Analysis

• HR acronym usage example: “FJA is one of the most common job analysis methods. Other popular methods are critical incident technique (CTI) and task inventory.”

24. FLSA: Fair Labor Standards Act

• HR acronym usage example: “Understanding an employee’s FLSA status is crucial for compliance with wage and hour laws.”

25. FMLA: Family and Medical Leave Act

• HR acronym usage example: “Download our free AIHR checklist to finalize your FMLA procedures and to determine whether an employee is eligible for FMLA leave.”

26. FTE: Full-Time Equivalent

• HR acronym usage example: “The company’s strategy boosted revenue per FTE, significantly improving overall financial performance and employee efficiency.”

Discover more HR terms

The AIHR HR Glossary provides over 200 definitions of HR terms that you can refer to whenever you need to look up a new (or unknown) HR word.

G

27. GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation

• HR acronym usage example: “The GDPR has a significant impact on HR departments since they collect and manage large amounts of employee (and candidate) data.”

28. GRPI: Goals, Roles and Responsibilities, Processes and Procedures, Interpersonal Relationships

• HR acronym usage example: “The GRPI model can help teams function better, and it’s easy to explain to managers and team members.”

H

29. HCA: Human Capital Analytics

• HR acronym usage example: “HCA is not often used anymore as it gave way to newer approaches such as People Analytics, which involve much more than what HCA focuses on.”

30. HCROI: Human Capital ROI

• HR acronym usage example: “HCROI can be a good indicator of the value employees provide individually and collectively.”

31. HRBP: HR Business Partner

• HR acronym usage example: “Our HRBP 2.0 Certificate Program helps HR professionals prepare to become a truly strategic partner to the business.”

32. HRIS: Human Resources Information System

• HR acronym usage example: “An HRIS can help HR practitioners save 2 hours per day on administrative tasks.”

Did you know

• It is anticipated that by 2028, the HR software market will expand to $33.57 billion, with a growth rate exceeding 10% annually.
• On average, companies spend 15 weeks selection an HRIS
• In the process of choosing an HR information system, 98% of companies are evaluating the adoption of a cloud-based HRIS.
• 30% of organizations operate with 10 or more different HR systems.

K

33. KSA: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• HR acronym usage example: “HR uses KSA to assess, evaluate, and develop employees.”

L

34. L&D: Learning and Development

• HR acronym usage example: “In our L&D Certificate Program, you will learn how to design and implement an L&D strategy with key business priorities.”

35. LOA: Leave of Absence

• HR acronym usage example: “There are two main types of LOAs – mandatory and voluntary leave.”

O

36. OD: Organizational Development

• HR acronym usage example: “Our OD Certificate Program will get you the Organizational Development expertise you need to future-proof your organization.”

37. OKR: Objectives and Key Results

• HR acronym usage example: “Developing HR OKRs is a great way for HR teams to prioritize initiatives and focus their efforts in the right direction.”

38. OPL: Optimum Productivity Level

• HR acronym usage example: “The cost of getting someone to their OPL includes things like recruitment and onboarding costs, training costs, the salary of the employee (and the trainers), and more.”

39. OT: Overtime

• HR acronym usage example: “For most organizations in the U.S., OT only applies on a workweek basis, as required by the FLSA.”

P

40. PEO: A Professional Employer Organization

• HR acronym usage example: “In a co-employment relationship, the primary employer maintains control over the day-to-day tasks and directs the employee’s work, while the secondary employer – often the PEO – takes care of the administrative functions.”

41. PILON: Payment in Lieu of Notice

• HR acronym usage example: “In the UK, your employment can be terminated without notice if a PILON clause is included in your employment contract.”

42. PIP: A Performance Improvement Plan

• HR acronym usage example: “Every PIP is unique to the needs of an employee and can be a powerful communication tool that supports a growth-mindset culture of continuous learning and improvement.”

43. PTO: Paid Time Off

• HR acronym usage example: “An organization’s PTO policy often combines vacation, personal, and sick days.”

Did you know

Research from the NCBI shows that beyond giving employees a well-deserved break, paid leave policies are closely associated with increased productivity, higher morale, greater job satisfaction, and lower turnover rates, all of which contribute to a more positive financial outcome for businesses.

44. P4P: Pay for Performance

• HR acronym usage example: “Many companies are adopting a pay for performance model to incentivize productivity and reward top performers.”

R

45. RACI: A Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed

• HR acronym usage example: “A RACI chart can be useful for many projects, but it is particularly beneficial when tasks involve multiple resources, run simultaneously, or depend on other tasks.”

46. ROI: Return on Investment

• HR acronym usage example: “Examples of relevant ROI metrics in HR include training ROI, recruitment ROI, the ROI of employee engagement, and HCROI.”

47. RPE: Revenue Per Employee

• HR acronym usage example: “RPE remains one of the most important but often still overlooked business and HR metrics.”

48. RPO: Recruitment Process Outsourcing

• HR acronym usage example: “Over the past few years, RPO has emerged as a leading approach for tackling talent acquisition challenges.”

S

49. SOH: Source Of Hire

• HR acronym usage example: “The SOH metric helps companies keep track of the effectiveness of their different recruiting channels.”

50. SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

• HR acronym usage example: “An HR SWOT analysis enables HR teams to identify internal and external factors that affect them.”

T

51. TA: Talent Acquisition

• HR acronym usage example: “An organization’s TA strategy should always align with its people (or HR) strategy.”