Glossary

Workscape HR Terms Glossary

This glossary provides brief definitions of industry terms that may appear in Workscape materials, partner pages, or related resources.  Content is organized by types of HR processes, with enabling technologies and services categorized by the processes that they support. ANy questions regarding these terms or any other information on Workscape.com can be directed to info@workscape.com

Human Resources Management System (HRMS): An application that stores core employee data, such as name, title, address, payroll, and benefits enrollments, and that serves as the central database that other processes feed into (e.g. talent management systems) and that is considered the “system of record” when employee information needs to be accessed and/or reported on (commonly referred to as an “ERP system,” which stands for Enterprise Resource Planning system, or a “core HR system”).

Benefits Administration: The process of ensuring that eligible employees are offered, and able to enroll in, health insurance and other welfare-related services (e.g. dental insurance, vision insurance, exercise programs) through an employer-managed program. 

• Open Enrollment: A window of time where a population of employees is able to select a package of company-sponsored health and welfare benefits.
• Annual Enrollment: A specified window of time where all eligible employees at an organization are able to select their health and welfare benefits for the upcoming year.
• Ongoing Enrollment: A window of time outside of Annual Enrollment where an eligible employee is able to change their benefits elections based upon the occurrence of a qualifying life event (e.g. marriage, birth of a child, job change).
• Passive Enrollment: An enrollment period in which employees are able to change their benefits elections, but where no change will result in a continuance of the benefits currently in place.
• Active Enrollment: An enrollment period in which employees are required to make benefits elections, and where no action will result in dropped coverage effective the following plan year.

Benefits Administration Outsourcing: Contracting with a third-party in order to have that organization manage most or all elements of benefits administration (also referred to Outsourced Benefits Administration).

Benefits Administration Co-sourcing: Selecting a third-party organization to manage components of the benefits administration process, while retaining administration responsibilities for other functions in-house.

Benefits Administration Outsourcer: A business that manages benefits administration for other companies and non-profits.

HR Call Center: A centralized or distributed network of HR specialists employed by a benefits administration outsourcer to receive phone calls (and sometimes online messages) and answer benefits-related questions for employees of the outsourcer’s client organizations.

Eligibility Verification: A service that entails reviewing documentation of employees, retirees and dependents when they enroll in company-sponsored benefits.  This review is designed to ensure that the data driving their benefits packages are accurate, and to determine if any persons getting benefits should not be based on factors such as age, occupation, or relationship to the providing organization.

Eligibility Audit: A point-in-time service that entails reviewing the documentation of all employees, retirees, and dependents currently enrolled in company-sponsored benefits and ensuring that everyone in that population meets the enrollment criteria.

Consumer-Directed Health Plan (CDHP): A company-sponsored health insurance option that includes a low monthly premium and high deductible, typically including a flexible spending account and/or health spending account.

Plan Migration: The process by which employees move from one offered health and welfare benefits plan to another.

Decision Support Tool:  In the context of benefits administration, this phrase refers to calculation worksheets, questionnaires, and other aids that help employees select and enroll in the most cost-effective plans, and contribute the optimal amount to a reimbursement account (e.g. an FSA or HSA) where applicable.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA): An employer-offered benefit that allows employees to set aside designated amounts of money before taxes for specific expenses such as dependent care and health expenses including doctor co-payments and medications. Also referred to as a “reimbursement account”. See also; DCRA, HCRA.

COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986): A federal law that allows employees and their dependents the opportunity to continue their medical and dental benefits for up to 18 (employee) or 36 (dependent) months, when their coverage ends due to a specific circumstance, known as a qualifying event. The employee or dependent is responsible for the full amount of premium.

COBRA Qualified Beneficiaries: Someone who would lose company-sponsored health coverage under the plan due to a qualifying event.  Examples of Qualified Beneficiaries include employees who are covered on the health plan, and spouses/dependent children who were covered as dependents on the employee’s health coverage prior to the qualifying event.

Employee Communications Services: Communications consulting, strategy development, and production (personalizing, printing, and mailing)for a variety of literature kits associated with Total Rewards processes, such as employee benefit enrollment and confirmation statements.

Health Savings Account (HSA): A tax-free account that can be used by employees to pay for qualified medical expenses. Contributions do not have to be spent the year they are deposited. Money in the account earns interest and accumulates tax free, so the funds can be used now and in the future. If an employee leaves the job, he or she can take the account with him or her and continue to use it to pay for qualified healthcare expenses. To be eligible for a Health Savings Account, an individual must be covered by a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), must not be covered by other health insurance (does not apply to specific injury insurance and accident, disability, dental care, vision care, long-term care), is not eligible for Medicare, and cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

Dependent Care for Reimbursement Account (DCRA):  A part of a subscriber’s salary that is set aside each pay period on a pre-tax basis to reimburse eligible expenses incurred for the care of a child, disabled spouse, elderly parent, or other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care, so that the subscriber (and spouse) can work or actively look for work. Also called a DCSA (Dependent Care Spending Account). A DCRA is a type of FSA.

Total Rewards/Total Rewards Package:  The combination of compensation, benefits, and career development opportunities that an employer provides to employees in return for their service.

Total Rewards Statement: An electronic or printed overview that is provided to an employee that details the compensation, benefits, and career development opportunities that the employing organization furnishes to the employee.

Total Rewards Management: The process of designing, implementing, and administering employee benefits, compensation, and performance programs in order to optimize expenditures against retention and performance goals.

Total Compensation Statement: An electronic or printed overview that is provided to an employee that details the types and amounts of compensation elements that the employing organization furnishes to the employee.

Talent Management: The process of utilizing employee data obtained via recruitment, learning and development programs, and compensation and performance programs, in order to improve incentive design, succession programs, and other systems designed to engage and retain employees.

Talent Management Solution:  An application, or suite of applications, that automates one or more of the HR processes which comprise talent management: recruitment, compensation, performance, succession, and learning management.
 
Compensation Planning: A process whereby budgets for each employee compensation element are set for each business group, and HR and/or managers determine how to allocate those budgets for eligible employees.  Typically conducted annually at the beginning of the focal year, and often linked to performance metrics on an individual and corporate level (also referred to as Compensation Management).

• Focal Planning: A period in which HR sets compensation budgets for each department within an organization, and managers allocate reward elements such as merit increases and bonuses to their employees based upon company guidelines and individual factors (e.g. a performance rating).
• Off-Cycle Compensation: Changes made to an employee’s total compensation mix outside of the focal planning period.

Manager Self-Service:  An application designed to automate the year round processes for managing organizational and “off-cycle” employee compensation changes.

Employee Performance Management:  The process of setting goals for employees, monitoring goal status over time, and providing feedback and evaluations based on goal achievement compared against expectations.

Performance Management Solution: An application that automates elements of the performance management process, including goal setting, manager and/or peer feedback, and evaluations.