HR Tech, Recruiting & LMS Glossary

Software vendors, analysts and regulators use a lot of overlapping jargon. This glossary defines 36 terms you will meet when buying recruiting, HR and learning software, in plain English, and points to the guide or calculator that goes deeper.

A

Adaptive Learning: Training that changes difficulty, sequence or content for each learner based on their answers and behaviour. How AI personalizes learning paths →
AI Course Generator: A tool that drafts course outlines, lessons and quizzes from source documents or prompts. Output still needs subject-matter review before release. Best AI course generator tools →
AI HR Assistant: A chat interface that answers employee questions (leave balance, policy, benefits) from HR data and documents, and can trigger simple workflows. AI HR assistant tools compared →
AI Sourcing Tool: A recruiting tool that searches public and licensed profile data to find people who match a role but have not applied, then ranks them by fit. Best AI sourcing tools →
Applicant Tracking System (ATS): Software that collects job applications, moves candidates through hiring stages, and stores the hiring record. A traditional ATS organizes applicants you already have; it does not usually search for new ones. AI recruitment platform vs traditional ATS →
Approval Matrix: A table that defines who must approve which request at which threshold (for example, offers above a salary band need finance sign-off). Approval workflow generator →
Audit Trail: A tamper-evident log of who did what and when in a system, needed to prove compliance to regulators and auditors. Audit log schema generator →
Automated Employment Decision Tool (AEDT): The term used by New York City Local Law 144 for software that substantially assists hiring or promotion decisions. Employers using one for NYC roles need an independent bias audit within the prior year and must notify candidates. AI ATS compliance checklist →

B

Bias Audit: An independent statistical test of whether a hiring tool selects candidates from different sex and race/ethnicity groups at materially different rates, usually expressed as an impact ratio.

C

cmi5: A profile of xAPI that defines how an LMS launches and tracks courses, combining SCORM-like structure with xAPI flexibility.
Compliance Training: Training required by law or regulation (for example OSHA safety training or HIPAA privacy training) where completion records must be kept for audits. Manufacturing compliance LMS guide →
Cost per Hire: Total recruiting spend (internal recruiter time, advertising, agency fees, tools, travel) divided by the number of hires in the same period. It excludes onboarding cost, which should be tracked separately. Cost-per-hire calculator →

D

Desk-Sharing Ratio: Number of desks divided by number of employees assigned to a hybrid office (for example 0.6 desks per person). Desk sharing ratio calculator →

H

HCM Suite: Human Capital Management suite: an HRIS bundled with modules such as payroll, recruiting, performance and learning, sold by one vendor on one data model.
High-Risk AI System (EU AI Act): An AI system listed in Annex III of the EU AI Act, which includes systems used to recruit, screen or evaluate candidates and workers. Providers and deployers face obligations on risk management, data quality, human oversight and logging. AI video interview buyer’s guide →
HR Workflow Automation: Rules that move HR requests (onboarding tasks, approvals, document collection, reminders) between people and systems without manual hand-offs. HR workflow automation guide →
HRIS: Human Resources Information System: the system of record for employee data such as job, pay, time off and reporting lines. Payroll, ATS and LMS products usually integrate with it. AI HR tools vs traditional HR software →

K

Kirkpatrick Model: A four-level training evaluation framework: Reaction, Learning, Behavior and Results. Training ROI calculator →

L

Learning Management System (LMS): Software that assigns, delivers and tracks training, and keeps completion records for compliance and reporting. Enterprise LMS buyer’s guide →
LXP (Learning Experience Platform): A learner-centred platform that recommends content from many sources based on skills and interests. It complements, rather than replaces, the record-keeping role of an LMS.

P

Payback Period: How long it takes for the monthly benefit of an investment to repay its cost: cost ÷ (annual benefit ÷ 12).
Per-Active-User Pricing: An LMS pricing model that bills only for users who log in during a period, versus per-registered-user pricing that bills for every account. How much a corporate LMS really costs →
Phillips ROI Methodology: Extends Kirkpatrick with a fifth level, ROI, by isolating the effect of training and converting Level 4 business results into money: ROI % = (net program benefits ÷ program costs) × 100.
Pre-boarding: Everything that happens between offer acceptance and day one: contracts, accounts, equipment and welcome communication. Automating onboarding without losing the personal touch →

R

Recertification Tracking: LMS functionality that tracks expiring licences and certificates (such as BLS cards in healthcare) and re-assigns training before they lapse. Healthcare LMS guide →
Room Utilization Rate: Hours a room is actually occupied divided by the hours it was available, used to right-size meeting space. Room utilization calculator →

S

SCORM: Sharable Content Object Reference Model: a packaging standard that lets e-learning courses run in and report completion to any compliant LMS.
Service Level Agreement (SLA): Agreed response and resolution times, often tiered by priority, for support tickets or facility issues. Priority matrix & SLA generator →
Skills Taxonomy: A structured list of skills and proficiency levels that HR and L&D systems use to tag roles, people and content.
SOC 2 Type II: An independent auditor’s report on how well a service provider’s security controls operated over a period (typically 6–12 months). Ask vendors for the report, not just a badge.
SSO (Single Sign-On): Lets employees log in with their company identity provider (such as Microsoft Entra ID or Okta) instead of a separate password; usually SAML or OIDC.

T

Time to Fill: Calendar days from opening a requisition to an accepted offer. It is a capacity metric; time to hire (from first candidate contact to acceptance) measures candidate experience.
Time to Productivity (Ramp-Up): The time a new hire needs to reach the output of an experienced peer. It is usually the largest hidden cost of onboarding. Onboarding time & cost calculator →
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Licence fees plus implementation, integrations, content, administration time, renewal uplifts and exit costs over the contract term. LMS cost calculator →

V

Vendor Lock-In: The cost and difficulty of leaving a vendor because of proprietary data formats, long contracts, or missing export tools. Vendor lock-in risk scorecard →

X

xAPI (Tin Can): A newer learning-data standard that records learning activity as statements ("Ana completed forklift simulation") and can capture learning outside the LMS.

Missing a term? Suggest it and we will add it in the next update.