# Chapter 6: Glossary
To support users in mastering the **People Management** module, it is essential to provide necessary reference materials. These resources ensure that users can access detailed information whenever needed.
This chapter can include templates, practical exercises, or links to additional support resources. It also provides documentation on updates and new features to keep users informed about changes within the system.
Having access to well-structured reference materials allows users to deepen their understanding of the **People Management** module, troubleshoot independently, and fully utilise the system to enhance HR operations.
# Glossary
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##### Access permissions
Access permissions define what a user is allowed to view, edit, or manage within **People Management**. They are configured through roles, reporting lines, organisational units, or people groups, ensuring that users only interact with information relevant to their responsibilities and that sensitive employee data remains protected.
##### Address
An address is the employee’s residential, postal, or work location information stored within **People Management**. It helps keep personal and workplace records accurate, supports communication, and ensures the organisation has reliable location details for each employee.
##### Administration
Administration refers to the controlled area of **People Management** where authorised users manage system settings, access, and records. It supports secure configuration, data governance, and the consistent handling of organisational information.
##### Appointment
An appointment refers to a person’s placement within the organisation, linking them to a specific position, job title, and organisational unit. It forms part of an employee’s profile and reflects their role, reporting structure, and employment history within the company.
##### Appointment history
Appointment history is a structured record of an employee’s previous and current appointments within **People Management**. It provides visibility into role changes, movement across the organisation, and career progression over time.
##### Audit information
Audit information is a detailed log of system activity in **People Management**, showing who accessed or modified data, what changed, and when it happened. It supports transparency, accountability, and compliance by making employee record activity traceable.
##### Audit tracking
Audit tracking records all changes made within **People Management**, including who made the change, what was changed, and when it occurred. This functionality helps organisations trace updates, monitor data integrity, and support compliance with internal policies and external regulations.
##### Biographical details
Biographical details are the core background details captured for an employee in **People Management**, such as gender, citizenship, race, marital status, and identification details. These fields help maintain complete employee records and support reporting and compliance requirements.
##### Biographical information
Biographical information includes key personal and demographic details about an employee stored in **People Management**. These fields are structured and standardised to support consistency, compliance, and accurate employee records.
##### Contact details
Contact details are the information used to reach an employee, such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and other communication details. They help ensure the organisation can contact the right person when needed and that records are kept current.
##### Critical job
A critical job is a job title that has been flagged as strategically important to the organisation. This designation helps identify roles essential to business continuity, operational success, or specialised expertise, enabling organisations to prioritise planning, resourcing, and succession strategies.
##### Critical position
A critical position is a specific role within the **organisational structure** that has been designated as important or high-priority. This flag highlights positions that require close monitoring, effective succession planning, or additional support to ensure organisational stability and performance.
##### Custom people group
A custom people group is a user-defined collection of individuals grouped by specific criteria, such as roles, departments, or conditions. These groups are used to manage permissions, streamline reporting, and enable targeted communication, particularly when access requirements do not align with standard organisational structures.
##### Dashboard
The dashboard is the main **People Management** screen that gives a quick view of employees and key actions such as search, browsing, and Kudos. It helps users find people and access important information quickly.
##### Data governance
Data governance refers to the framework of controls and processes that ensure employee data within **People Management** remains accurate, consistent, secure, and compliant. It includes structured data capture, controlled editing permissions, audit tracking, and standardised data fields, all of which support reliable reporting and decision-making.
##### Default password
A default password is the starting password assigned to a new user account in **People Management**. It is used for the first-time login before the user changes it.
##### Editable field
An editable field is a data field within the system that users are permitted to update. Depending on the configuration, fields can be editable by administrators only or available for user self-service. This flexibility allows organisations to control data integrity while enabling appropriate levels of user interaction.
##### Employee profile
An employee profile is a comprehensive digital record of an individual within the organisation. It includes personal details, contact information, biographical data, reporting lines, appointment history, and access to related modules such as **Performance Management**, **Learning Management**, and **PDP**. The profile serves as a central source of truth for all employee-related information.
##### Event Scheduling
The **Event Scheduling** module is used to organise groups of people for events, sessions, or planned activities. It helps administrators manage attendance, participation, and scheduling more easily. For more information, visit our book on the **[Event Scheduling](https://signature.signifyhr.co.za/books/event-scheduling "Event Scheduling")** module.
##### Field editability
Field editability is a setting that controls whether a field can be changed by administrators or employees. It helps protect important information and define who may update it.
##### Field visibility
Field visibility is a setting that controls whether a field can be seen by administrators or employees. It helps manage access to information in a controlled way.
##### Filled position
A filled position is a role within the organisational structure that currently has an employee assigned to it. The system distinguishes filled positions from vacant or inactive ones, allowing administrators and managers to quickly assess workforce allocation and capacity.
##### Job Management
**Job Management** is the module used to create, manage, and maintain job titles and associated positions within **People Management**. It enables administrators to define roles, assign them to organisational units, and manage vacancies, supporting structured workforce planning and organisational clarity.
##### Job position
A job position is a specific instance of a job title within the organisational structure. It represents an actual placement that can be assigned to an employee and is linked to a particular organisational unit. Each position is unique, even if multiple positions share the same job title, and positions can be classified as filled, vacant, or inactive.
##### Job title
A job title represents a standardised role category within the organisation, such as a specific function, profession, or level of responsibility. It serves as a template that outlines the general purpose of a role and can be linked to multiple positions within the organisational structure.
##### Job title vs job position vs role
In **People Management**, job titles, job positions, and roles serve different but connected purposes.
- A **job title** defines the type of work or function.
- A **job position** is a specific instance of that job title within the organisational structure and can be assigned to an employee. A job title can have many job positions.
- A **role** defines what a user is allowed to do in the system based on permissions and access levels.
##### Kudos
Kudos is a recognition feature in **People Management** that allows employees to acknowledge or appreciate colleagues. It encourages a positive workplace culture and makes peer recognition easy and visible.
##### Labour relations
Labour relations is the area used to record workplace issues such as complaints, grievances, disputes, and disciplinary matters in **People Management**. It helps maintain a clear record of formal employee relations activity.
##### Learning records
Learning records are records of training or learning activities completed by an employee in **People Management**. They help track progress in development and provide a history of completed learning activities.
##### Master data
Master data refers to the standardised reference data used across the system, including values such as citizenship, gender, marital status, titles, and relationship types. This data is centrally managed to ensure consistency, reduce duplication, and support accurate data capture across employee profiles.
##### My Company
My Company is a view in **People Management** that shows employees across the wider organisation. It allows users to browse beyond their own team or department.
##### My Department
My Department is a view in **People Management** that shows employees within the user’s department. It helps users focus on the people in their immediate business area.
##### My Team
My Team is a view in **People Management** that shows the employees directly linked to the user through reporting lines or team structure. It provides a quick view of the people in the user’s working area.
##### Organisational structure
The organisational structure defines how the organisation is arranged into levels, departments, and reporting relationships in **People Management**. It provides a visual and functional representation of how teams and roles are connected, supporting workforce planning, reporting, and navigation within the system.
##### Organisational unit
An organisational unit is a section of the company structure, such as a department, division, branch, or team. It helps group employees according to the organisation’s internal structure and supports hierarchy, access, and reporting.
##### Particulars
Particulars are the core identity details of an employee in **People Management**, including name, surname, username, title, and preferred name. They form the basic identity information used to locate the employee in the system.
##### People administrators
People administrators are users with elevated permissions within **People Management**. They are responsible for managing employee data, configuring system settings, assigning roles and permissions, maintaining organisational structures, and ensuring data compliance and accuracy.
##### People group
A people group is a defined selection of individuals based on specific criteria, such as their position in the organisational structure, reporting line, location, or other conditions. People groups help determine access, audiences, and system processes for selected employees.
##### People Management
The **People Management** module is the part of the system used to manage employee information, organisational structures, roles, and permissions. It integrates with other HR modules to support processes such as **Performance Management**, **Learning Management**, **HR Processes**, and **PDP**, while ensuring data accuracy and operational efficiency.
##### People Management dashboard
The **People Management** dashboard is a centralised interface that displays all employees within the organisation, organised into views such as My Team, My Department, and My Company. It provides a single entry point for users to locate individuals, understand team structures, and engage with colleagues.
##### Performance Management
**Performance Management** is the area used to manage performance-related information such as reviews, goals, and evaluation records. It supports structured tracking of employee performance and development within the organisation. For more information, visit our book on the **[Performance Management](https://signature.signifyhr.co.za/books/performance-management-sq2 "Performance Management")** module.
##### Permissions override
Permissions override allows administrators to adjust or replace default access settings for specific users. This provides flexibility in managing access where standard role-based permissions do not meet organisational needs, while still maintaining control over data visibility and editing rights.
##### Product role
A product role is a system role that gives a user access to specific features or areas of the product. It helps control what each user is allowed to do in the system.
##### Product setup
Product setup is the configuration area where administrators control how **People Management** operates. This includes activating the module, defining field requirements, managing visibility and edit permissions, and aligning system behaviour with organisational policies and data standards.
##### Profile management
Profile management refers to the process of creating, viewing, and maintaining employee records within **People Management**. It ensures that all employee data is structured, consistent, and up to date, supporting efficient HR operations and accurate reporting.
##### Profile summary
A profile summary is a quick overview of an employee’s key information in **People Management**. It gives users a concise snapshot of the person’s record without requiring them to open every detail.
##### Reporting line
A reporting line defines the relationship between employees in terms of hierarchy, indicating who reports to whom. It is used in **People Management** to establish organisational structure, manage permissions, and support workflow processes such as approvals and performance tracking.
##### Reporting lines group
A reporting lines group is a group of employees linked by who they report to or work under. It is useful for organising employees according to the management structure and for applying access or reporting logic.
##### Required field
A required field is a field that must be completed before a record can be saved in **People Management**. It helps ensure that important information is captured and that records remain complete.
##### Role
A role refers to a set of system-defined responsibilities and permissions assigned to a user within **People Management**. Roles determine what actions a user can perform, such as viewing, editing, or managing data, and are central to role-based access control. Unlike job titles and positions, which describe organisational structure and employment, roles are focused on system access and functionality.
##### Role-based access control
Role-based access control is a system where permissions are assigned based on predefined roles. Each role determines what actions a user can perform and what data they can access, ensuring consistent and secure management of system functionality.
##### Self-service
Self-service allows employees and managers to view and update their own information within the system. Depending on configuration, users can maintain personal details, access records, and engage with organisational processes without requiring administrator intervention.
##### Sign-ins
Sign-ins are records of login activity for an employee or user account in **People Management**. They help track when the account was accessed and provide a useful audit trail of system entries.
##### Standard permissions
Standard permissions are the default actions allowed by a role, such as viewing, editing, or managing certain areas of the system. They define the basic access granted to a user and form the starting point for access control.
##### System modules admin
System modules admin is the area where administrative roles are assigned across different system modules. It enables organisations to control which users can configure settings, manage content, and perform administrative actions within specific modules.
##### Training and Development
This area of a user's profile is used to track learning, development, assessments, and related growth activities for an employee in **People Management**. It supports ongoing employee development and record keeping.
##### User permissions
User permissions are the access rights that determine what a user can see or do in **People Management**. They help protect information and control user actions based on the user’s role and assigned access level.
##### Vacant position
A vacant position is a role within the organisational structure that does not currently have an employee assigned to it. Identifying vacant positions helps organisations manage recruitment, workforce planning, and resource allocation effectively.
##### View/Edit People
View/Edit People is the functionality that allows authorised users to open and update employee records in **People Management**. It gives access to people’s information for review and maintenance.
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