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Is Management Jargon Driving Your Employees Mad?
 Do
you ‘touch base’ with your staff, and do you
try to get employees ‘singing off the same
hymn sheet’? If so, you are using management
jargon; and could be irritating and
confusing your employees.
A survey by YouGov for
Investors in People has found that employees
have a low opinion of colleagues who use
management jargon. 39% believe it shows a
lack of confidence, 18% think those who use
it are untrustworthy or are trying to cover
something up.
Almost two thirds of
employees (60%) would prefer there to be no
jargon at all at work, but 39% say its use
is increasing.
Some examples of
common management jargon include:
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'Blue-sky thinking'
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'Singing from the same hymn sheet'
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'Heads up'
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'Think outside the box'
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'The helicopter view'
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'Get our ducks in a row'
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'Joined up thinking'
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'On the runway'
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'Brain dump'
Nicola Clark, Director
at Investors in People (UK) said: "The
research gives bosses an invaluable insight
into the impact of management jargon on the
workplace. Whilst it can be a useful
shorthand at times, managers need to be more
alert to when and how they use it. Cutting
jargon out of everyday communication is
clearly a challenge, with almost half (48%)
of employees that use jargon admitting to
using it without thinking. However, as our
research shows, if used inappropriately,
jargon can be an obstacle to understanding,
which ultimately can impact on an
individual's performance and an
organisation's productivity.
"Bosses need to lead
by example, ditch needless jargon, and
concentrate on communicating clearly with
their employees."
The research is quite clear, employees do
not like confusing jargon; by speaking in
plain English you can help make sure that
they understand you. You can also minimize
the risk of employees seeing you as
untrustworthy or unconfident, which could be
extremely damaging to your business.
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