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Employees in retail sector call for jargon amnesty
Archived article dated Tuesday November 7th 2006
As Investors in People marks its 15th anniversary, managers are urged to ditch needless management-speak.
More than half of employees working in the UK retail sector (51%) have given management jargon, such as 'think outside the box' and 'the helicopter view', the 'thumbs down', saying it is a problem in their workplace.
According to the poll - conducted by YouGov to mark the 15th anniversary of Investors in People - employees have a low opinion of colleagues who use management jargon. Four in ten (41%) of those surveyed in the sector think it betrays a lack of confidence and almost one in five (18%) think people who use it are untrustworthy or trying to cover something up.
More worryingly, the research suggests that jargon can create a barrier between managers and their teams. Demonstrating the potential 'desk divide', 42% of senior managers in retail think jargon is harmless, whilst 44% think that it creates misunderstanding about roles and responsibilities. Over a third of employees (39%) say it results in mistrust in the workplace and makes people feel inadequate.
Almost two thirds of employees in retail (69%) would prefer no jargon at all at work, yet, with more than a quarter (27%) saying that its use is on the rise, the problem looks set to grow if left unchecked.
Commenting on the findings, released to mark Investors in People Week (6-10 November), Nicola Clark, Director at Investors in People (UK), said “The research gives bosses an invaluable insight into the impact of management jargon on the retail 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 all 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.
“Retail bosses need to lead by example, ditch needless jargon, and concentrate on communicating clearly with their employees.”
Other results from the survey nationwide include the following: employees are more likely to experience jargon in larger organisations than smaller ones: fewer than one in five (19%) of people in organisations of 2-49 employees say jargon is used at their workplace while two thirds (65%) of people in organisations with 5,000 or more employees say it is used where they work.
52% of people in large organisations (1,000+ employees) say use of jargon is increasing, compared to just under a quarter (24%) in small organisations (2-49 employees).
Investors in People was launched in 1991 to help organisations improve their performance, and ultimately their bottom-line, through the management and development of their people. Initially, 25 organisations were awarded Investors in People status - this has grown to 37,000 organisations across the UK.
Tagged as: investors in people
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