Junk jargon to improve productivity
“Can we talk? But spare me the jargon, please.”
That was the tall order issued by Tunde Fafunwa, chief executive consultant of Bayan Telecommunications during the 2008 Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) CEO Conference. Addressing a packed audience, the telecommunications head honcho asked top business leaders to do away with jargon in the workplace through his “Can We Talk?” speech.
Herculean as the task may have been, Fafunwa made his case with a sound business proposition: Junk jargon to improve workplace productivity.
An office hazard
“With our knowledge expanding exponentially, we should seek to create common understanding rather than confuse it with new layers of jargon,” explained Fafunwa.
Causing alienation, low office morale, misunderstanding and feelings of inadequacy, jargon can be an office hazard, according to a 2006 survey conducted by YouGov, an international research and consulting organization.
In fact, the same survey revealed that almost two-thirds of employees (60 percent) prefer no jargon at work at all. Yet despite the negative impact of jargon as perceived by employees, bosses seemed oblivious to its dangers — more than half (55 percent) believe it to be harmless. Fafunwa sought to reverse this trend.
More meaningful conversations
“Believe it or not, we now condense even our simplest sentiments into emoticons,” said Fafunwa. “The popularity of texting is definitely part of the jargon problem. As the cheapest avenue of communication, texting has forced us to spell thank you like 10Q.
“But all this jargon has to stop at some point. We need to communicate with each other in a language that illuminates instead of bits and pieces that feel like an inside joke no one fully gets. This is one of the main reasons why we at Bayan have made unlimited talk time possible through the BayanWireless landline.”
With either the P499 Basic Wireless or P699 Best Value options, the innovative BayanWireless landline enables unlimited landline calling within the same area code and Bayan-to-Bayan calls nationwide. A far cry from expensive cell phone metered calls that have forced millions to rely on texting, the unlimited calling of BayanWireless landline gives Filipinos a weapon against jargon.
Bayan jargon jar
Fafunwa also enjoined the influential MAP audience to join Bayan’s crusade against jargon: “Today I propose a simple solution. Actually, it’s one that my family often uses. We keep a jar on the kitchen table so if ever anyone would be ill-advised enough to break a house rule, we would have to ‘donate’ to the family vacation.”
“I have with me today the swear jar for the 21st century: I call it the Bayan Jargon Jar. From now on, every person in Bayan who says some technical term or insider remark without explaining it to the rest of the team will have to contribute P20 to the Jargon Jar. The proceeds will go to subsidizing meeting meals,” he explained.
“And because we at Bayan feel that it’s time we stopped inventing ways to confuse each other and start to really say what we mean, we’re giving one to everyone here so you can play along!” he announced, to the crowd’s delight.
A total of 1,000 Jargon Jars were given out during the conference, most of which will be displayed in the offices of the country’s top CEOs.
“The Jargon Jar is a great reminder for us to go back to what really works: meaningful conversations. Because by enabling our employees to talk without limits — with the help of devices like BayanWireless landline—they understand more and reach their full productivity,” ended Fafunwa.
