Communicating With Acronyms
I remember the first time I received a text message. I spent several minutes trying to decipher it, before calling the person to ask what they were trying to communicate. Your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) can be equally as challenging (and frustrating) to understand if they include a lot of acronyms.
In some industries, like biotech, it’s common to use a lot of acronyms and buzz words in your conversations, emails, and documents….it allows you to communicate a lot of information in less time. If you have worked for the same company for years, then acronyms aren’t a problem. But for new hires, it’s a constant struggle to understand the meaning, even if you’re not new to the industry.
I remember starting with a company that used almost all acronyms as a way to communicate….I had more than 10 years of biotech experience at that time. I found myself struggling to understand conversations, meeting discussions, and SOPs because of the excessive use of acronyms and buzz words specific to that company. It can be challenging to grasp the general meaning when very few english words are spoken or written….it makes me wonder how many times the use of acronyms are the source of confusion, resulting in nonconformances. And let’s not forget that it extends the learning curve for new hires (even experienced new hires), costing an employer time and money.
If possible, it’s always best to limit the use of acronyms. But if you must use them and they’re part of your culture, then follow these three communication rules:
- Only use acronyms if you’re repeating a word or phase several times throughout a document.
- Before you use an acronym, spell the word out first, followed by the acronym in parenthesis. Once spelled out, you can then use just the acronym throughout the document.
- Provide new hires with an acronym glossary during orientation so they can use it as a reference guide…make sure the glossary is always up-to-date.
