11 corporate terms and what they mean to communicators

This article originally appeared on PR Daily in August 2016. I once worked for a company where the HR department insisted that we use the term “full-time equivalents” instead of “employees” or “staff.” They’d say, “Our full-time equivalents are our most valuable asset.”

To HR staff, the term “full-time equivalents” has a specific meaning, so that’s why they use it. To corporate communicators, “full-time equivalents” is just another dehumanizing HR term that we advise HR staff not to use. (Same with “human assets” or “human capital.”)

Below is list of other such corporate terms and what they mean to communicators. How many of these do you recognize?

Bifurcate: The term HR teams use when they are going to split a large department into two smaller departments, or split your job into two jobs. RELATED: Free guide: 10 ways to improve your writing today. Download now.