According to a recent survey, 65% of people felt imposter syndrome during their most recent onboarding process. Whether you are starting a new career or well established in your industry, getting to grips with a new workplace and team can be a struggle, especially when new lingo comes into play.

With that in mind, the experts at Wix.com have delved into the most confusing business abbreviations to reveal the terms leaving Brits scratching their heads.

Study highlights:

• KPI (key performance indicator) tops the list of the most confusing business abbreviations for Brits, with 662.4K searches per year.
• In second place, CRM (customer relationship management) generates 543.4K searches on average per year.
• All 45 abbreviations in the study generate 5.4M searches per year.

The most confusing workplace abbreviations for Brits according to Google

Please see the full data sheet here.

In first place, the workplace performance metric KPI generates a whopping 662.4K Google searches per year in the UK alone, more searches than Belfast’s population (643K). KPI stands for ‘key performance indicator’ and is a quantitative measurement used in most workplaces when accessing performance, from sales, retail, and marketing to healthcare.

Securing the second most searches is CRM with 543.4K yearly searches. CRM or ‘customer relationship management’ is a term used for systems, tools and techniques used by businesses to manage potential and existing customer relations. CRM systems help businesses improve customer satisfaction and streamline processes by tracking data and activity as well as automating processes.

In third place, VPN garners 367.2K searches per year, if compared to seconds, that’s 4.25 days. A VPN or ‘virtual private network’ is used by many workplaces to secure their safety online. It works by encrypting the user’s data and masking IP addresses from cybercriminals.

In eleventh place, COP or ‘close of play’ generates 170.4K yearly searches. The abbreviation is often used when discussing deadlines, with the end of the working day in mind. Its counterpart COB (close of business) sits at eighteenth place with 91.8K searches per year.

How to ensure clear communication within the workplace

Clear communication is paramount throughout a business, as ensuring every employee and department understands each other will directly increase productivity. With this in mind, the experts at Wix.com have outlined 5 tips on ensuring clear communication within the workplace.

1. Avoid confusing jargon 

Jargon or abbreviations may make communication faster but it can also open up the opportunity for misunderstandings, especially with entry-level employees that may already be struggling with the adjustment to their new role.

2.              Educate each employee on key terms

As part of the onboarding process, each employee should be educated on each department’s role within the business, making sure to include key terms and abbreviations to ensure smooth communication.

3.              Encourage the consistent use of communication channels
Tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams are great at allowing even remote teams to connect, plus having dedicated spaces within these tools will enhance the organisation of communication.

4.              Encourage open dialogue

A culture of open dialogue where individuals feel comfortable and safe to raise concerns, questions and provide feedback will help reduce miscommunication.

5.              Introduce communication training

Investing in regular communication training will help employees develop interpersonal skills such as clear communication, conflict resolution and productive feedback.