When created the right way, developing a shared language for training can encourage a high-performance organisational culture.
Acronyms and ‘business speak’ can be overwhelming and confusing for new staff members and those outside your organisation. This leaves them feeling like they are on the outside looking in. It’s true that businesses need to rid themselves of these anchors weighing them down, to make themselves more accessible to recruits and clients.
Language, after all, is a communication tool. As such, it can either bring people together or drive people apart. So, how does a shared language for training impact organisational culture?
What Is a Shared Organisational Language?
Throughout the centuries, language has denoted who belongs to which social group. Different countries have different languages, and more recently, various social networks have developed their own individual shared languages. These languages, shared amongst those in the know, foster relationships and communication within the groups. A shared language is part of a group’s identity.
The same idea applies to creating shared languages for organisations. We’re not talking about corporate-speak that no one understands, but instead considering how language can propel change or stop it in its tracks.
Do the leaders of the company use language that is unifying and collaborative? Or are their word choices more individualistic and focused on the bottom line? What staff are hearing from the top matters.
If a company wants to create change in the organisational culture, adopting a new language is crucial. The best way to roll that out is not just by leaders speaking differently (although that is necessary) but weaving it into all communications; training, staff intranet, emails, and more.
How Does a Shared Language Improve Organisational Culture?
Those who share a common language also share a common purpose. In an organisational sense, language brings people together to work towards the goals of the business. It creates cohesion, focus, and direction. These three qualities are the ideal ingredients for building a high-performance organisational culture.
A shared language ensures that everyone is on the same page and is in agreement on the best way to tackle the challenges the business will inevitably face. It offers a way of working that will be common across every department, team, and individual.
The Importance of a Shared Language in Training
The importance of a shared language in training cannot be overstated. Before any real learning can begin, everyone in the session needs to be on the same page. If you already have an organisational language, using this terminology in the training session is crucial. It’s a quick way to automatically bring everyone together and create a shared understanding.
If you are trying to develop a high-performance organisational culture and are creating training as part of that, the language used becomes even more critical. This may be the first time that some staff have encountered this way of speaking. Make sure that you are role modelling the right type of language the business wants to adopt and be prepared to slow down and explain any new terminology.
When it comes to training staff to use new software, explaining the various terms will be crucial. Even something as simple as referring to holiday pay as leave can leave people floundering, searching for the correct button to click on.
Follow My Lead creates tailor-made software tutorial videos and eLearning content for businesses. Common language is just one of the elements we consider when designing our content. For effective software and process training contact Follow My Lead. We are experts at taking your shared language and naturally using it in video training that your staff can access time and time again.
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