I’ve work in the government sector at two distinct points in my career – the Army and the Federal
Courts. In both instances, transitioning from private to public sector was filled with communication
challenges because everything is an acronym! There is also a great deal of jargon and common
phrases that are used in daily communication but are not understood by those just entering the
organization. I found myself repeatedly asking for clarification of instructions communicated both
verbally and in writing (Wienclaw, 2021. p. 4). I found this to be frustrating at times because I did
not want to come off as not being a knowledgeable HR professional.
One example of jargon that quickly comes to mind is the use of the word “leave.” In the
government, leave means vacation or time-off. Another common phrase that is used in the federal
courts is the phrase, “The Guide says…”. Ironically, at that time new employees were not formally
introduced to The Guide to Judicial Policy during the onboarding process despite being the driving
force behind policies and procedures. It is easy to forget that new employees may not be familiar
with some of the most common terms and phrases used within an organization. Communications,
whether written or verbal, should not be ladened with acronyms and jargon to ensure that all
employees have a clear understanding of their duties and responsibilities as they relate to the
organization’s mission and goals.
Over the past five years, my court has worked hard to eliminate physical noise in our courtrooms
which has created challenges for those involved in hearings in the past. We realized that our audio
system was not of a quality that ensures a high-quality sound is being delivered every day. This
created issues for those with and without hearing impairment because it was not always clear as to
what was being said (Cardon, 2023, p. 30). By updating our audio equipment and providing hearing
enhancement devices to those who need them, we are ensuring that our staff and the public can
successfully engage in our court proceedings.
In Human Resources communication errors can be costly, especially in healthcare with all the laws
and regulations. a In my experience I have been more successful after actively practicing active
listening. Active listening enables one to decode verbal and physical communication (Wienclaw, R.
(2021). I just started with my current company in December. We hired RNs from other countries
over the last year. a In the end of January and February some came to me with issues on their W4
which they entered they were exempt from federal taxes. a As I listened, I could see the frustration
in not understanding our systems and having to pay a large sum of taxes all year. a I went through
not only the tax information with each one but all benefits and made sure they had what they
needed. a I now have a better process for all new hires based on the position and benefits offered. a I
provide benefit information via paper, electronic, and face to face information during orientation.
Also, because we are a hospital open 24/7, we need to communicate with several forms to ensure
the risk of communication error is reduced. a Examples would be scheduled meetings are emailed,
posted by time clocks and all nursing stations. a Communication is very important for organizational
success.
So, a very common issue that I run across is Jargon, I work on calculating R&D Tax credits for tech
startups. As an accountant I do not have a lot of background in the computer engineer or
sometimes medical Technology that most of these companies and executives for them have. On the
other side they are not familiar with the terms that me and the team I work with commonly use so
we must often ask more questions and further explain our needs to complete the calculation.
So, we ask for the QRAs and QREs for the Calculation, and then continue to explain that the QRAs
are any activities that meet the requirements of a Four-part test laid out by the IRS, and while they
describe what they did we have to ask that they define different terms that use to tell use the R&D
procedure they used to create their software, new biomedical device, or a bathroom cleaning robot.
When reading this week’s article on Communications in the Workplace, two examples the article
shared reminded me of my own experiences with workplace communication situations. a Like many
others, during the pandemic my office turned into predominately a remote work environment. a
While I adapted easily to working remotely, most of my office, especially my boss are more
traditional and prefer a face-to-face, in office, work environment. a Some of this difference stems
from the generational gap I have with all my co-workers, and they are less comfortable in a digital
communication format. a Unlike most companies, as remote we did not utilize any virtual meeting
platforms, which meant that my boss was communicating with me less and less, which led me to
begin thinking my boss was not as pleased with my work as I thought I was doing, which lead me to
becoming less motivated as well, and doubting my confidence. a While I always felt I was doing a
good job, and was always ready to tackle more work, I was feeling a little let down by the fact that I
was not receiving any feedback on my production, other than my boss's standard "ok thanks" when
I handed in any project. a There was also a lack of formal review time, which further contributed to
my perception that he must not think I am doing as great of a job, whereas in my first year working
there, my boss had given me an informal review to discuss how I felt working there and how he
thought I was doing and what goals we had for the next year working together. a This was a situation
where we both had different perceptions of the situation. a Since that time, I have learned that my
boss never realized I felt that way and thought I knew what he thought of the work I was doing. a He
did not feel the need to have a review because I was doing a good job on my work and
demonstrated I knew what needed to be done without him having to touch base with me. a Since
coming back to in office full time, we have come to a better place, and communication flows freely
again. a It has become clear that his in-office preference impacted the level of communication we
had as well, and it was not due to my work, or anyone else's work, just his preferences. a
Another recent workplace communication issue that this article recalls was my own
miscommunication through ambiguity as a manager to my employee. a With quarter-end
approaching I had mentioned to my employee that this month we want to close out needed entries
in a timely fashion, sooner than usual. a This was my way of communicating that I would like her
portion of the numbers as soon as possible. However, a week later and I still had not seen any
numbers, despite me checking in to see if she needed any additional information, and I began to
get frustrated that we still had not made any progress. a I thought more about it later that night, and
what was helpful to me was that at the same time I was preparing for this class, by ordering books,
and it pushed me to take a harder look at how I was communicating. a I realized that while I,
personally, may respond to a communication like the one mentioned by pushing to get everything
done as soon as possible and prioritizing certain things, I cannot hold my employee to understand
what I meant, or expecting her to push something through right away, since I never communicated
a specific deadline or goal date for certain steps in the process to be done. a So, while I looked at the
situation and thought things were not getting done in time, I realized to my employee, they were
because I was vague and had not communicated specific timelines. a With that realization in mind, I
went in the next day and updated them about the goal date to have all the necessary entries in,
and what day I would need certain portions done in order to meet the end goal. a Things ran a lot
more smoothly after that, and I am excited to use this course to learn about more opportunities
with which I can revaluate potential communication issues.
Wienclaw, R. A. (2021). Communications in the Workplace. Salem Press Encyclopedia
