What’s in a name? It matters to colleagues and consumers
Does your organization get fussy about what to call employees, customers and other (hold on, here it comes) key stakeholders? It’s not uncommon. Still, when do such monikers just get silly?
Whether driven by industry standards, corporate culture, or the druthers of a senior executive, most of us have adopted some peculiar labels for the people in and around our business.
In some workplaces, the word employee is taboo. Instead, those on the payroll become colleagues or team members or associates (maybe even with a capital A). Those who buy what an organization has to offer might be customers, consumers, clients, shoppers, or guests. Those who back a cause or company may be investors, donors, contributors, shareholders, or stakeholders (but not “users,” apparently).
Why the wide variety in these people words? If I’m being optimistic (my default position), I can defend the good intentions of those who choose these terms. A client recently explained to me why she refers to the members of her team as people, not employees:
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