I can tell if an organization is dysfunctional with one simple test: Does it constantly change employees’ job titles?

Large corporations, in particular, are prone to Title Change Disease. Vague phrases such as “advisory associate” creep into their vocabulary, replacing simple descriptors such as “salesperson” or “service rep.”

When I interview executives, they often struggle to identify their workers correctly. Example: “Our Underwriting Services Managers, oh wait, we now call them our Risk Management Specialists, if I’m getting that right.”

Imagine a world where everyone’s job title was no longer than two words and four syllables. We wouldn’t need to deplete precious energy on memorizing new, 28-syllable titles that mean nothing and convey nothing about what the person actually does.

What’s worse, long job titles breed cryptic acronyms. No one wants to say “Senior Relationship Manager” so they shorten it to SRM. Soon enough, the SRMs and RMSs meet with SVPs and GMs to discuss RFPs.

It’s a mess.

We seek to simplify our personal lives, right? Then why not consider pruning long, rambling job titles as well. Communicate bluntly what people do—period. Your customers will appreciate it—and your employees will have one less reason to feel cynical.

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Tags: managing employees