Suppose your colleague or boss dropped a mail written PFA, or your manager messaged you an ‘OOO.’ What now? Is there a mistype, or is it you out of the loop here? Well, let me tell you. PFA stands for Please Find Attached, and OOO stands for Out Of Office. These are Acronyms of the corporate world. Corporate professionals use acronyms to save time and make communication efficient and fast. There is a saying that – ‘Every second count in the corporate world’.
The acronyms came into existence during the time of Ancient Rome! The AM and PM that we use today are dated back to the time of the Roman Empire. But acronyms spread worldwide after the industrial revolution in the 19th century. But again, its popularity came with the emergence of today’s social media. The social media revolution gave birth to most modern acronyms. As social media gained more popularity, people started seeking out more efficient and time-saving ways to communicate and interact with each other. This gave birth to numerous acronyms.
Corporate World Acronyms
It doesn’t matter if you are a fresher or an experienced professional with years of experience; you must know specific acronyms used in the corporate world every day. In this article, I have included the most widely used acronyms. I am sure that you’d have encountered most of them in your daily corporate life.
Corporate World Acronyms 1. Texting/Messaging 2. Business/IT Terms 3. Some General Terms
FYI there are more than 150+ acronyms used in the business world. But let us get on with some of the most widely used acronyms. Let’s discuss the most common workplace abbreviations and business acronyms:
1. Texting/Messaging
ASAP – as soon as possible (Shows urgency towards a task) EOM – End of the message (Inculcates the whole message into the subject line only) EOD – End of day (Used to give a deadline for the day) WFH – Work from home ETA – Estimated time of arrival (Used to state the arrival time of someone or something quickly) PFA – Please find attached (Used to indicate the attachments in a mail or message) KRA – Key result areas (This is used to define goals and plans to achieve at work) TAT – Turn around time (Used to indicate the response time) QQ – Quick question FYI – For your information OOO – Out of Office
Also Read: A Comprehensive Guide to Discord Text Formatting
2. Business/IT Terms
ABC – always be closing B2B – Business to business B2C – business to consumer CAD – computer-aided design CEO – chief executive officer CFO – chief financial officer CIO – chief investment officer/chief information officer CMO – chief marketing officer COO – chief operating officer CTO – chief technology officer DOE – depending on the experiment EBITDA – Earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization ERP – enterprise resource planning (business management software that a company can use to store and manage data from every stage of business) ESOP – employee stock ownership plan ETA – estimated time of arrival HTML – hypertext mark-up language IPO – initial public offering ISP – Internet service provider KPI – key performance indicators LLC – limited liability company MILE – maximum impact, little effort MOOC – massive open online course MSRP – manufacturer’s suggested retail price NDA – non-disclosure agreement NOI – net operating income NRN – no reply necessary OTC – over the counter PR – public relations QC – quality control R & D – research and development RFP – request for proposal ROI – return on investment RRP – recommended retail price SEO – search engine optimization SLA – service level agreement VAT – value-added tax VPN – a virtual private network
3. Some General Terms
BID – Break it down COB – Close of business EOT – End of thread FTE – Full-time employee FWIW – For what it’s worth IAM – In a meeting KISS – Keep it simple stupid LET – Leaving early today NIM – No internal message OTP – Over the phone NRN – No reply necessary NSFW – Not safe for work SME – Subject matter expert TED – Tell me, Explain to me, Describe to me WIIFM – What’s in it for me WOM – Word of mouth TYT – Take your time POC – Point of contact LMK – Let me know TL;DR – Too long, didn’t read JGI – Just Google it BID – Break it down
There are numerous business acronyms in different sectors, all summing up to be even more than two hundred. We have mentioned some of the most commonly used business acronyms in this article. Now that you have gone through them, we are sure that next time your boss sends a KISS in reply, you won’t get all fired up, because it stands for ‘Keep it simple stupid’. Recommended: How to Find the Best Kik Chat Rooms to Join Anyways, your days of scratching your head and misinterpreting acronyms are gone. Do not forget to leave a comment!
