From BAU to OOO, corporate lingos you must know | Workplace News

Whether you’re joining your first job or switching industries, corporate communication can feel like its own secret language. Emails come packed with abbreviations, meetings are filled with shorthand, and half the time you’re wondering if you’re supposed to “circle back” or “sync up” first. Learning these terms not only makes communication smoother but also helps you understand expectations, priorities, and workflows across teams.
Here’s a simple, reliable glossary of the most commonly used terms in modern workplaces — so you can decode conversations, respond confidently, and keep your workday running without confusion.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO

Term
Meaning

EOD (End of Day)
the end of the working day

EOY (End of Year)
Before the year ends or in the last working days of the year

OOO (Out of Office)
Not available to respond due to leave, travel, or non-working hours

BRB (Be Right Back)
Temporary step-away during online meetings or chats

PTO (Paid Time Off)
Approved leave that is compensated

KRA (Key Result Areas)
Core responsibilities and performance expectations of an employee

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A measurable metric used to evaluate performance

SLA (Service Level Agreement)
A defined expectation on timelines, response rates, or quality standards

ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)
Expected time to deliver a task or to be available

ASAP (As Soon As Possible)
Complete or respond at the earliest convenience

FYI (For Your Information)
Information shared without expectation of action

FYA (For Your Action)
Information that requires you to take action

AOB (Any Other Business)
Additional topics to be discussed at the end of a meeting

TAT (Turnaround Time)
Time taken to complete a request or task

R&R (Roles and Responsibilities)
Defines what each team member is accountable for

RCA (Root Cause Analysis)
Investigation to determine the fundamental cause of a problem

MOM (Minutes of Meeting)
Written summary of key points and decisions from a meeting

BAU (Business as Usual)
Regular, ongoing work processes

Onboarding
Orientation and integration process for new employees

Offboarding
Formal process of exiting an employee from the organisation

Bandwidth
A person or team’s capacity to take on additional tasks

Stakeholders
Individuals or groups impacted or involved in a project

Cross-functional
Involving multiple teams or departments

Leverage
Utilize resources effectively to achieve a goal

Align/Alignment
Agreement on goals, information, or strategy

Touch Base
Briefly connect or discuss updates

Circle Back
Return to a pending topic or conversation later

Take It Offline
Continue the discussion separately, not in the current meeting

Deep Dive
Detailed analysis or thorough examination of a topic

Blue-sky Thinking
Creative, unconstrained brainstorming

Deck
Presentation, usually a slide deck (e.g., PowerPoint)

Sync Up
Coordinate or update with someone

Follow-up
Reminder or check-in about a previous communication

Don’t forget to add these lingos to your corporate dictionary!