Workplace language
Phrases officers use at work.
30 curated results
- Submission An official written paper put up for a superior or forum to note, discuss, clear, endorse, approve or decide. Also: paper, staff paper, submission paper, put up a paper, put up a submission “The submission is ready when the decision sought is clearer than the filename FINAL_v12_reallyfinal.docx.”
- Clearance A review confirming that material is suitable to move forward; clearance does not always constitute final authority to implement. Also: clear, cleared, for clearance, For Clearance, Pls, for clearance pls
- Take offline To move a detailed, unresolved or tangential discussion to a separate conversation so the current meeting can proceed. Also: discuss offline, offline this, take it offline “Let’s take this offline before the meeting acquires a second agenda.”
- Steer Directional guidance from a senior officer or forum on how to proceed. A steer may narrow the options or indicate a preferred approach without constituting formal approval. Also: seek a steer, get a steer, management steer “Seek a steer before lovingly polishing the wrong option.”
- First cut An early working version prepared to establish the basic direction, structure or response before fuller review and refinement. Also: first-cut, first cut draft, first-cut response “A first cut may be rough; it may not be a blank page sent at 5.59pm.”
- Staff An officer who supports a principal or forum by analysing an issue, coordinating inputs, preparing recommendations or papers, and following decisions through; also used as a verb for carrying out that work. Also: staffing, staff work, staffing an issue, staffing a paper
- Working-level Discussion or resolution among officers doing the detailed staff work, usually before escalation to principals or a formal forum. Also called staff-level discussion. Also: working level, at working level, staff level, staff-level, at staff level
- No surprises A working norm that material issues, risks or disagreements should be surfaced early rather than first appearing at a formal forum. Also: no-surprises principle
- Instruction Manual A set of central government instructions covering administrative areas such as HR, finance, procurement, office administration, security or ICT. Also: IM, Government Instruction Manual “The IM is where “because policy” should eventually point.”
- Pre-read A paper, deck or other material sent in advance so participants can review it before the discussion or decision. Also: pre read, preread, pre-reading material
- Reporting officer The manager responsible for supervising an officer’s work and providing performance feedback and assessment under the agency’s appraisal arrangements. Also: RO, direct reporting officer “Your RO reviews your work and development; it is not a live reporting dashboard.”
- Statutory board A body established by legislation to perform public functions. It is part of government but is a separate legal entity, generally with its own governing board and operational flexibility. Also: SB, stat board “The statutory board has its own Act and systems, so its leave form may not look like yours.”
- Whole-of-Government Working across ministry and agency boundaries towards the Government’s collective interests and outcomes, rather than optimising only for one organisation. Also: WOG, whole of government “A WOG solution starts when five agencies agree the problem belongs to all of them.”
- Permanent Secretary The administrative head of a ministry and a senior career public officer responsible to the Minister. Also: PS, Perm Sec “The PS is the ministry’s administrative head, not the Minister’s permanently available secretary.”
- Posting An officer’s placement into a job, which may be within the same agency or part of a structured move across agencies or sectors. Also: job posting, posted
- Action item A specific follow-up task with an owner and, ideally, a due date arising from a discussion, decision or direction. Also: action point, follow-up action, AI
- Chief Executive The senior executive who heads a statutory board’s administration and management and works with its board, parent ministry and the wider Public Service. Also: CE, Chief Executive Officer, CEO ““Please seek the CE’s approval” means the head of the statutory board, not the most senior person currently online.”
- Pls see A short email or note instruction directing the recipient to read an attached, linked or quoted item. Also: please see, pls refer
- Pls follow up A short instruction asking the recipient to handle the next step and report back when needed. Also: please follow up, pls f/u, please action
- Political office-holder A political leader holding government office, such as a Minister, Senior Minister of State, Minister of State or Parliamentary Secretary, as distinct from a career public officer. Also: POH, political office holder “The political office-holder sets political direction; officers still have to turn it into owners, dates and a paper.”
- Approval A decision by the person or body holding the relevant authority to agree to a plan, request, commitment or expenditure. Also: approve, approved, for approval
- Socialise To discuss an emerging proposal informally with relevant stakeholders so concerns can be understood and surprises reduced before formal staffing. Also: socialise the idea, socialize
- 3P partnership A partnership among the public sector, private sector and people or community sector to address an issue or deliver an outcome together. Also: 3P, 3P partnerships, Public, Private and People, 3P sectors, 3P division “A 3P partnership needs more than three logos on the final slide.”
- Bandwidth A person’s or team’s available time, attention and capacity to take on or complete work. Also: work bandwidth, team bandwidth, have bandwidth, no bandwidth, free up bandwidth “I have bandwidth for one more task, provided the task is replying “Noted”.”
- Clean wage A remuneration approach in which salary components are explicit and there are no hidden perks or unlisted benefits. Also: clean-wage policy, clean wage policy “A clean wage is meant to make the package legible, not leave the benefits to office folklore.”
- Covering officer An officer designated to assume another officer’s duties, responsibilities and any delegated authority during an absence. Also: cover officer, covering arrangement “The covering officer inherits the work, not telepathy—leave a proper handover.”
- De-risk To take steps that reduce the likelihood, impact or uncertainty of problems before committing, launching or scaling. Also: derisk, de-risking, derisking “Let’s de-risk the launch with 20 users before emailing all 150,000 of them.”
- Deconflict To coordinate and adjust competing requirements, plans, schedules, positions or activities so that they do not clash or duplicate one another. Also: de-conflict, deconflicting, deconfliction “Deconflict the two launches before both teams book the same Minister and ballroom.”
- Drawer lines Communications lines prepared in advance for a foreseeable incident or scenario so they can be quickly updated, cleared and used if it occurs. Also: drawer line, drawer statement, drawer statements, drawer media statement, drawer media statements “Prepare drawer lines before the crisis, when nobody is typing “URGENT PLS CLEAR” in all caps.”
- Evergreen Expected to remain relevant or useful over time rather than being tied to one event, announcement or planning cycle. Also: evergreen content, evergreen issue, evergreen material, evergreen mission “An evergreen FAQ should survive more than one reorganisation and at least three changes of logo.”