Business E-mail is Business E-mail

Daily e-mails pour in about what to do in regard to situations involving work related e-mail. Many times these problems could have been avoided if folks just used some common sense and discretion in regard to how they use their employer’s resources.

A good general rule of thumb is to not put anything in a business e-mail that you wouldn’t feel comfortable putting on company letterhead. This includes your choice of formatting, formality and verbiage. Discretion also comes into play when e-mailing with those in your office or company — you still should watch your P’s and Q’s. Business is business.

To that advice some have responded that if their employer doesn’t have an e-mail policy in place “anything goes.” Believe that and you could be the first to go!

When at work, respect your employer’s resources. Only use your company e-mail for business purposes and only use your personal e-mail when on your own time. Think before you type, think again before you send. You are a representative of your company and you need to make a professional impression with each and every e-mail.

While I have covered issues that also apply to Business E-mail Etiquette here, moving forward these topics will be covered in detail solely on my increasingly popular Blog, BusinessEmailEtiquette.com, that discusses and focuses on Business E-mail Etiquette issues and best practices.

Please do stop by and join in the conversation!

Think Before Replying to All

One of the issues I get contacted about most is using Reply to All on a mass e-mail where numerous folks are listed in the To: field. The simply answer is you don’t use Reply to All — you only reply to the Sender.

Most times problems arise when someone sends a controversial e-mail to all their contacts (and incorrectly lists all the e-mail addresses in the To: field). People react because it is an emotionally charged issue; hit Reply to All thereby letting everyone know their opinions — even folks they don’t know who didn’t ask for or care to hear their opinion.  Add to that, the Sender gets upset because their contacts were e-mailed while some of the contacts get upset because they are being e-mailed by folks they don’t know.

So here are a couple guidelines to help you avoid bad feelings and misunderstandings:

SENDERS: If you don’t want someone hitting Reply to All and sending their comments about your e-mail to everyone you sent to, simply use the BCc: field. If you do not make this effort to shield your contacts e-mail addresses, you really shouldn’t complain when one of those contacts reacts by hitting Reply to All.

In addition, if you know that not everyone on your list knows each other — please respect their privacy and do not display their e-mail addresses to strangers! Use the BCc: field!

RECIPIENTS: Even if you know some or most of the people on the list — only Reply to the Sender.  Because the Sender displayed all those e-mail addresses in the To: field does not give you tacit permission to e-mail anyone who didn’t ask for your opinion.

At the end of the day, be very careful who you send e-mails with controversial topics or opinions to. Not everyone has the same viewpoint as you do and may not appreciate receiving your two cents when they didn’t ask for it or worse yet don’t even know you.

E-mail Forwards Ending a Friendship?

A site visitor was curious and pondered:

Here is the situation with a “friend” of mine… We sent each other Christmas cards, no phone calls or visits. My friend recently sent me an e-mail on to my private e-addy saying she thought of me often, wondered how I was doing, and was sending the e-mail to tell me she thought of me fondly. She signed off with “LYLAS”…initials meaning “love you like a sister”.

Assuming she is wondering if I am reading her e-mails, she sent me many more “forwarded” chain letters to my e-addy that is not private. I did not respond…and wouldn’t have anyway because they had no personal note attached.

While her recent e-mail was not a forwarded note and was very kind, it is still a reminder to me that she doesn’t think I deserve a phone call or real-time conversation. At this point, since all I get are forwards with no personal comments, she will get absolutely no response from me at all. I will only answer to a telephone call… What do you think of this approach?

I understand your frustration and point of view. I’ve always made it practice to not respond to forwards that do not have a personal note to me.  As a matter of fact, I don’t even take the time to read forwards of that nature.

With that said, since so many pick up on perceptions that may be incorrect or over amplified in e-mail, why not pick up the phone and ask her how she is and if everything is O.K.?   Since you did not advise how your responded to her recent note, it could be she had the time, was thinking of you and was sincerely genuine in the words she typed.

Also keep in mind that when folks forward e-mails to you, they do actually feel they are thinking of you by including you in their mailing.  Both you and I agree that if you were really thinking of someone you would take the extra few moments to type a personal note.  However, in my experience a vast majority believe the same is accomplished, although incorrectly so, by just adding your address to their list.

I’m not making excuses for your friend.  Many do not realize that what they think is thoughtful behavior is actually lazy with a dash of narcissim.  But at the end of the day, if the relationsship is important to you, I wouldn’t let a rash of forwards without personal notes be the cause to end your friendship.

IM Availability Expectations

Many expect that if they “see” you are online, that you have time to chat. In my experience, whenever you don’t do what other onliners expect, or you let them know those expectations are not entirely accurate, (no matter how nicely) they get hurt feelings.

That said, it is perfectly O.K. to let others know when you are not available.  Simply explain you are busy doing research or online for a specific task and are pressed for time and ask when would be a good time to hook up later.

On the flip side, don’t expect just because you see someone is online that they are available to you alone. Ask first if they are available and have time to chat. If they don’t; don’t take it personally.

When it comes to IMing, both sides need to be considerate to, and honest with, the other side about their availability and expectations. By doing so you avoid misunderstandings and will build stronger relationships.

Next Page »