So with the help of the HR Communications server let’s remind ourselves of the ethical rules on using e-mail which we tend to forget most often in the everyday stress of work.
- Make proper use the subject line. The subject of an e-mail should be brief and relevant but, more importantly, it should be as specific as possible. The receiver should be able to decide immediately whether your e-mail is important before opening it.
- Maintain a formal tone. In professional communication treat an e-mail as if it were a business letter. If you do not know the receiver well, maintain a formal tone in your communication.
- Don’t use uppercase letters. Writing a whole e-mail or part of one just using uppercase letters is the same as shouting at somebody. It’s simple, just don’t use uppercase letters.
- Don’t send confidential information by e-mail. Remember, an e-mail is never completely private - especially in companies. So things that you don’t want the whole company to know about should be dealt with by telephone or in person.
- Don’t write e-mails when you are angry. How many times have you regretted what you have written in the heat of the moment? And often the person you are writing to won’t understand what you wanted to say. So always calm down first.
And also remember:
- Always give praise in person, not by e-mail.
- Always read what you have written before sending it.
- Protect the privacy of receivers and use blind copy when you are writing to several different people at once.
- Use “reply all” only if necessary.
- If it is taking the receiver a long time to reply, don’t keep sending him the same e-mail. Pick up the phone.
- Think twice before sending an e-mail message containing something that you think is funny.
-kk-