Email Etiquette

EMAIL ETIQUETTE

Emails can be hard. A well-crafted email can make the difference between a successful working relationship or potential confusion, insult or conflict – all of which can be sensitive, especially if the employees are constantly working remotely.

The appropriate email communication can vary depending on multiple factors including what industry you work in, if you are writing to a senior or a colleague, if you are writing to one or multiple recipients, and if you are writing across cultures. Here are some basic guidelines for email etiquette, which can help you in writing e-mails.

Use a professional email address. If you work for a company, you should use your company email address. But if you use a personal email account – whether you are self-employed or just like using it occasionally for work-related correspondences – you should be careful when choosing that address.

You should always have an email address that conveys your name so that the recipient knows exactly who is sending the email. Never use email addresses (perhaps remnants of your school/college days) that are not appropriate for use in the workplace, such as “desigirl@…”, “beerlover@…”, “stud_boy@…”, etc.

Include a clear subject matter, and don’t shout. Always include a subject matter that in a brief captures what your email is about. If your email is urgent or requires immediate response, include this in the subject line, but do this sparingly. If your email isn’t urgent, then you will only annoy people.

Don’t capitalize all your letters, no matter how urgent your email is, as you will look aggressive – it’s like SHOUTING OVER EMAIL.

Always use an appropriate greeting. Salutations are normally debated. Many say that you should always use a formal greeting. This depends on the recipient. If you are writing to a close colleague or your team, an informal ‘Hi’ will likely be sufficient.

If you are writing in a chain of emails where the context has already been established in a prior email or even by phone, then it’s fine to write with no greeting.

If you are writing to someone you do not know so well then always add a formal salutation and an introduction.

Only use shorthand if you know your recipients. If you are writing to your own team about a project/task that you have been discussing, then you can write short, instructive emails with a list of bullet points. This means they can quickly understand the task and it’s far easier to read on a smartphone.

However, sending notes like this to people you don’t know can make you appear blunt, rude and even a bully. If you don’t have a pre-existing relationship with the recipient, then you need to build one up first before writing shorthand emails.

Consider the purpose of your email. Always state if your email needs an action and by when. Open-ended emails can be confusing. Having an action or even letting the recipient know that no further action is required is helpful, like for review, for information, for approval….etc.

Whatever you do, before you click send, visualize what you want to achieve and modify your language as such.

Reply in a timely fashion. Always reply within 24 hours, even if it is to acknowledge an email and explain that you will revert with an appropriate response within a defined timescale. People don’t like to be ignored!

Include a signature block. Provide your reader with some information about you. Generally, this would consist of your full name, title, the company name, and your contact information, including a phone number.

You also can add your company logo, company website URL or any other URL of company sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, etc, if permitted as per company policy, but do not go overboard with any sayings or artwork.

Always spell check. Sending emails with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors can be annoying for colleagues. They could imply that you’re too lazy to use the spell checker before you click send. Take the time to re-read your emails, make sure they make sense and have the right tone before you send them.

Add the email address last. You don’t want to send an email accidentally before you have finished writing and proofing the message. Even when you are replying to a message, it’s a good precaution to delete the recipient’s address and insert it only when you are sure the message is ready to be sent.

Double-check that you’ve selected the correct recipient. Pay careful attention when typing a name from your address book on the email’s “To” or “CC” line. It is easy to select the wrong name, which can be embarrassing to you and to the person who receives the email by mistake.

Reference/Citation/Source

15 Email Etiquette Rules Every Professional Should Follow
https://www.inc.com/business-insider/email-etiquette-rules.html
Email etiquette: 10 golden rules for sending work emails
https://www.sagepeople.com/about-us/news-hub/hr-guide-email-etiquette/#