Importance of Email Etiquette-Netiquette
Email is a significantly important communication method used
in today's business, but the number of employees using email in wrong ways is
shockingly high which badly impacts in company’s’ reputation. Employees who
send unprofessional emails to clients, or worse, sends - personal emails from
company accounts, can easily make the business look bad. It is essential that
the employees know how to write a professional email and the types of emails
should and should not be sent from company email accounts.
Email etiquette, sometimes referred to as netiquette in extensive
terms, is a complicated thing. It's certainly not appropriate to ignore email,
especially from individuals, but we all get busy at times and may be able to do
no more than to acknowledge the reception of those emails and promise to write
in more detail reply at a later point.
Ideally all businesses should enact an Email Policy and make sure that all of their staffs have read it and are aware of the "do's and don'ts" of using this powerful communication method, when and how it is inappropriate to use company e-mail and the office internet for personal purposes. It is advisable that staff sign-off stating they have read and agreed to such a policy.
Apart from being a communication device, email also acts a marketing tool and all employees needs to realize that a poorly worded, ill-constructed email sends a bad image. Companies that take email communications seriously often ensure their employees have received professional business writing training. Again, the immediacy of email makes it too easy to shoot off an email and then regret the action thereafter which is not appreciated in the professional world.
Here are a few basic Email Etiquette guidelines for
employees:
Keep it to the point:
Remind your employees to be clear and brief when sending
those business emails. Emails are meant to communicate a message in a short and
professional manner or recipients may be reluctant to read a very long email in
whole.
Use the grammar/spellchecker:
Always make sure the employees use proper grammar and
spelling in their emails. Nothing is more unprofessional than wrong spellings
and improper grammar in business correspondences. All employees should
proofread every email very carefully before they send it.
Respond in a day:
Employees should aim to reply quickly, preferably within one
business day. Customers, clients, and other business contacts sending emails
usually do so because they want a quick response. Responding quickly to
questions or concerns helps to strengthen your business's professional image.
Avoid large attachments:
Large file attachments (over 3MB) can slow an email - or
worse still - get it bounced in the spam or returned undelivered. If one must
send a large file for business purposes make sure the recipient knows ahead of
time so they are expecting it - or better still, use a recognized 3rd party
"send file" site like drop.io or filesend.net (There are many freely
available online - simply search for 'send file' or 'drop file.'
Don't be casual:
Avoid abbreviations, emoticons, or other information
unrelated to the matter at hand which makes an email look casual.
Don't fast Forward:
Employees should also be discouraged from forwarding chain
emails as they are unprofessional and run the risk of containing viruses.
Remember, email is a great communication method to be used in business but it can also be misused very easily. If the employees are trained to send professional emails or replies in an acceptable manner, it will only add bonus points to the company’s reputations.
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