Email Etiquette at Work

Email communication, even in this day and age has not been given the importance it deserves in most organizations. Most professionals do not understand or even know how they should draft emails and what the proper email etiquette at work is. Before we go on to tell you some of the key points that make up good email etiquette, it is important for you to know why email etiquette is important. One of the main reasons is that a well drafted email puts forward a professional image. They are also more effective at ensuring that the person across understands what you are trying to tell him. Properly drafted emails also ensure that you are not liable for something that has been misinterpreted by the recipient of the email.

Workplace Email Etiquette

The importance of email etiquette has been discussed in the earlier section. It is important to keep in mind certain things, before you send out an email to a colleague or your boss. After all, you do not want to be made out as a person, who does not pay attention to proper drafting of emails and is sloppy and unprofessional in his ways. Given below are some tips that will ensure you follow proper email etiquette at work.

• Always start your email with a proper greeting like Hi, Hello, if you are sending out your mail to a superior, the Dear ABC. Drafting an email without having a proper introduction can make you seem impolite.
• Ensure that the subject line of your email explains the purpose of the main in a concise and brief manner. You would not want someone to ignore the mail, because of incorrect details in the subject line. Proper drafting of the subject also ensures that your mail receives the attention of the recipient on time.
• While drafting professional emails, one of the most important things to keep in mind is to maintain brevity. With everyone running around to get their work done on time, it is of prime importance that you manage to put forward your message in the most concise manner. Another important email etiquette rule at work that you must follow is to never type in capital letters. This only makes it seem like you are screaming for attention.
• When you are sending out an email to a large number of people, according to email etiquette, cc is not as favorable as the bcc option. This is because several people do not like to share their email address with strangers. If you do otherwise, it could be considered an invasion of piracy.
• Email etiquette defines reply to all as an avoidable option to use while replying to emails. Examples of people who have send out mails to people they never intended to are aplenty.
• Avoid sending chain mail, forwards or any other such mail to colleagues, especially from your work id. Also try to avoid the use of emoticons and smileys while sending a professional email. It reflects very badly on you and makes you seem immature and childish.
• Another important part of etiquette is to ask for permission before you forward a colleague's email id to another person for correspondence. Regardless of the kind of relationship you share with the person whose email id you are forwarding, this is one of the worst violations of email etiquette. Examples of such email transgressions are many. Another avoidable thing is to avoid sending images that are random unnecessary emails to all and sundry.
• Avoid sending personal emails from your work email account. Remember that even if you delete the mail, there are chances that the system administrator can retrieve the mails you have sent out.
• One of the most important business email etiquette to follow is to reply to emails as soon as possible. If you are unable to respond to the sender with all the details he needs, inform him that you will reply to his mail as soon as you have time.

These were just some of the etiquette at work that you should follow. Other things that you should remember is to always proofread the email before you send it out, for any grammatical, spelling or content errors. There are many companies who have email etiquette training as a part of their training programs at workplaces now. As long as you follow these tips for email etiquette, you can rest assured that you will not be labeled unprofessional, at least for badly drafted emails.