In the digital age, rapid communication has become easier than ever before. As a result, however, we are often bombarded on every side with requests for communication. Perhaps in an attempt to accommodate this rise in request for our attention, we have developed a sort of commonly accepted shorthand in the form of acronyms, abbreviations and simple letter substitutions for words. While this is certainly understandable, there is still a time and place for such things. Conversely, however, there will always be a time and place to adhere to proper etiquette. Here are some tips on how to train your employees on proper email etiquette.
1. Help Them Understand Why Proper Etiquette Is Important
In many cases, younger people in particular don’t always understand the actual value of proper business etiquette. If you want to be taken seriously in the business world or be viewed as a professional, then professional communication is important. When you need to communicate information quickly to a coworker or supervisor your work closely with on a regular basis, then a certain level of shorthand and informality is fine. Emails to clients, consumers and other colleagues, however, should always be more formal.
2. Short, Frequent Lessons And Tips Are Better Than Long SOP’s
While you should have an official email SOP sheet stored in a file sharing program that is accessible to everyone, you should not rely on people actually reading it. It should be there for clarification when someone has a question, but employees are generally too busy doing their jobs to read long procedural documents. Instead, send out weekly tips in a company newsletter or even just a weekly email. The more opportunities you take to point out the importance of good email etiquette, the more likely your employees will be to take it seriously.
3. Make Sure You Understand Proper Email Structure, Format And Etiquette
No business is exempt from the blind sometimes leading the blind. If you yourself are unclear on exactly what constitutes proper email etiquette, perhaps consider putting someone in charge of setting office standards and policies that is a little more well versed in the subject. As the boss or business owner, there is nothing wrong with admitting you don’t know things. In fact, your employees will probably respect you more for deferring to someone with more expertise in certain areas.
Read more best practices on our sister title, salesandtalent.com