The next time you send out a letter to someone, I suggest you get the office guillotine and slice off the contact details at the bottom of your letter headed paper – is this woman mad? You wouldn’t do it, would you?
And yet in our research, nearly 60% of suppliers and clients forget add their contact details to emails. It slows up communication and affects the brand image of your organisation. Research that indicates that:
70 % of communication now takes place through Email and
10 Years of our working lives is spent on Email.
Yet, 95 % of people have never been taught how and when to use Email appropriately. It just crept into our working practices and sometimes it is inappropriately used.
Use our top tips for being a great communicator when using email:
- Make sure the subject line relates to the content of your email
- Be polite. Start by saying Good morning, Good afternoon, Dear or Hello. Avoid using the person’s name only.
- Avoid using cc in emails – people are overloaded with information. Only email someone if they really need this information.
- State clearly WHAT you require your receiver to DO and by WHEN.
- Any more content than A4 in emails and you probably need to have a meeting or a discussion.
- If your communication could be at all emotive or is on an emotive issue, such as a customer complaint, think about picking up the phone and discussing with the person.
- Take your time and check every email. When we sent out memos to people years ago, we checked them. All your colleagues and clients have is your email to judge you on, so make sure your every email reflects your professional standards.
- Avoid slang, jargon and personal comments. Employers are liable for up to 14 laws relating to email.
- Step back and think of the effect of the words and style used in your emails. How do you come across? You may be grammatically correct and yet your style is non assertive or aggressive. Read important emails out loud to check for style and tone.
- Always end with Best Regards and your full contact details.
Some facts about email:
- Your job is probably not about clearing your inbox. What are your priorities?
- Up to 50% of email is non-business related.
- It is the 2nd highest cause of stress in the workplace
- 90% of customers/colleagues judge us on our email behaviour
- Emails are set to double in the next two years
We run 2 hour training acorns to develop staff in email etiquette. Call us on 01933 227 695 to discuss.
