Etiquette Tips When Emailing Coworkers

Introduction

Many people use email as a form of personal and business communication on a daily basis. When emailing anyone, there are certain rules of etiquette that you must adhere to. This is especially important when emailing co-workers. Let’s take a look at some of the etiquette tips we should consider when emailing co-workers.

Step 1

The last thing you want to do is send an email that you really didn’t want to send. Before sending any email message to a co-worker, always take a 2nd glance. Proofread the email contents and make sure you u included everything you need to. Check for grammar and spelling errors. The overall appearance and the words you use in your email communications are important.

Step 2

While you may want to relay a message to your co-worker, you don’t want to confuse them with too much unnecessary mumbo jumbo. Make sure the contents of your email are legible, sensible and try to keep it as short as possible without shortchanging the message you wish to relay. Emailing anyone should be intended for communication purposes so you definitely don’t want to overwhelm a co-worker by having an email that is too lengthy or wordy.

Step 3

Make sure your subject line actually reflects what the email is about. Writing a subject line that doesn’t introduce what the email is about could confuse someone. Your subject lines should not be too lengthy and you also need to make sure your spelling and grammar are correct.

Step 4

Before emailing large attachments to your co-worker, you should ask if it is okay to do so. There are other ways you can get a large document to your co-worker. If emailing them isn’t acceptable then you can always put it on a disk or the company server with other shared documents. Some people find the larger attachments more difficult to manage when they are emailed to them.  You can always compress files before sending them through email.  

Step 5

Typing your email in all capital letters is also on top of the “do not” list when emailing. Capitalize where it’s needed and for words that may need to be stressed, you can always underline or highlight those. You don’t want to make it appear as you are shouting to your co-workers in the emails you send.

Step 6

Start and end your emails with appropriate greetings and endings. You can add in a “good morning” or “good afternoon” which will give the email a more positive look. You don’t have to get too fancy with beginnings and endings, but you want to make sure you at least acknowledge the person and greet them as if you were greeting them in person. When emailing co-workers you need to try to be upbeat and avoid any negativity in your greetings and endings. If you aren’t sure what to use when ending the email, you can just simplify it and a simple “thank you” will be sufficient.

Step 7

When emailing co-workers, you are most often going to be using secure servers that are intended for business use. Different companies have different policies regarding email an internet usage. Make sure you compose your email in a professional manner and avoid using abbreviations or emoticons. Watching the tone of your email and reflecting a positive tone should be enough to keep you out of the negative zone so it’s not necessary to add in extras like smiley faces in order to make your email have a positive tone.

Step 8

Emailing a co-worker is something you may likely be doing on a daily basis while you are at work. The information here are just some of the useful tips you will want to keep in mind when emailing co-workers. There are many more rules of etiquette that should be put to use when emailing. Email is intended to be used as a form of communication and following these simple tips will help you relay the message you needed to and will help avoid any confusion when your co-worker receives your email correspondence.

Tips

Always make sure you use the proper spelling and grammar in any email.

Company policies regarding internal email use may vary.  Make sure you understand your employers email policy.

 

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