Companies expect team members to adhere to the highest possible standards of ethics when conducting business with customers, team members, stockholders and the communities they serve while complying with all applicable laws, rules and regulations that govern our industry.
When team members send electronic messages from within the company, they are representing their organization. Before sending any message, it is important to carefully consider whether it is an appropriate representation or whether it might be potentially harmful to the organization, the customers or the team members.
Email is the fastest growing channel of customer contact due to its low cost and ease of access. “Netiquette” is the word that defines the etiquette that is advocated in electronic communication over a computer network.
Many of us have been on the receiving end of a harsh email. It is important to remember the “human” aspect of communication when using email. Remember these are real people that are on the receiving end of the email. Remember the meaning of the words is all that is available---the “tone of the words” may be offensive and possibly misinterpreted more easily because visual cues are not available such as facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice when communicating through cyberspace.
Reasons to be cautious with email:
- It is company property and should only be used professionally.
- There is a good chance the email will be stored and the words could come back to haunt the author. Be mindful that emails can be subpoenaed. Would you want that email pictured on the front page of the newspaper or on CNN?
- All email is backed up and can be retrieved even though the author may have hit the delete button. Any message sent can be saved or forwarded and the author has no control over it once it is sent. Think about it before hitting that SEND button! If needed, use the “recall’ feature to retract the message.
Email is one channel of communication, but should not be the only one. As great as email is, sometimes a phone call is ‘better than a letter’. It is better to speak to someone directly (face to face or by telephone) instead of sending an email if your message:
- Contains bad news
- Is personal
- Is emotional (scary, sad, angry, tragic, shocking)
- Covers a delicate topic or situation
- If the email is going to be more than a few lines….make the phone call
Sometimes talking to someone takes less time and is more efficient than exchanging several emails, particularly if your topic or request is complex. Ideally, email should be a method of saving time, not a way to avoid talking directly to people.
