Tips for using your company email

First we will start with the basics . . . when sending email:

Be Concise: Get to the point of your email as quickly as possible, while insuring you have covered the important details and resist adding unecessary or irrellevent dialogue.

Be Professional: Avoid using slang or profanities in your email dialogue

Use Correct Spelling and Proper Grammar: Try to avoid typos and spelling errors, while paying attention to the basic rules of grammar. Take a moment to proofread your email before sending it.

Ask for permission to send attachments: Because of computer viruses, many people won't open attachments unless they know the sender. Proper email etiquette is to always be certain that the recipient of an email attachment knows you are sending an attachment. If there is any doubt whatsoever, send a prior email asking spcifically for permission to send an attachment. This will become relaxed somewhat as your relationship with the recipient grows.

BCC and "Reply to All": should only be used internally (within your company) and only when the reply is relevent to all recipients. In most cases of sending a reply or an email to multiple recipients, the CC function is the most appropriate. This is so simply because by entering the email addresses of the other recipients manually, this method is far more selective and far less prone to error. This method will not clutter the inboxes of others with irrelevent emails. It must always be remembered that when dealing with other companies via email, it is expected by all parties that email addresses are treated with respect. Careless use of the BCC or "Reply to All" functions will inevitably distribute the email addresses of companies you are dealing with to people or companies they may not know.

Develop good habits: Complete the subject line of outgoing emails with a topic that describes the content of the email you are sending. If you have back and forth email dialogue with someone concerning the same topic, make their life easier by adding a number to the subject line (i.e. reply#3). Try to imagine what their email inbox looks like, numbering your replies allows the recipient to easily differentiate between emails you have sent them. Always begin the content of an email with an appropriate greeting (this is dependent on your level of familiarity with the recipient) and close off with an appropriate salutation such as; regards - your name, or Yours Truly - your name.

Responsibilities when using company email: Despite what employees may feel about the issue of privacy concerning their company email address, in reality the company has every right to monitor how an email utility they are providing is being used. Furthermore, the company can be held responsible for nefarious use of email by an employee, so the best rule of thumb is to always stick to business and adhere to company policies. No company will begrudge an employee sending an email to their spouse to pick up a quart of milk on the way home from work for example, but prolonged back and forth email dialogue not related to business should be avoided. Never use a company email address to register for online products, services or social networking sites. There are many free email options for those purposes.

Keep in mind that your company email address bears the company name, anything sent via your company email address may be viewed by the recipient as being representative of the company.