October 2016 Credit Management magazine

It is not always appropriate to hit the ‘reply all’ button,
especially when it’s something as innocuous as an internal
email telling you there are cakes in the kitchen for
somebody’s birthday. Use your judgment.
I’ve had a good weekend on a Monday.
Neither require an answer, but both
hark back to the golden days of basic
politeness and respect.
COPYING TO COLLEAGUES
Perhaps the biggest bone of contention,
certainly among my peers who are
now in very senior positions, is when a
colleague copies you needlessly into
an email. The act only has one possible
explanation: it is done to cover a
junior’s backside should a subsequent
explosion occur. Then they will be able
to say that you were ‘in the loop’. Well
chaps, us old’uns are wise to it and have
been for some time. If it’s important,
then pick up the phone. Or better still,
why not walk around to your boss’s desk
and tell him. You’ll be surprised at how
well it is received.
REPLY ALL
It is not always appropriate to hit the
‘reply all’ button, especially when it’s
something as innocuous as an internal
email telling you there are cakes in the
kitchen for somebody’s birthday. Use
your judgment. Don’t be lazy. We all
get enough pointless emails everyday
without another 50 saying ‘yummy’.
EMAIL TIMING
I had a client who would send an email
after the end of the working day (ie after
6.00pm or later) and then chase the
following morning to see if the work had
been actioned. This is another wheeze
that has long been exposed for the
scam that it is so don’t do it. It’s a bad
habit, and one that suggests you don’t
have much of a life outside of work. And
don’t rely on email. If it’s urgent, pick
up the phone. By all means confirm
a discussion by email (indeed that is
excellent use of the email channel)
but never ‘assume’ that your email has
either a. been received or b. is being
actioned. A polite email to ask whether
an email has been received is perfectly
acceptable, and helps to jog the
memory of those who have genuinely
forgotten to do what it asked!
OUT OF OFFICE
A former colleague of mine, and the
current editor of this tome, likes to have
a little fun with his out of office notices.
Much as I enjoy the odd witty line, it
would not suit every email user so
you must decide on what most seems
‘natural’ to your character. If you wish a
simple ‘I am on annual leave’ then so be
it. I respect those who tell me they are
having email issues (again that should
be a cue to pick up the phone if urgent)
or that they may only look at emails
between certain times, although the
latter implies a self-importance that can
be a tad wearisome.
READ WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN
Finally, and perhaps blindingly
obviously, do read what you have
written before sending. There are
no points for fastest finger first, and
we’ve all witnessed the calamities of a
misspelled word. I often wish people a
‘god’ weekend, which is harmless, but
get a word like ‘account’ wrong and you
can be in all sorts of danger!
How I wish for those days
when an email was a rare
treat, an event, something
to actually look forward to.
Nowadays there is a sense
of dread when I switch on
my device (fully ‘synched’ of
course) and the emails begin
downloading and taunting
me to respond.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com October 2016 45