Work From Home Email Etiquette
About two years ago, I learned a valuable lesson. A friend of mine had decided to join the ranks of us who work from home. One of the first things he did in his business was to join a co-op. The first person to join his business through the co-op was a woman who could not understand why she was dealing with my friend, rather than the administrator of the program. Consequently, she sent an e-mail to my friend, asking who he was.
My friend gave her a 'smart' response. The only problem was that she was not amused with his response. As a matter of fact, she was turned off by his response.
When my buddy told this story to me, it reminded me of the old saying, "You only have one chance to make a first impression." As this saying continued to ring through my head, I began to think of reason why the woman would be insulted by my friend's response. One reason, is the fact that she did not know him, or even why he was contacting her. Had she known him, and had a prior relationship with him, she probably would have been amused with his manner of response.
With that being said, when communicating with people in a work from home setting, we must be conscious of the fact that most of our communication will be via e-mail. This makes e-mail correspondence more important for those of us who work from home, than those of us who do not. Therefore, when responding to e-mail messages, we must follow a certain etiquette.
Below, I have outlined seven e-mail follow up etiquette tips which everyone who works from home should follow.
1. Respond quickly to e-mails. Too often we may receive an e-mail take our time in responding . Nowadays, you can check your e-mail by touching the screen on your mobile phone. If you plan to work from home, you have to make sure that you are accessible. Make sure that you have a way to both receive, check, and respond to e-mails frequently throughout the day.
2. Make sure that you are responsive to the question. For instance, if there are two questions posed in the e-mail, do not just answer the last question and ignore the first question. Also, read and reread your response to an e-mail, and ensure that it makes sense.
3. Unlike my friend, do not try to be too clever or witty with your response. Although in your head you may think that you are lightening the mood, the person for whom the e-mail is intended might not see things that way. Remember, a lot is lost in translation with e-mails. It is difficult to gauge a person's tone or decipher their intent. Keep things as straight forward as possible.
4. Do not request delivery and read receipts. This can be offensive to some people, because it looks as though you do not trust their professionalism, and need to check up on them. Simply ask the recipient in the body of the e-mail to shoot an e-mail to you to let you know that they received the message.
5. Do not use abbreviations. Remember, you are a professional, not a twelve year old girl sending a message to your BFF Becky to make her LOL. As you probably already know, there are many online and SMS text abbreviations which are commonly used in order to save time in typing. Understand that many of them are confusing and can be misunderstood, especially if your business deals with people outside of your borders.
6. Stay brief and to the point. Remember to respect the value of the recipient's time. They want you to respond to their question in the shortest amount of time, with the least amount of words possible.
7. Exercise courtesy and manners. Even if you are asked a question that you have already answered or that the answer seems obvious, take the time to explain it. Do not make the other person feel like an idiot for asking the question.
While there are many other forms of etiquette which should be executed by those who work from home, the aforementioned must definitely be followed. In a nutshell, when someone wants to know more about you and your business, the least you can do is respond quickly, clearly, and professionally.
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