Sending Emails to the Right People
These are my tips on sending emails to the right people.
Sending Emails to the Right People
It is hard to imagine a working day that does not involve email. Even holidays and sick days often require you to check your inbox, to make sure you have not missed something crucial. There are downsides, however, to people's reliance on this medium. Email's speed and ease of use mean that messages are often composed quickly and delivered after very little reflection. But the content of your emails, and crucially, the recipients you include, require planning and thought. If you want to be taken seriously at work, you have to take how you communicate seriously too.
Using the "to field"
Let us look at a few problems first. In particular, those that can arise when you pre-address emails, do not include direct recipients in the "to field", or include too many recipients in the "to field". The problem with pre-addressing your emails is that it makes it too easy to send an inappropriate or unprofessional message, which could have lasting consequences. It seems obvious to say, but you should always review an email message carefully before sending it. Many people do not do this. They are all pushed for time. However, this final review can save you from having to spend time trying to patch up a broken relationship caused by a hasty reply. So, do not enter a recipient in the "to field" until you have written and reviewed your email.
If you are replying to a message from someone else, delete the recipient from the "to field" before composing your response to eliminate the possibility of accidentally sending an incomplete or rash message. Business messages are often relevant to more than one recipient. Direct recipients are individuals who have to act on your message or reply directly. Put their addresses into the "to field" of your email.
Suppose you have completed an order for a new server on behalf of your company. You want to confirm the order in an email to Rob, the head of procurements, so you put his address in the "to field". You also believe it is necessary to inform Matt in IT of the confirmation, as he will be the person installing the server when it arrives. You add Matt to the "to field".
Ever receive an email where it is unclear who should take action because everyone is in the "to field"? This is a common problem. The solution? Do not include too many direct recipients in the "to field". If you overdo the number of direct recipients, they may not take responsibility for replying to the email, because each may think that someone else will respond.
There is also a risk that each recipient may wait to see how others respond before replying. With the result that nobody responds or everyone weighs in behind the most influential personality. Make sure your direct recipients are people who are directly involved, who understand what their role is in relation to your message. You will be more clear about what you are asking for in your email messages if you are clear about who needs to be included in the "to field".
Using the "cc" and "bcc" Fields
The "cc" or carbon copy address field, and the "bcc", or blind carbon copy address field, are useful email features, but are often misused. You can create a nuisance by "cc'ing" people unnecessarily, cause offense by "cc'ing" over the head of someone, or even generate scandal by confusing the "cc" and "bcc" fields.
Let us consider basic etiquette rules in relation to these fields. First, use the "cc" field to copy someone from whom you do not require a direct response. Be aware that any addresses you add to this field can be read by other recipients. Use the 'cc" field sparingly. Always ask yourself, why are you copying someone? Is it really important to copy this person, or are you just adding unnecessarily to the list of emails they will have to read? Too much copying confuses recipients, jams up their email inboxes, and wastes people's time. If you overuse the "cc" field, your emails may end up being ignored.
One good reason to use the "cc" field is to keep the recipient visibly in the loop regarding discussions. And maybe, for example, that your company has processes that demand this type of visibility. Another good reason for using the "cc" field is to keep people informed so they can track discussions and monitor situations without being directly involved.
Also, do not use the "cc" field to copy over someone's head. Say you are not happy with the role your manager has assigned you on a project. You write him an email, making this point. But then you include his manager in the "cc" field. You have just escalated the situation before your boss has even had a chance to respond to your complaint.
What about "bcc"? When do you use this field? Use it when you want to include recipients in an email without disclosing them to direct or "cc" recipients, thereby protecting the address and privacy of the party and the "bcc" field. Suppose you are an HR manager that informed a candidate for an upcoming interview. You may include the panel interviewers in the "bcc" field. You want the interviewers to know the applicant has been informed of the date, time, and place for the interview. But you do not want the applicant to know who will be conducting the interview or what their addresses are.
Before using the "bcc" field, ask yourself why you need to copy anyone secretly. Think about your motives and make sure your intentions are respectable. People often consider their emails private, even when they do not say so. If you really have a good reason to copy someone on a message, consider using the "cc" field or emailing other recipients separately. Following this guidance on using the "cc" and "bcc" fields correctly can help you avoid some of the worst problems that result from email communications.
Flagging Emails
All of your email messages are important. But some may be more important than others. Indicating the priority status of an email can help you communicate better. Most email systems allow you to set the message priority when you compose a message. How you set the status of an email decides the priority flag it receives in the recipient's inbox. Emails automatically receive normal priority when they are created. When you give an email a high priority flag, that email will stand out and be noticed.
You can also set a low priority flag for emails that are unimportant or that do not demand a reply. Priority settings can be important when your message requires someone's attention urgently, or alternatively, when you feel the recipient should not divert themselves from other priorities to look at your email.
Let us examine best practice for using these settings. Do not overuse high priority flagging. High priority flagging is only useful for urgent emails that may demand immediate action. Using this flag helps to get your email noticed and read in a business environment where people deal with many emails daily. But do not cry wolf and misuse the high priority flag for a message of normal or low priority just to get a quick reply. If you are seen as someone who regularly overstates the priority of your messages, you may not be able to get someone to read your email when the message is genuinely urgent.
The low priority flag can be used for sending an email that is not urgent, or is casual. Use it for when you can get around to it kind of email. Or for issues not directly related to work. Imagine you want to send three emails. The first, to a colleague, has the subject line "team building ideas for next year". The second email is an urgent schedule change request. And the third, to a security company requesting a quote for a conference that is due to take place in six months' time. How would you set the priority status for each message? Due to its urgency, you might set the status email requesting a schedule change to high priority to ensure that it is addressed immediately. The team building email is not as important and is more exploratory than urgent. So you give it a low priority flag to let your colleague know that it does not require attention or a response, and can be read at any time. Finally, because the request for a quote is not urgent, you leave the status setting on this email as normal priority. Recipients can see that the message is neither very urgent nor casual and unimportant. And that they are free to reply at their convenience. Setting the priority of all your email messages appropriately will help ensure you get the response you require when you need them.
Targeted Email Replies
Suppose your manager is looking for your private opinion on a performance report she is sending to an employee. She includes you in the "bcc" field of her email. You compose your response but, without thinking, hit reply to all. The employee gets to see your opinion. But also the fact that you were secretly copied on the manager's original email.
Who you send email messages to is important because it can affect, and sometimes disrupt, work and business relationships. Consider some best practices for using, "reply" and "reply all". You have probably been at the receiving end of emails from annoyed colleagues asking why you have included them or did not include them on a particular email. Nobody wants to have to take the time to figure out if the message is directly relevant to them. Always edit the addresses in the 'cc" field, so that you copy only people who require the information you include in your response.
When replying, update the subject line of your email to reflect the content of your response. Updating the subject line will make it easy for recipients to identify what your message is about, and to find it in their inboxes. Reusing the same subject line repeatedly can mean recipients confuse your response with previous emails with the same subject lines. The recipient may have to open lots of messages to find yours. Always include the original thread of the email below your response. The thread is a record of all the communication that has occurred before your current response. It covers the original message and any previous replies.
By default, the thread appears below your new reply. Do not delete the thread or compose a completely new email message to respond. If there is no thread, recipients may have to search for and read other emails to figure out what you are referring to.
Choosing the "reply to all" option means that your response to an email will automatically be addressed to all recipients of the original message. "Reply to all" is a powerful feature, but it is often used incorrectly, roping a bunch of people into a response that just is not relevant to them. Best practice for "replying to all" is to avoid overusing it. Use it only if everyone who is included in the "to field" and "cc" fields needs to read the response.
And if you have been included in the "bcc" field of an email, avoid using "reply to all". The last thing you want is your identity shared and the fact that you were secretly copied. Using "reply to all" to send personal messages of thanks or agreement is not a good idea. Instead, send thank you and me too replies to the direct recipient. Following these best practices in your email replies will make your communications more effective.
Forwarding Emails
Forwarding emails is a fast way to pass on information to others, but it can create problems if used incorrectly. For example, if the email you forward is not of use to the people you send it to, you are adding needlessly to the stack of emails they have to get through. If it includes content that may offend, forwarding it could upset recipients and damage your organization's reputation. Let us consider guidelines for forwarding emails.
As a general first step, always ask the author of an email if you may forward it to others. With all the communication traffic in a workplace today, some people lose sight of the fact that business email is confidential. Forwarding a message carelessly can violate the privacy of your company and your colleagues. It can also reveal private information like company addresses to people who should not have access to them. Before forwarding an email, ask yourself, why am I forwarding this information? If the information is not relevant to the recipient's work, do not forward it.
There are certain kinds of email you should never forward, including mass marketing emails, also known as spam. Look out for chain letter emails which usually promise rewards if you forward them or terrible consequences if you do not. When you forward an email some email applications add forwarding symbols such as right-pointing arrows at the start of each line of the original message. Always delete these forwarding symbols and other forwarding headers from your message before forwarding it as they make an email confusing for recipients.
An email that you have cleaned up is more likely to be taken seriously. Do you ever receive a forwarded email and find yourself puzzled about its relevance to you? It is always a good idea to explain why you think the email you are forwarding is relevant to the recipient. Add a personal comment or greeting above the message. How do you respond when you are one among dozens of people targeted by an email? Probably slowly and indifferently, if at all.
Avoid forwarding messages to many recipients at once, because you cannot include a personal comment explaining the relevance of the message to each recipient. When you forward an email to other people, the addresses of previous recipients display by default in the message pane immediately above the original message. Delete these addresses before forwarding the email to protect their privacy. If you have to forward an email to different recipients who do not know each other, add all the recipients' addresses to the "bcc" field. This ensures you do not reveal the recipients' addresses. Add your own address to the "to field" so that you can send the email. Applying these best practices demonstrates respect for the people you communicate with and can help ensure your message is professional and easy to follow.
Poor Copying Practices
You are unhappy with a colleague's response to a proposal you made, so you email him again, this time copying his manager and the CEO. You may feel you had no alternative, but by copying over someone's head you have just engaged in a form of manipulation. This approach may achieve results but it will not win you many friends. You will come off as self-serving and may turn a simple situation into a nasty personal attack. Before you copy people on emails ask yourself why you are copying them. The only good reason to copy someone is to keep them visibly informed.
So what are inappropriate motives for copying a message over someone's head? Consider these examples. A colleague says something that embarrasses you in a meeting with a client. Back at your desk, you fire off an angry email and copy the message to your manager. You are clearly acting from the wrong motive, copying over your colleague's head just because you are angry. Some people may copy over someone's head in order to promote themselves or make themselves look good. An example might be copying a manager on emails sent outside work hours to highlight you are working overtime. If it is truly important, tell your manager directly. It is clearly inappropriate to try to manipulate someone into doing what you want by revealing your intentions to other recipients.