22

Email

22.1 Intoduction

A bane or a boon, email has been with us for over a generation now and has transformed business communication in ways we could not have imagined. Today, email is the most common means of formal written communication, both for communication within an organization and for communication with external parties. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss email etiquettes, common practices that you should follow as a matter of courtesy to your recipients as well as to increase the effectiveness of your communication using email. We will look at the advantages and disadvantages of email as a medium in Section 22.2. In each of the subsequent sections, we will look at specific types of emails: job-application emails, enquiry emails, emails to report problems and emails responding to complaints.

22.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Email

As with any tool, email has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the advantages:

• An email provides a permanent record. This is a double-edged sword because one has to be careful not to use loose statements or inappropriate language in an email.
• You do not have to play phone tag. You can send an email when it is convenient to you, and your recipient can read it at his or her convenience.
• Email is cheap. It is probably the cheapest means of communication.
• Email is ubiquitous. It is available everywhere, on your mobile phones, tablet computers, PCs, etc. With net coverage becoming omnipresent, you can literally access email anytime, anywhere.
• Email can handle most types of data. You can use it to exchange documents, photos, multimedia content or almost all types of data. These days you can send very large attachments with your email and transfer large amounts of data.

  Along with these advantages come certain disadvantages:

• Email brings with it all the problems associated with asynchronous communication discussed in Chapter 10.
• It takes the elements of body language out of the picture.
• It rules out the use of vocal variety.
• The language of communication may not be properly represented in an email.

Next, we will look at different types of email.

22.3 Email to Apply for a Job

This is naturally the first type of email to be discussed, simply because you need to write a good email—along with a good resume—to get into a job in the first place. As a first step, get a decent mail id that contains your name explicitly, even if you may have to add some letters or numbers to it—no ‘cute-one’ or ‘o3tdib’ kind of usernames. Then, find out the correct and official mail id to send your application and follow the basic suggestions given below:

Use an effective ‘subject’line: If you are responding to an advertisement in a newspaper, mention that in the subject line, e.g., ‘Ref: Your Ad Ref HIN/ FOR in The Hindu 12 July 2012—Application for the post of Foreman’. If you are applying through a reference, mention the referring person’s name in the subject line, e.g., ‘Application for Senior Analyst—referred by Dr. Mathur of IIT Delhi’. An effective subject line increases the chances of your resume being considered fit for opening. Do not leave the subject line blank under any circumstance.

Use the right addressing: If you know the specific name of the recipient, make sure you start the mail with ‘Dear Mr. Abraham’ or Dear Ms. Saswati’. Make sure you use the right salutation (Mr/Dr/Ms, etc.). Else, a simple ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear Madam’ would do. If you do not know the gender of the recipient, you can address ‘Dear Sir/Madam’.

Apply the 5F principle but be very brief: Just as the 5F principle (See Chapter 2) opens up your resume to the next stages, applying the same to your cover email can push your application to the resume-screening stage. It is also important that the cover email be very brief.

Make sure you mention the reference: As mentioned earlier, highlight this in the subject line itself and cc the referencing person.

Use footer: The footer of the message should identify your full name, current title, contact address (postal and email), phone/mobile numbers and also give pointers to your website, blog and any social networking site ids (like Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn, etc.).

Keep a copy for yourself: It is always useful to store a copy for your future reference and not be in a rush to delete it.

22.4 Enquiry Emails

In a corporate environment, you frequently solicit information from other people (see Box 22.1).

Let us look at some practical problems in making such enquiries.

• First of all, you may not know where or to whom to send your email. Large organizations tend to operate in silos in a somewhat impersonal way. For you to find out the right person to contact is sometimes not very easy.
• Even if you find out the right recipient the person you send the email to may simply choose to ignore it.
• Pressure to get answers to your enquiries on time might compound the problem significantly.

So how do you resolve this fundamental issue of whom to send the mail to?

• If it is an internal enquiry, you can determine who to send the email to by looking up the intranet directory; usually most corporate intranets provide an easily searchable directory.
• Look up any work products like program source code or documents that you can lay your hands on. The person who last changed this program code or document would be a good place to start with.
• Use your network. You might have talked to someone in that group in a conference or a training programme. Dig out his contact information, pick up the phone and revive the contact. If that someone helped you with the email ID of a valid contact, it is good manners to ‘CC’ the email to that person as well, provided the matter you discuss in the email is not confidential.
• Sometimes, even a generic email to the associate@customer_service kind of address might do the trick.
• Sometimes, you may have to send your email to multiple people in order to increase the probability of your enquiry getting answered. This should be your last resort because whenever you send a mail to multiple people each of the recipients may assume that someone else will respond back to the enquiry.

Once you find out whom to contact, there are a few more factors that you need to consider to make your enquiry effective (i.e., for you to get the information you want). These are:

• Use of subject line
• Simple introduction
• Building in some defence
• Proper wording of the enquiry
• Proper closure of email with appropriate salutation

Let us examine these elements in some detail.

We have already seen some tips for effective subject lines in the previous section. In addition to those discussed earlier, the following guidelines would be useful when you are sending an enquiry mail, especially to an unknown person.

• A subject line that specifies the topic of the enquiry that is likely to arouse interest in the recipient: For example, ‘Storage options: Request for information’. Note that the topic (storage options) comes before the phrase ‘Request for Information’. This is because the topic itself is likely to arouse more interest than the ‘request for information’.
• A subject line that gives the name of the person who referred you to the person to whom you are sending the mail: For example, ‘Referral by John Thomas: Storage options info request’. If John Thomas carries clout and is known to the recipient, this is likely to cause the recipient to open the mail.
• A subject line that carries a credible institution’s name: For example, ‘From IIT, Madras: Request info on storage options’. This again builds credibility by the name of the institution and adds to the interest of the subject matter (storage options).

A simple introduction of yourself is needed right at the outset, because the recipient probably does not know who you are or what exactly your functional role is in your organization. A possible introduction has been illustrated in Box 22.2.

Note that the introduction clearly brings out your first and last name, your organization and your role in the organization—which sets the tone for the authenticity and relevance of the body of the message (see Box 22.3).

The next aspect of an enquiry email is that you should build in some defense. You are sending this email to get the information you want. You do not necessarily know whether the recipient is the correct one for the subject or whether he will help you. At the least, the recipient should not feel irritated by getting your email. If he is not the right person to service your request, he should be happy to refer you to the right person or forward your email to that person. A typical example of such a defense has been given in Box 22.4.

When you are enquiring, let the recipient see the importance, the urgency and the need for your request, and the sincerity of your requestand the appreciation for a response. Try to remember the following points:

• Be specific; do not beat around the bush.
• Bring the crux of the matter within the first couple of paragraphs, possibly within just a few lines.
• Restrict the email to a few questions; do not make it look like a laundry list!
• Number the questions, so that they can respond question-by-question.
• Do not threaten a response.
• Do not give unreasonable deadlines.

An earnest and to-the-point statement outlining your request (see Box 22.5) should form the essence of your email’s body.

Do not use this criticality every time that will reduce your credibility and the chances of the recipient responding to you (let alone responding to you in time).

What would you do if there is a real dependency and you must get the other person’s response immediately? In this case, put some thought as to what you think is the right information to approach and state your viewpoint. If you have some idea of what the right action is and you are looking to the other person’s inputs just for confirmation, you can include a default action (‘deemed approval’) in the mail and unless the recipient has serious disputes and expresses his reservations in a reply email, the default action will be taken (see Box 22.6 for an example).

Please note that this is not a foolproof method nor should this be used to cover yourself with an ‘I told you so’ later. Exercise caution and demonstrate professionalism in expressing the option you think is best.

Finally, have an effective, positive and courteous closure. Reaffirm your positive attitude (see Box 22.7).

22.5 Problem-Reporting Emails

A problem-reporting email arises because a glitch has not been adequately resolved through regular channels. As the author of such email, your motivation should be in problem-resolution and not in lambasting the other person or otherwise venting your feelings. Also, you should be quite tactful in writing such an email and make sure that it coaxes the other party to buy your viewpoint and nudges him into action. You should invoke the right tone, balance and list your suggestions. Remember that people generally do not like to get negative, complaining emails and so, your email should project that you are a reasonable person with a genuine problem that needs to be resolved. Also remember, such emails leave a trail behind and in the rare event the situation gets complicated, your email messages will serve you as a record of the sequence of events.

Direct it to the appropriate person—look at the project plan or the intranet directory or simply ask around and figure out who to hit. At first, fire your email just to that person. If this doesnot work out and you need to escalate the matter, ‘cc’ your email to the person one level above the recipient. You may want to keep your own boss in the loop and ‘cc’ him or her as well. Here too, you have to address some key elements.

Such emails have the following basic structure:

• Addressing/Opening salutation
• Introduction of the sender
• Facts about the subject (problem report)
• Eliciting action
• Closure/Signature

The subject line should clearly and unmistakably introduce the problem to the recipient. As mentioned earlier, the subject line should motivate the recipient to open the email. Vague subject lines like ‘serious problem’ or ‘SOS’ or ‘HELP!!!!!’ are inappropriate. The subject line should bring out two things: the urgency of the situation and a brief abstract of the problem being reported (see Box 22.8).

The introduction part of the problem-reporting email is similar to that of an enquiry email. For more information, see Boxes 22.9 and 22.10.

In order to get the best result adhere to the following:

• Report the problem clearly. Do not mince words trying to be nice or trying to report a problem that is not really important or urgent.
• State the original expectation and what the problem was. As we said in Chapter 18, a lot of the validity of performance depends on the expectation setting.
• If possible, quote instances where the normal expectations have so far been met.
• Present facts to prove the existence of the problem, but do not over-inundate with data. Use only objective data and do not make claims that cannot be substantiated.
• Number the specific concerns you have so that they can respond to your concernsone by one. Restrict to just a few so that you do not look like a perpetual moaner and end up getting solutions for none of the things.
• As with enquiry emails, do not sound threatening or give the recipient unreasonable deadlines.
• And finally, do not make any personal, caste or gender-based remarks.

It is generally a good idea to have a separate, new paragraph for ‘eliciting action’. Here you insist on a time-bound, reasonable and objective resolution of your problem. Be firm, but courteous. For an example, see Box 22.11.

For a problem-reporting email, the closure should have a full signature with the role of the sender so that the credibility and authenticity of the sender is established. There is already a call for action and no specific reaffirmation is required.

22.6 Responding to Complaints over Email

The purpose of this type of email is to respond to a problem assigned to you, either directly or by your manager. Certain points need to be remembered when responding to problems over emails:

• You have to be just as tactful, courteous and professional about writing these emails as in problem-reporting emails. Just as your aim in sending a problem report was to get your problem resolved, here also, your aim should be to resolve the sender’s problem.
• Show agreement with the other person and his observation. Empathize with him. This does not mean you are agreeing that you are wrong. All you are telling the other party is that ‘Okay, I understand you have a problem; let us work together and resolve this. I am equally interested in solving this problem’.
• Even if your instincts say otherwise, rein in your emotions. (It gets even more ugly and unpleasant if the sender copies several other people in the organization and escalates the matter.)
• Work towards resolving the real problem underneath the complaint. Do not be on the path to assign blame to any particular person.

No one likes to be told that there is a problem in what they do. Even though we asked that you should rein in emotions, it is easier said than done. What you do not want to do is mistakenly send a nasty email to the person who reported the problem before you have edited it. Hence, we strongly recommend that you type the response offline in a notepad or word processing document, check it, make changes as appropriate and finally copy that into your mail and send it across.

Be very clear about who all should receive your reply. Some considerations in this regard are:

• Should your manager be ‘cc’-ed if he was not copied in the original complaint email? Use your discretion. If the problem is not a very serious one, do not bug your manager. Save a copy for yourself and if needed you can show it to your manager or include it in your weekly status report.
• Should you copy the sender’s manager? We would strongly recommend you to not do this as it would sound confrontational and is likely to make the recipient more defensive and refuse to accept your solution.
• Should you escalate the matter to a higher level? Should you forward the original email and your reply to any other persons? Again, unless it is a serious issue, we recommend that you do not escalate the mail or cc it to unnecessary people when replying.

The ‘subject’ line is usually not an issue for these mails, because normally you would just need to hit the ‘reply’ button for the original mail. But, if there are too many replies and forwards, it is a good idea to refresh the subject line to avoid the multiple ‘Re’s and ‘Fwd’s that take up all the initial characters of the subject line.

In the body of the email, there is no need to have an elaborate ‘introduction’ as the sender probably knows who you are (or your role in the organization). Always start with a courteous and short preamble and apologize right away for the inconvenience caused, irrespective of what or who caused the problem (see Box 22.12).

If the problem message has a numbered list of problems, take them one by one. Even if the problem is not broken into components by the sender, see if you can paraphrase the problems.

Respond to the concerns with clear objective data, not just your perspective. Document clearly resolutions or actions for each item with ‘what-who-when’.

Do not be overly defensive. But do not assume that you are always right or flawless. Be objective and focus only on the specific problem and present a solution that is mutually satisfactory. Do resist the temptation of ‘getting one back’. Conclude with restating major action items and your (that is, your organization’s) intent on customer satisfaction. For an example, see Box 22.13.

Do keep your promises. Make a follow-through phone call after reaching a reasonable milestone. It is important to register small victories so as to restore or increase customer confidence. Follow the call after such a successful milestone with an email, such as the one in Box 22.14.

22.7 Status-Reporting Emails

Status reporting is a typical upward communication done by an employee through an organization’s hierarchy. It occurs fairly frequently, typically on a weekly basis. This is done to keep your manager (as well as other team members) updated. Such status reports are typically documents sent as attachments to an email. They generally follow a template specified at the organizational/group level. The contents of such reports usually include (but are not limited to) the items in Box 22.15.

When you join a job or change projects within your job, make sure you talk to your manager and understand the reporting requirements—including the frequency of reporting, format of reports to be submitted, recipients to be copied and so on.

22.8 Some Important Email Habits

Some of the email habits that you have developed in college probably have to be unlearnt and undone when you take up a job. Here are some of the things that you may be used to in college which should be avoided when you take up a job:

No personal email from office mail id: In general, keep your personal and official email correspondence separate and do not use your office email id for personal communication. Do not read or write personal email via the office computers, unless there is an urgent need to. In fact, this rule extends beyond email. Do not use office internet (even if after office hours) for Facebook, checking cricket scores, etc.

No forwarding of non-official/chain mails: As a college student, you are probably used to forwarding chain and cascading email—especially those email that you found humorous or otherwise interesting. This is simply a ‘no no’ at work. However, tempting it may be to share an interesting (but not related to work) email with your colleagues at work, realize that this is just an unneeded distraction and a gross abuse of email privileges. Do not look at your colleagues as a bunch of captive recipients for your forwarded emails. In fact, if you send frequent, unimportant emails, you run the risk of being tuned out and ignored by the recipients.

No sexist or politically incorrect emails: While writing or forwarding any official email, be absolutely sure that there are no sexist references or remarks based on caste or political affiliation. Make sure your emails are ‘politically correct’ and that there is no content that can be construed as even borderline offensive to anyone. Not only is political correctness a good social norm but it is the law these days and if you write offensive emails, you run the risk of getting into legal troubles. Remember that emails leave a correspondence trail and you cannot escape the consequences of your action.

No mails with executables as attachments: Executable files are often the primary carriers of viruses. Hence, most organizations ban these in the attachments.

No large attachments: Most organizations place limits on the size of attachments. Make sure you abide by them.

No forwarding of official emails to your personal email ids: Do not forward your official mails to your personal mail ids (like a Gmail id). Some fresh students do this as it is convenient to read the mails in the personal phones or laptops. This is legally not allowed in most organizations.

Do not discuss official matters with anyone outside through email: Never forward any official mail to any outsiders—even if the ‘outsider’ is your spouse or girl friend or boy friend. You would be violating the typical Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) of most organizations and would be inviting serious trouble.

22.9 In Summary

Today, email has become ubiquitous and inevitable. It has virtually replaced the postal system of communication that thrived until a few years back. With email being also accepted as the legal and de facto medium of communication in the business context, your ability to succeed will depend heavily on how effectively you use this medium, notwithstanding the lack of body language and voice. The common types of emails and the approaches to make them effective can act as stepping stones to enable you to hone your email skills.