Office Assistant Week 2 PDF

OFFICE ASSISTANT WEEK 2- MEETINGS, TIME MANAGEMENT, KEEPING ACCURATE RECORDS, EMAIL MEETINGS ANATOMY OF A MEETING Whether we like it or not, meetings are a regular and time-consuming part of business life. Because meetings require planning, coordination, and documentation, they are a major job resp...

OFFICE ASSISTANT WEEK 2- MEETINGS, TIME MANAGEMENT, KEEPING ACCURATE RECORDS, EMAIL MEETINGS ANATOMY OF A MEETING Whether we like it or not, meetings are a regular and time-consuming part of business life. Because meetings require planning, coordination, and documentation, they are a major job responsibility for most administrative assistants. The assistant’s job includes sending invitations to in-house meetings, finding time in the schedules of meeting attendees, and selecting meeting times and locations. A thoughtful administrative assistant is careful to avoid scheduling meetings for early Monday morning or late Friday afternoon. Some executive meetings are scheduled weekly. Despite their being routine, the administrative assistant must still schedule the meetings, send invitations, and send reminders. Work on routine meetings also involves creating meeting agendas that include the names of everyone attending the meeting; the date, time, and meeting location; as well as any advanced preparation required of the attendees. Sometimes a meeting is called with only a moment’s notice. When this happens, the assistant needs to coordinate the meeting by calling the attendees on the phone, seeing them in person, or using an e-mail scheduling program such as Microsoft Outlook. SCHEDULING MEETINGS Scheduling meetings is one of the most common tasks for administrative assistants. In the past, scheduling a meeting was a time-consuming task that involved hard-copy invitations sent as inter office memos. The telephone was usually the preferred method of confirming invitations. Today, with computer technology and groupware software such as Microsoft Outlook ie Teams, the task of scheduling a meeting requires only a few mouse clicks. Despite the advances in technology, scheduling a meeting is not as simple as it looks. There is a lot of judgment involved. Anytime you bring together a group of people, there are many factors to consider. For example, you have to consider pecking order. Some members of the group are more important, so others must change their schedules to accommodate. Decisions about where a meeting is held can be important as well. Is the meeting room large enough and supplied with the right equipment? Can it be reserved for the entire meeting? COMMON PROBLEMS WHEN SCHEDULING A MEETING The following are common problems that occur when scheduling a meeting: The meeting is scheduled and after everyone has been invited, you discover that some important participants can’ t attend. Another date has to be found. This can lead to a cycle of invitations and revisions. You ask the participants about their availability for a meeting, but the available dates and times are so limited that no common date and time can be found. A meeting location is specified, and then it is later changed in a subsequent meeting notice. Some of the attendees follow the original meeting notice and end up in the wrong room. COMMON PROBLEMS WHEN SCHEDULING A MEETING- CON’T Repeated meeting notices and revisions are sent out, so that everyone is confused about meeting. You use an Internet-based meeting scheduling tool, but outside participants don’ t have the same software. A work team uses an Internet system to schedule meetings, but eventually the team members get lazy about updating their schedules and begin to miss meetings. COMMON PROBLEMS WHEN SCHEDULING A MEETING- CON’T No one sends a meeting reminder, and several attendees forget about the meeting. People are invited to a meeting but the meeting organizer didn’t say what it is about, so they show up unprepared. MEETING AGENDAS The meeting agenda is like a roadmap for the meeting. It tells the participants what the plan is for the meeting, providing a sense of direction and purpose. A meeting agenda should include: Meeting start time. Meeting end time Meeting Location Topic Heading MEETING AGENDAS- CON’T Topic detail for each heading. How much time each topic discussion is expected to last. Which meeting participants will facilitate the discussion of a particular topic. MEETING MINUTES Meeting minutes are a record of what took place during a meeting. The minutes allow the meeting attendees to review the meeting later to look for outstanding issues and action items. In some cases, such as stockholder and board of directors meetings, the minutes are required by law and are included in the corporate minute book. While attending a meeting, you can make handwritten notes, type on a computer if the sound of the typing does not distract the meeting attendees, or use a recording device and transcribe the meeting later. Regardless of which method you use, make sure that all of the essential elements of the meeting are noted: type of meeting, company name, date and time, facilitator, main topics, and time of adjournment. MEETING MINUTES- CON’T Make a list of the expected attendees, or review the meeting agenda. As each person enters the room, you can check him or her off the list. Optionally, you can pass around an attendance sheet for everyone to sign as the meeting begins. If necessary , map out a seating arrangement for the meeting and be prepared to introduce any unfamiliar people. If you prepare an outline in advance based on the agenda, you already have the main topics written down and you can keep your notes organized. MEETING MINUTES- CON’T When you transcribe the minutes, you should write them up in formal language according to the following outline: Name of organization Name of body conducting meeting Date, hour and location of meeting List of those present and those absent Reading of previous minutes and their approval or amendment Unfinished business New business Date of next meeting Time of adjournment Signature of recorder MEETING MINUTES- CON’T Avoid the mistake of recording every single comment. Instead, concentrate on getting the essence of the discussion by taking enough notes to summarize it later. Remember, minutes are a record of what happened at a meeting, not a record of everything that was said. TIME MANAGEMENT Time management is an essential skill for an effective administrative assistant. People who use time management techniques are usually the highest achievers in life and business. If you learn time management techniques, you’ll be able to work effectively, even under pressure. The key aspect of time management involves a change in focus. You must concentrate on the end result, not just on staying busy. Many people find themselves very busy throughout the day, but they don’ t achieve much because they are not focusing on the right things. CONTROLLING PROCRASTINATION If you’ve put off important tasks from time to time, you are like many people. We all sometimes procrastinate to some degree. One of the first keys to effective time management is to not let procrastination stop you from achieving in your career. The key to controlling your urge to procrastinate is to recognize when you are doing it and to take action to better manage your time and effort. People procrastinate when they put off something they should be doing in order to do something else that is more enjoyable. People who procrastinate may work just as long and hard as everyone else, but they spend their time on the wrong tasks. Sometimes this comes from not being able to prioritize tasks effectively. If you spend the day being bombarded with one thing after another , you might focus on the most recent task, considering it to be the most urgent even though an earlier project might actually be more important. Similarly, you might decide to tackle the endless list in the order the tasks were assigned, even though that list might not be in priority order. Feeling overwhelmed by an assignment is another cause of procrastination. You can’t figure out how to get started or doubt you have the skills to complete the job, so you put it off in favor of doing other things you feel capable of accomplishing. CONTROLLING PROCRASTINATION- CONT The problem is that the challenging assignment isn’t going away. Other causes of procrastination include waiting for the right mood to take on an important task, being afraid of failure, being too much of a perfectionist, or not having good decision- making skills. Whatever the reason you find yourself procrastinating, you must be honest with yourself and take action. The first thing you should do is make sure you understand the priorities of your assignments. Communicate with your boss or the individual making the assignment and find out when it is due. When there is a conflict between two projects, get help to determine which is more important. Many times your boss may make a request early in the day, only to have a more important assignment come up later. By asking your boss which task takes priority, it’s easy to focus your effort where it is needed most. MAINTAINING AN ACTIVITY LIST To get a better idea of how you are spending your time and what you are actually accomplishing, make a list of your daily activities. After you’ve recorded several days of activity, analyze the list to see how much time you’ve spent doing low-priority tasks. As you examine the list, start by eliminating tasks that are not your responsibility. Are you doing things that someone else in the organization should be doing? Are you doing personal activities at work or sending nonwork-related e-mails? Try to reduce the number of times you switch between tasks. For example, rather than stopping every half hour to read and reply to e-mail, you could schedule time twice each day to focus solely on e-mail. Use your activity list to help prioritize your To-Do list. Schedule the most challenging tasks for the time of day when your energy is highest. CREATING ACTION PLANS Whenever you find yourself facing a large project that seems overwhelming, it’s time to create an action plan. An action plan is a list of all the tasks you need to accomplish in order to complete an entire project. It’ s different from your To-Do list because it focuses on a single goal. To create an action plan, first list all the tasks that need to be accomplished to achieve the goal and put them in the order they need to be completed. As you put tasks on the list, try to break each one into smaller subtasks. Listing a few items may cause you to think of others. Keep the action plan nearby as you begin working through the plan item by item. If additional tasks are needed that were not on the original plan, revise the plan and work from the new version. CREATING ACTION PLANS- CON’T After you’ve completed the project, go back and review the final version of your action plan. Could you have done anything differently? Were you missing some steps? Would a different order of tasks been better? Use your action plan as a learning experience to make improvements in the action plans you create in the future. KEEPING A TO-DO LIST If you feel overwhelmed by looming deadlines or sometimes for get to do something important, you badly need to start keeping a To-Do list. A To-Do list is a prioritized list of all of the tasks you need to accomplish. The most important tasks are at the top of the list; the least important are at the bottom. Many people who become effective at time management say that keeping a To-Do list is one of the main reasons they are successful. If you keep a list in one place of everything you need to do, it’s difficult to forget something. If you review the list each morning and reprioritize it, you can easily tell what needs immediate action. Without a To-Do list, you have to juggle everything in your head. When you accidentally for get to do something, people may think you are unreliable. With a To-Do list, you’re organized and more responsible. Because of this, keeping a To-Do list can be critical to the success of your career. KEEPING A TO-DO LIST- CON’T To create a To-Do list, start by writing down all the tasks you need to accomplish. Larger projects should be divided into smaller tasks, similar to an action plan. Keep subdividing larger tasks until each item on your To-Do list will take no more than one to two hours to complete. Once you’ve written everything down, you can prioritize your list by assigning letters or numbers. For example, all items that have a high priority should be assigned the letter A. All items that have extremely low priority should be assigned the letter F. Continue to prioritize your To-Do list using letters B, C, D, and E. After your first pass, review the high-priority items and see if any of them can be demoted. When you are finished prioritizing, sort the list with the high-priority tasks at the top of the list. You may find it easier to use word-processing software to create your To-Do list, since it is simple to revise and sort. KEEPING A TO-DO LIST- CON’T People use their To-Do lists in different ways. Some create a smaller daily version with a list of all the items they plan on completing that day. They then review the master list each morning and create a new daily To-Do list. You may find that some of the low-priority tasks are carried around from one To-Do list to the next for several weeks or even months. There’s no need to worry about this, though you should not for get about such items entirely. If one of the low- priority tasks has an imminent deadline, you need to raise its priority level. SCHEDULING So far this section has focused on organizing your daily tasks. Scheduling is where your plans become reality. Scheduling is the process where you examine the amount of time you have available each day and plan how you will use it to accomplish the tasks you’ve identified. By scheduling time to work on each task, you will understand what you can realistically accomplish. You’ll be able to make the best use of the time you have available, designating time for those must-do items. You’ll be able to schedule time for the unexpected, so you’ll be prepared for the twists and turns business life may throw your way. As a result, you’ll reduce your stress level by not overcommitting to others. A schedule allows you to take control over your time and your life. SCHEDULING- CON’T Scheduling is best if you do it regularly , such as at the beginning of each week or month. The first step is to determine the times each day when you will work on your tasks. This depends on the nature of your job and your personal situation. Next, block out the time in your schedule. If you use calendar software or Microsoft Outlook’ s calendar feature, you can schedule work time in your calendar to keep other people from scheduling meetings for you during these periods. After scheduling your work time, the next step is to review your To-Do list and schedule the high- priority tasks in your work periods. Make sure you leave time available for the unexpected and schedule contingency time. The time that is left in your schedule is your discretionary time. This is the time you can use to learn new things, plan, organize yourself, and prioritize. If you find that you have little or no discretionary time, you need to revisit your list of tasks and determine if they are all absolutely necessary or whether they can be accomplished in some abbreviated way. KEEPING ACCURATE RECORDS Keeping accurate records and maintaining an up-to-date filing system are important responsibilities for most administrative assistants. Every filing system ever conceived requires that the person maintaining it approaches the duty with a sense of pride. He or she must be confident that any file can be retrieved quickly, perhaps even as the employer is still requesting it on the telephone. Most companies today, even small businesses, store their letters and documents in their computers or word- processing equipment and automatically maintain them there or on disk (see Chapter 13 on database management). However—as administrative assistants know only too well—even with computers, the amount of paper correspondence and documents to be saved seems to grow daily. Large companies often have a central file department where all papers are kept by competent file clerks. Other companies maintain files by division, and small companies may have only a few file cabinets for their entire operation. In these cases, it’s the administrative assistant who is usually responsible for record keeping and maintenance. But no matter what your usual duties, you should be familiar with the various filing systems used in both small and large offices. GETTING READY It’s often tempting, especially at the end of the day, simply to throw a file in its own folder. Don’t. Filing is an important duty , no matter how tedious it seems. Instead of trying to get rid of that file or piece of paper as quickly as possible, approach it with these questions always in mind: Where could I easily find this tomorrow (or next week, or next year)? What’s in this letter or document that would cause me to recall where I’m placing it in the file now? GETTING READY- CON’T Follow this checklist before you start to file: Prepare the papers by separating personal correspondence from business correspondence and documents. Check all stapled papers to be sure that only papers belonging together have been stapled together Remove all paper clips. They not only crowd the file but also can catch papers that should not have been clipped to them. Mend any torn papers with tape. Underline in bright pencil or with a marking pen the name or subject under which the paper is to be filed GETTING READY- CON’T On the file folders, use staggered tabs or one-position tabs. The straight-line tab, all in the center or in the far right position on the edge of the folder , is often preferred. When various sets of files are used, it’ s wise to tab each set with a dif ferent color label. For example, use white for correspondence, blue for subject files, and green for case files. Each category then has its own color for quick recognition. On labels, type the name of the folder on the first line beginning two or three spaces from the left edge. Use initial caps and lowercase letters, and abbreviate freely. Leave two spaces between name and any number. BASIC FILING SYSTEMS Common or basic filing systems that might be used in a business office include the following: alphabetical, subject, geographical, numeric, and combination subject (though the office would probably be a very large one with many technical files to utilize the last). About 90 percent of offices use the alphabetical system. Two less used systems are the decimal filing system and the group name system (sometimes called the phonetic filing system). The decimal system, based on the Dewey decimal classification system, is used primarily in librariesThe group name or phonetic system is used when there are a great many names involved, as in census surveys. Names that sound alike but are spelled differently are grouped together according to pronunciation rather than spelling: Allan, Allen, Allyn; Nielsen, Neilson, Nealson; Schneider, Snider, Snyder. ALPHABETICAL SYSTEM The alphabetical system is the most widely used filing method because it’s the most efficient and least complicated. Material is filed alphabetically according to name. No crossindexing is necessary. A label should be typed for each name and applied to the tab on each folder. Papers are placed in the folder in chronological order with the most current date in front. The folders are filed behind alphabet guides (obtainable in any ofice supply store). When there is heavy correspondence with one client, several folders may be needed to hold all current material. In this case, it’ s a good practice to separate the material into time periods: one folder for the year 2007, another for the year 2008, and another for 2009. If several projects have been handled for that customer, one folder may be labeled FLORIDA, another NORTH DAKOTA, another MICHIGAN, and so on. If only the current year’s files are kept handy (with previous years’ files stored elsewhere), it’s useful, for at least the first few weeks of the new year, to have the old year’s files and the new year ’s files placed back to back or side by side. Of course, a different year is on each file tab, perhaps a different color as well: red for 2008, for example, and yellow for 2009. SUBJECT SYSTEM This classification is used when papers are called for by subject, rather than by a person’s or a company’ s name. Subject classification may be needed when dealing with, say , advertising, brand name products, or materials of all kinds. You should be thoroughly familiar with the papers flowing through the of fice and across your desk before attempting to set up this kind of system. The list of subjects must be comprehensive, as simple as possible, and in alphabetical order or by number code. The alphabetical list is usually preferred so that a cross- index is not necessary. Papers in the subject folder are arranged chronologically, always with the latest date in front. SUBJECT INDEX While an index of files is not required for a small filing system, it’s imperative for large companies. And since most small businesses hope to grow, it’s a good practice to maintain a filing system from the start. The subject index prevents the filing of material under a new heading when a folder has already been set up for that subject, perhaps under a different title. It also permits a person other than the administrative assistant to trace information in the file. An index card is made for each subject heading or subheading. Each subheading shows the main heading under which it is filed. Cross- reference cards are made if the subject is complex. The employer may indicate on the paper where he or she wants it to be filed, while the administrative assistant may have formerly filed that subject under another heading. A cross-reference enables both to find the paper later. The index cards are filed alphabetically. HOW TO ALPHABETIZE FOR FILING AND INDEXING Individual or Personal Names The names of people are alphabetized by their surname. Company or Business Names Words joined by a hyphen are treated as one word. However , if the hyphen is used instead of a comma in a business name, the individual parts of the name are treated as separate words, and therefore the name is indexed by the first word alone. Whether a company name is composed of a compound word or is spelled as two words, it is alphabetized as if it were one word. FILE CABINETS A standard file cabinet has four drawers that accommodate material written on 8½ inch by 11 inch typing or computer paper. An office with many legal-sized papers (8½ inch by 13 or 14 inches) needs a wider cabinet made specifically for these. Your file cabinet should be near your desk, since you go to it frequently throughout the workday. Label each drawer of the cabinet either horizontally (left to right) or vertically (top to bottom). If an alphabetical system is used, the top drawer might be labeled “A–G,” the second drawer “H–M,” and so forth. Many secretarial desks have a built-in file drawer , handy for files used often so you can reach for them quickly without having to leave your desk to go to the larger cabinet. E-MAIL E-mail is short for electronic mail. It involves the exchange of written messages sent over computer networks such as the Internet. In many of fices, e-mail has replaced written memos, drop-by office visits, and even phone calls. E-mail provides a written record of office communications. You can send messages to groups of people simultaneously , attach files, and include hyperlinks to websites. E-mail is one of the most popular and effective tools for communicating with others over the Internet. With e-mail, you can send a message to anyone in the world who has e-mail access—and, barring technical difficulties, the message will be received in a matter of minutes. E- MAIL ACCOUNTS An e-mail account allows you to connect to a network and the Internet. This is done through an Internet Service Provider, or ISP. In many offices, an administrative assistant obtains an e-mail account from the company’s system administrator. This person assists you in setting up your computer to send and receive e-mail and provides you with your user ID, password, and e-mail address. PASSWORDS Passwords can sometimes be case-sensitive. If your e-mail password is all uppercase letters, you need to press the shift key while entering your password. You should never store your password around your computer. Your password should be something that is easy to remember. If you are assigned a password that is hard to remember, change it yourself. Most e-mail systems encourage you to change your password often. The best passwords combine letters and numbers and are at least six characters in length. Never use your name, your user name, your telephone number , your birthdate, your social security number, or family names as passwords. Also, never use any real word that can be found in the dictionary without combining it with numbers. SENDING ATTACHMENTS Whenever you e-mail a message to someone, you have the ability to send additional files along with your message as an attachment. In Microsoft Outlook, you click the ATTACH icon on the toolbar. The Insert Attachment dialog box then appears. You can navigate to the appropriate file and attach it to the e-mail message. You then see the attachment listed or shown as an icon, along with your message. When you receive an attachment, the e-mail program lets you know by showing you a small icon next to the message in your Inbox. In programs like Microsoft Outlook, an attachment shows up as a paper clip icon. When you open the message, you see a listing for the attachment or an icon embedded within the document. Double-clicking the icon opens the attachment file. REASONS FOR SENDING ATTACHMENTS There are a number of reasons why one chooses to send someone an attachment. Here is a partial list of reasons: The recipient can use the attached file to add, edit, or make revisions. You need a document to arrive ready to print and distribute. The recipient needs the document immediately. You need to send a single document to many dif ferent recipients. The recipient is going to distribute the document to others. PROBLEMS WITH ATTACHMENTS E-mail attachments can be big and take a long time to download if the recipient has a slow connection. There can also be translation problems when the recipient doesn’t have the right program or the correct program version for opening and using the attachment. In addition, many viruses spread across the Internet through infected attachments. E-MAIL PROTOCOL FOR SENDING ATTACHMENTS Unless you send attachments to someone on a regular basis, you should always check with the recipient before sending an attachment. Make sure the person has the right software and can handle downloading the file. When you send an attachment, use the e-mail message as a cover letter. Explain what the attachment is and why you are sending it. You can use compression software such as WinZip if you are sure the recipient also has the same software. Compression software reduces the file size and download times for users with slower Internet connections. Always keep in mind that the formatting of a document may change on the recipient’s computer. Many files, such as Microsoft Word documents, are printer -dependent. That means that their layout on the screen and on paper is dependent on what model printer is installed. If you want to make sure a document will look the same on the screen and when printed on a recipient’s computer, use Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Acrobat uses a file format called Portable Document Format (PDF). Adobe Reader, which lets you open and read PDF files. ATTACHMENT PROTOCOL FOR RECIPIENTS Don’t get upset when you can’t open an attachment. When this happens, send a reply and explain the problem. If necessary, ask for word-processing documents to be saved as text or have the document printed and mailed. You should know what kind of attachments you can open. Each program has a file extension—a dot and three characters—added to the file name. The file extension is used by a program to identify its own data files. When you examine an attached file extension, it tells you what program is needed. ATTACHMENT PROTOCOL FOR RECIPIENTS- CON’T The following is a list of common file extensions and the program needed to open them: doc—Microsoft Word txt—Microsoft Word, WordPad, or Notepad rtf—Microsoft Word pdf —Adobe Acrobat Reader xls—Microsoft Excel ppt—Microsoft PowerPoint pps—Microsoft PowerPoint jpg—Windows Paint HYPERLINKS IN E-MAIL MESSAGES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO ATTACHMENTS There is a limit on how large an attachment you can send with an e-mail message. The maximum size varies depending on the recipient’ s Internet Service Provider. One alternative to sending a file attachment is to post the file somewhere on the Internet and to send a link to the file within an e-mail message. In most e-mail programs, when a World Wide Web address appears in the body of a message, it shows up as a hyperlink that the recipient can click to view or download. ORGANIZING YOUR E-MAIL When you receive messages in your e-mail program, they automatically go to the Inbox. In time, the number of messages you receive may crowd the Inbox and make it difficult to keep track of information. You can create new folders to organize your messages. You can then drag and drop messages from the Inbox to the various folders to store and save them. It is important for an administrative assistant to keep a good filing system for e-mail messages. You may want to create separate file folders for projects, personnel, clients, or subjects. You can create folders within folders to further organize your messages. E-MAIL ADDRESS BOOK All e-mail programs have an address book to help you manage your e-mail contacts. There are two ways to generate listings for the address book: You can enter the information manually, or you can add to a list through a menu command. Once you’ve added names to your address book, you should start using it to address messages. SIGNATURE FILES A signature file is a small text file that can be added automatically at the end of your email messages. Signature files are created in ASCII text format, which is a format that can be read by any program on any computer. The content of this file should include your name, title, company name, address, phone number, company website, and your e-mail address. RETURNED MAIL Sometimes a message you send cannot be delivered. When this happens, you receive a message notifying you that your mail has been returned. There are a number of reasons why this could happen. Often, the cause may be temporary problems with your ISP , or the host server of the intended recipient may not have been online when your message arrived. In addition, you may have made an error in the intended recipient’ s address. Should a message be returned to you, read the routing information that appears at the top of the message. Verify that you sent the message to the proper address. If the problem persists, notify your ISP or the person you’re trying to send mail to. E-MAIL PROTOCOL FOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS Since e-mail is a written form of communication, you should follow proper e-mail protocols in order to look professional. You can do this by using proper language and accepted rules. ADDRESSING YOUR E-MAIL To send a message to someone, enter his or her e-mail address in the To field. Always verify the correct e-mail address of a recipient. Sending just one e-mail to the wrong person could be a disaster. If a person is already in your address book, many programs fill in the address automatically when you click on the name. The CC field is for carbon copies. You should add recipients to this field when you want them to have a copy of a message but do not need a response from them. You should use this field sparingly , unless you are certain the recipient knows why he or she is receiving a copy of the message. Using this field can be confusing, since many people consider CC messages as FYI (for your information). The BCC field is for blind carbon copies. When you add a recipient to this field, any recipients in the To or CC field will not know the person in the BCC field was copied. In most cases, you should not use the BCC field to send secret messages behind someone’s back. This can be an e-mail etiquette disaster. Instead, use the BCC field to send messages to a list of people in order to keep their e-mail addresses private. SUBJECT LINE Most e-mail recipients decide when and whether to read a message based on the subject line. Always add a subject to the subject line. Some computer novices and ultra- busy executives forget to add a subject line. Even if you have to reply to a message you receive that does not have a subject line, always add one yourself. Keep your subject short. Many e-mail programs limit the subject line message to forty characters or fewer. Avoid putting “RE:” at the beginning of your subject line. Many programs automatically insert “RE:” in the subject line when you reply to a message. You may want to capitalize the subject like a book title; if so, capitalize the first letter of each word except for articles and infinitives. Always be very specific with your subject lines. A subject like “ISS Meeting on Tuesday” is better than “Meeting.” Make the subject meaningful. If the message generates a back-and-forth conversation, you’ll know what the message is about after you received it for the third time. MESSAGE GREETINGS E-mail should always have a personal greeting and include customized information. With e-mail, there’s no need for the inside address, date, and all the normal things that go into a business letter. However, standard business letter protocol still applies with e-mail. If this is the first time you have sent an e-mail to a recipient, introduce yourself and explain why you are writing. Be respectful of people you don’ t know. BODY OF THE MESSAGE Be respectful of the recipient’s time. Keep your messages short. If one sentence will do the job, use one sentence. If you have to switch subjects, it’ s best to send a separate email so it can be filed separately. Use the active rather than passive voice in your message. The passive voice incorporates various forms of the word followed by another verb. For example, “Documents were drafted by the committee” is passive. An active voice alternative is: “The committee drafted documents.” Keep your language gender-neutral. Avoid using sexist language such as, “The sales man should configure his e-mail program.” Instead, you could say: “The salesperson should configure the e-mail program.” If you make a request in an e-mail message, don’ t forget to add “please” to your request. If someone does something for you, a polite “thank you” is always nice. Always spell-check your messages. Most e-mail programs have a built-in spellcheck feature. Always proofread your messages before you send them. Many people don’t bother to read their messages before they send them, and it shows. Most spelling and grammar errors can be eliminated if you read your messages before clicking SEND. You can use common abbreviations and acronyms used in your business if you are certain the recipient understands them. Avoid using all capital letters in the body of your message. In Internet tradition, this means yelling. However, if you need to emphasize a word like DANGER or WARNING, that’s OK. SIGN-OFFS For business e-mail, you should always end your message with a formal sign-off. Sincerely, regards, or best wishes, followed by your name, are the best salutations for formal messages. For informal communications, you can sign of f with just your name. For external e-mails, always include your contact information: name, title, company name, address, e-mail address, and phone and fax numbers. Alternatively, include your contact information in your signature file. WHEN TO RESPOND TO E-MAILS In deciding how often to read and respond to e-mail, you must balance your workload between productive work and spending all day doing e-mail. Of course, your manager or a customer should get a quicker response than someone else if you are busy. With most e-mails personally addressed to you, you should respond by the end of the business day. Even if the e-mail requires that you perform a task or do some research, you should let the sender know you got the message and when he or she can expect you to complete the task. You can use templates for frequently asked questions, such as directions to your office. You can create a template message in your word processor and cut and paste it into your e-mail message. When you send e-mail to external recipients, you should not expect a reply as quickly as you would with an internal e-mail. Unless a message is urgent, you should wait a few days, even up to a week, before resending the message. Remember , if a message is urgent, you can always call on the phone. WHAT MESSAGES ARE APPROPRIATE FOR BUSINESS E-MAIL? E-mail is not always the best medium for a message. Sometimes it is best to use the telephone or speak with a co-worker in person rather than sending an e- mail message. E-mail is appropriate in business communications for things like directions, requests, information to be saved, information to be copied, and company-wide announcements. THE TONE OF YOUR E-MAIL AT WORK When you e-mail your boss, do not use a casual tone, even if you are friends. Keep your e-mails businesslike. You never know when your boss may need to forward one of your messages to a superior. Never write an e-mail when you are angry. Take time to calm down before you fire off a message you’ll later regret. E-MAIL PRIVACY E-mail is not private. Not only may your messages be forwarded to others, but your company has the right to read anything you write or receive via e-mail. Because your employer pays for the computer , Internet connection, and your time, your business email account belongs to the company. Even if you delete e- mail, it is still available for a company to view. The same rules apply for Web surfing and telephone usage.