Corporate Etiquettes!

Guide to Being Better!

it’s a matter of Choice

Roadmap

Etiquettes… Why?…. When?

Etiquettes of ‘X’ ?

Telephone Manners

E-Mailing Etiquettes

Business Meetings

Etiquette in Cubical.

Etiquette

Etiquette: French: Ticket

Courtesy: Court

Civility: Latin: City

Etiquette – Why ?

Good Manners make Good Sense

Person Represents a Bigger Larger Entity

Becoming more Acceptable

Was not a Subject in School Curriculum

Cultural Differences

Etiquette – Why ?

Possessing a high level of etiquette knowledge and skills builds confidence and instills the perception of trustworthiness in others.

Be in a learning mode when it’s about Etiquette

Why..

Etiquettes When ??

Q: When You follow Good Modeling / Good Coding / Good Testing / Good Drafting / Good Validation / Good Communication practices…

A: Ideally Always

When you are Representing (Host/Guest)

Practice As Much As Possible.

Etiquettes of…CubicalElevatorFlightDiningDressingIntroductionBusiness CardWash RoomGifting….. Anything…

We’ll cover a few

Telephonic Etiquettes

Telephones75 - 80% of today’s business is conducted by telephone. Return phone calls promptly. It’s disrespectful not to return someone’s call. If someone reaches you in error, return the call and redirect them to the appropriate person.

Sit up straight, breathe deeply, talk into the mouth piece and smile. Your body language will be reflected in your tone of voice and communicates your interest in the caller.

Always make an attempt to answer the call by the second ring.

Do not eat, drink or shuffle papers when you are answering and talking on the telephone.

TelephonesDo not answer a business phone with “hello.” Say instead, “Good morning or afternoon, your department name, then your name. Make sure you enunciate clearly without running words together.

Avoid keeping a caller on hold for more than a minute. If it takes longer than that, get back to the caller, explain and apologize for the delay.

Be attentive to the caller. Callers should not feel that they are competing with other people or distractions for your attention.

Telephones

Always end a call with good-bye.

Don’t wait outside a co-workers office or cubicle waiting for him/her to finish up a phone call. Leave and try again later; leave a note, or call and make an appointment to talk.

Don’t listen in on co-workers phone conversations -- if you share office space or are in an adjacent cubicle, this may be unavoidable. Try to keep busy while the person is talking and never comment on what you’ve overheard.

Telephones

Cellular Phones: When using a cellular phone keep to areas where you won’t disturb others, and keep your voice as quiet as possible. If in a restaurant, try to remove yourself from the dining area to a quiet corner of the room so as not to bother others. If you’re on a train, plane or mass transit and must take or make a call, keep it as short and discreet as possible.

Speaker Phones: A speakerphone is a great convenience when several people need to participate in a conference call. But in a two-person conversation, it often annoys or offends the person whose voice is being broadcast, particularly if s/he hasn’t been told the speaker is being used. Use it only when necessary and avoid using it with a client or in a cubicle.

Voice Mailbox

If you’re going to be out of the office, indicate this in your message.

If you will be away for an extended period of time, state your anticipated date of return, whether or not you’ll be retrieving messages during your absence and if not, provide an alternate contact.

When you are the caller, specify the purpose of your call rather than simply saying, “Please give me a call.” This way, s/he will know the purpose and can prepare a response in case s/he reaches your voicemail.

While identifying yourself when leaving your message, speak clearly, pausing between your first and last name. Spell difficult names. State your phone number slowly at the beginning of your message, repeating it at the end.

Email Etiquette

Why is email etiquette important?

We all interact with the printed word as though it has a personality and that personality makes positive and negative impressions upon us.

Without immediate feedback your document can easily be misinterpreted by your reader, so it is crucial that you follow the basic rules of etiquette to construct an appropriate tone.

The elements of email etiquette

General format

Writing long messages

Attachments

The curse of surprises

Flaming

Delivering information

Delivering bad news

Electronic Mailing Lists

General Format: The Basics

Write a salutation for each new subject email.Try to keep the email brief (one screen length).Return emails within the same time you would a phone call.Check for punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors

Use caps when appropriate.

Format your email for plain text rather than HTML.

Use a font that has a professional or neutral look.

General Format: Char Spacing

Try to keep your line length at 80 characters or less.

If your message is likely to be forwarded, keep it to 60 characters or less.

Set your email preferences to automatically wrap outgoing plain text messages.

General Format: Lists and Bullets

When you are writing directions or want to emphasize important points, number your directions or bullet your main points.

For example,Place the paper in drawer A.Click the green “start” button.

Another example, • Improve customer

satisfaction.• Empower employees.

General Format: Tone

• Write in a positive tone

“When you complete the report.” instead of “If you complete the report.”

Avoid negative words that begin with “un, non, ex” or that end with “less” (useless, non-existent, ex-employee, undecided).

Use smiles , winks ;), and other graphical symbols only when appropriate.

Use contractions to add a friendly tone.

(don’t, won’t, can’t).

General Format: Addresses

Avoid sending emails to more than four addresses at once.

Instead, create a mailing list so that readers do not have to scroll too much before getting to the actual message.

To: maillist4@cs.com

Attachments

When you are sending an attachment tell your respondent what the name of the file is, what program it is saved in, and the version of the program.“This file is in MSWord 2000 under the name “LabFile.”

General Tips for E-Mailing Lists

Avoid discussing private concerns and issues.

It is okay to address someone directly on the list. Ex, “Hi Leslie, regarding your question”

Change the subject heading to match the content of your message.

When conflict arises on the list speak in person with the one with whom you are in conflict.

Delivering Information About Meetings, Orientations, Processes

Include an elevator summary and table of contents with headings.Provide as much information as possible.Offer the reader an opportunity to receive the information in Hard Copy if the email is too confusing.

Delivering Bad News

Deliver the news up front.

Avoid blaming statements.

Avoid hedging words or words that sound ambiguous.

Maintain a positive resolve.

Writing a complaint

• You should briefly state the history of the problem to provide context for your reader.

• Explain the attempts you made previously to resolve the problem.

• Show why it is critical for the problem to be resolved by your reader.

• Offer suggestions on ways you think it can be resolved or how you are willing to help in the matter.

Writing a complaint

Ask for help and offer a resolution:

“Please let me know what other options I may have overlooked. I am willing to meet with the department head and the executive board to seek out a solution that is fair to the members and is good for the business of the organization. ”

Do not take your reader by surprise or press them to the wall

• Do not wait until the end of the day to introduce a problem or concern via memo or email.

• Avoid writing a litany of concerns that you have been harboring for a long period of time.

Flaming in emails

• Flaming is a virtual term for venting or sending inflammatory messages in email.

• Avoid flaming because it tends to create a great deal of conflict that spirals out of control.

• Flame fights are the equivalent of food fights and tend to affect observers in a very negative way.

• What you say cannot be taken back; it is in black and white.

Keep flaming under control

• Before you send an email message, ask yourself, “would I say this to this person’s face?”

• Calm down before responding to a message that offends you. Once you send the message it is gone.

Read your message twice before you send it and assume that you may be misinterpreted when proofreading.

When you need to flame

There are times when you may need to blow off some steam.

Remember your audience and your situation before sending the email.

Here’s a way to flame:

Flame On

Your message

Flame Off

Responding to a flame

Empathize with the sender’s frustration and tell them they are right if that is trueIf you feel you are right, thank them for bringing the matter to your attentionExplain what led to the problem in question

Avoid getting bogged down by details and minor argumentsIf you are aware that the situation is in the process of being resolved let the reader know at the top of the responseApologize if necessary

When Email Won’t Work

There are times when you need to take your discussion out of the virtual world and make a phone call.

If things become very heated, a lot of misunderstanding occurs, or when you are delivering very delicate news then the best way is still face-to face.

Meetings

When announcing a meeting, state its purpose.

Prepare a written agenda, distribute it to all participants in advance and follow it. If requesting input from invitees, give a deadline for the entries so that they may be added to your agenda.

Inform each person of the significance of their presence. If inviting someone whose role does not warrant a listing on the official meeting agenda, be specific as to the importance of his or her presence.

Meetings

Set time limits on speaking, encourage everyone to participate, and don’t allow anyone to monopolize the meeting. If someone is taking more than their share of time, interject something like, “Thank you, Tom. Does anyone else have a suggestion.”

If someone brings up a non-agenda item, you can say, “That’s an interesting point but we don’t have time to explore it right now.” Then suggest either discussing it privately after the meeting or scheduling it to be discussed at a future meeting.

Be prepared. Read all materials which may have been sent to you beforehand so that you may participate in discussions.

Start the meeting on time even if all participants have not arrived to ensure that your meeting ends on time.

When the meeting starts, greet those around you whom you know. Introduce yourself to those you don’t know and ask others to introduce themselves.

Avoid interruptions such as side conversations.

Meetings

When You are a Host..

When You are a Host..

Cafeteria

Keep the line moving. Read the list of specials before it’s your turn to order.

Treat cafeteria workers with respect.

Don’t intrude on others. Before seating yourself to dine with them, ask if it’s all right to join them.

Avoid making derogatory comments about the food. If you don’t like it, find other alternatives.

Leave your eating area in better condition than how you found it. Place your dirty dishes in the area designated for them, and throw away any disposable items.

Cubicle Etiquette

Imagine an invisible door. Don’t just enter someone’s cubicle.

If they look deep in thought, leave them alone.

If they are on the phone, don’t try to get their attention with gestures.

Be aware how your voice projects.

Speaker phones and cubes don’t mix.

Cubicle Etiquette

Others can hear what you say, and could judge you by your words.

Keep personal phone conversations to a minimum.

Don’t be a cubicle “lurker”.

Keep your cubicle neat and uncluttered.

Hidden Messages

Top Distracters

Things that interfere with work performance

Loud talkers (32%)

Cell phones ringing (30%)

Using speaker phones in public areas (22%)

Engaging in personal conversations in the workplace (11%)

Using PDAs during meeting (9%)

Thanks for your Time & Patience.