This document provides guidelines for internal email correspondence. Key points include: - Address only those who need to take action in the "To" field and inform others in the "Cc" field. - Avoid emails late at night or on weekends and schedule them to send in the morning. - Make the subject line explain the topic without opening the email. - Only use your inbox to store emails needing further action and archive all others. - Resolve issues in person rather than lengthy email threads when possible. - Announce representatives and processes when out of office to handle emails.

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E-Mail Guidelines for Internal
Correspondence

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 Who should be addressed in the “to” field of your e-mail?
 Only persons with clear and comprehensible mandate to act
 Make sure to highlight each person addressed in the “to” field with a paragraph in the
message text
 Persons who only need to be informed should be included in the “Cc” field
 These recipients should have no mandate to act
 They are not required to read the message on the same day
 Emails are to be avoided late in the evening and over weekends.
 Time the email to be sent out the next morning
using the Outlook e-mail options
Who should be addressed?

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 Where possible the subject line should already explain the topic without having to open
the email. I.e. ‘Please call me back – Ext. #123’
 If a email is only sent for informational purposes, the subject line should be marked with
‘FYI‘
 As there is no call for action, include everyone in the “Cc” field and address the e-mail
to yourself
 Emails should be clear and comprehensible and wherever possible should not
necessitate follow-up queries.
 An inbox is not a filing system. Please only use it to
store emails that require further processing.
 Archive all other emails.
Make it clear

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 Select carefully!
 Don’t use a superior to apply pressure
 If a senior person needs to be included in the conversation, take the time to explain
the topic offline.
 If a topic can’t be resolved in the first instance due to barriers / bottlenecks (calls, follow-up
emails, etc. have failed), the topic may be escalated to a superior.
 Inform the superior properly and ask for advice
 If the topic can’t be resolved by including a superior in the correspondence, the
discussion needs to be resolved offline
When to escalate?

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1// Where possible, please praise your colleagues in person. Personal thanks is more honest
and does not impose any incoming mail strain. ‘You’re welcome’ notes should not be sent
by email either.
2// Within a department, a conversation in person takes precedence above email where
possible.
3// Pressing matters always require a conversation in person. Measures discussed should
then be recorded in an email or as part of the minutes.
4// Emails that are not resolved after a reply causing additional questions should be
discussed in person and not as an email chat.
5// All emails should be limited to five sentences. This does not apply to meeting minutes that
cannot be collated into a single document due to absences, etc.
5 rules to keep it short

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 While on leave, one or more representatives for all relevant responsibilities need to be
announced in the auto reply mail.
 State, that the emails will not be read automatically but that the sender needs to
reach out to the representative in urgent matters.
 The representative in charge will copy the original recipient into the conversation.
 If the sender has not reached out to the representatives, ask the sender if the task is
still relevant before taking action
 Should the representative solve the issue, he or she will send a final email to the
original recipient posting the word ‘closed’ into the email body
 Upon return from leave read the last email first.
 Should the last email relate to a topic be marked ‘closed’,
no action is required
 Align with your representatives for all open issues before
getting back to the sender
 It helps to change the view to ‘conversation’
Prepare your absence