| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Why Your Business Needs an E-Mail Policy
Why is it imperative to have a company E-Mail Policy? It is simply good business, that's why! In addition, having a clear and detailed e-mail policy in place, one that employees sign and date before they are allowed access through your businesss' computers, is critical to you being able to enforce or react to situations that may arise at a later date. Even assuming you have the best folks working for you, or on your behalf, does not negate the need for this type of policy to be established. Hopefully, you will never need to refer to your policy statement in regard to an employee's actions or behavior while on company time. However, if you do find yourself in that situation down the road, you will be relieved these terms and conditions are in place for your protection. With technology now in the workplace and e-mail accessible to more employees than ever, connectivity makes it easy for all employees to surf the Web on company time, circulate unnecessary and/or inappropriate messages and illegally copy content. These activities can lead to: => Claims of sexual harassment and discrimination. This occurs when e-mail or information is forwarded to an employee who may not have the same sense of humor as the sender. We all have had our e-mail boxes filled by well intending friends with the latest joke or chain letter, some of which could offend the recipient or are not appropriate in a professional environment. => Misaddressed messages that lead to intentional or inadvertent release of corporate trade secrets. One typo, dot, dash or space where it shouldn't be (and folks typo e-mail addresses all the time) and your company information can very easily end up being delivered to another e-mail address outside of the company. => Network and spam attacks. Those who do not understand the basics of Online Netiquette, many times put themselves in a situation of having e-mail bombs or repetitive e-mail being sent which can cripple your network due to their actions. Employees who do not market your business within established protocols can cause your server and ISP to cancel your accounts due to spam complaints to your hosting and e-mail providers. => Copyright infringement issues and the possible legalities that can ensue. Copyright is one of the most misunderstood issues online. Many believe that information, graphics, etc. are online for the taking. Right click and it is yours! To set the record straight, there is nothing further from the truth. All information and graphic images are protected by the person who created them. To take content or images without the creator's/author's written permission is copyright infringement. It is also copyright infringement to forward or quote another person's private e-mail in a public venue such as mailing lists and discussion groups without their written permission to do so. Abuse of e-mail may also lead to: => Waste of computer resources. Large gratuitous downloads can negatively impact your bandwidth allowances and incur additional charges from your provider not to mention lower employee productivity. => Drain on limited storage capabilities. Limits in disk storage space can easily be maxed out incurring additional charges. => Slower response times for legitimate business activities. Focus is lost on priorities and customer service. Company e-mail activities should be considered one of the highest priorities that many times will fall by the wayside in lieu of employees becoming sidetracked by these other activities. => Increased network traffic. Unnecessary network traffic can cause your entire network to come to a grinding halt if acceptable computer and online usage is not clearly defined. => E-mail forgery. I could send an e-mail today appearing to be Bill Gates. Only those with an above average technical knowledge would be able to determine it was a hoax and trace it back to me. All company e-mails should use your dot com/net/org to identify all employees. E-mail settings should not be tampered with or changed for any reason. => Create a negative perception of your business image, legitimacy and level of credibility. One cannot underestimate the power of perception as it relates to your businesss' e-mail activities. Each e-mail should be taken as seriously as though it were written on company letterhead. How it is written, the words used, whether proper Netiquette it practiced or lack there of can have a negative impact on those communicating with your company. Any e-mail policy should start with the following basics. You will want to review each carefully and then jot down and add the specifics unique to your business environment and culture. 1) Specify that the computer and e-mail system belongs to the business for authorized purposes only. While on company time any use of the Company's equipment (computer) is to be used solely for business activities related to the performance of an employee's job responsibilities. 2) Set clear expectations of employee privacy. What will be private and what won't - if anything. Trends indicate that the majority of e-mail policies currently in place state clearly that while on company time, employees should not expect to have any privacy in regard to their use of company owned equipment and resources. 3) Establish monitoring as a "right" of the employer. It should be expected and acknowledged. 4) Make sure employees understand attention should be taken when addressing e-mail and when drafting them to avoid including copyrighted material. Each e-mail an employee sends utilizing an e-mail address with your dot com/org/net reflects on your business and makes you inevitably liable if another author's information is misused without their permission. Not only are there legal ramifications, but again, do not underestimate how your enterprise will be perceived by virtue of the use of a company e-mail address in communications. 5) Outline specific types of content that should be avoided in e-mail messages. The more detail the better here! 6) Have employees sign and date the e-mail policy. Put a copy in their personnel file and give them a copy to have on hand for reference purposes. It would also be recommended that each employee be sent to my OnlineNetiquette.com site or given a copy of my soon to be released book: "Because Netiquette Matters! Your comprehensive reference guide on e-mail etiquette and proper technology use." This will ensure they are aware of all the issues and practices they need to integrate when e-mailing on behalf of and using your company's resources to communicate online. For a sample E-mail Policy that you can use and modify, visit my main consulting site @: http://www.theistudio.com/example_epolicy.html About the Author:
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Build Rapport Fast! - Eight Easy Steps Building rapport is all about creating a relationship, in the moment. And this is vital in business, education, friendships and many other areas of life. Growing Profits is Easy! Everyone involved in running a business from the smallest start-up to a major corporate dreams about how to achieve sustained profitable growth. I'm a great believer that business is simple - it's only us human beings that make it complex. Great Groups! - Getting a Group to Think Like a Genius Great Groups! - Getting a Group to Think Like a Genius Wouldn't it be great to have an Edison or Einstein, or Mozart at your next meeting? If you had a genius at your meeting, do you think you might come up with better results? Let me be the first to tell you that those people won't be at your next meeting. But there are some things you can do as a facilitator - some techniques and tactics that you can use with the group that will help them work better. Managing People - No One Shows You What To Do Imagine the following scenario - you pay a visit to your doctor one day and in the course of the conversation he or she lets it slip that they have no formal medical qualification. However, everything's okay because they've been involved in the "doctoring" business for years, had lots of experience and have read several books on the subject; I bet you'd be out of there like a shot. 10 Ways New Managers Become Great Leaders "It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead and find no one there." - Franklin D. Why Your Company Needs An E-Mail Policy Everyone at the office thought that using the company e-mail system to share jokes and funny stories was great fun. That is, until one offended employee decided to sue his employer for having helped to create a hostile work environment. Taking on Six Sigma Programs - Guidelines for In-House and Outsourcing Decisions Based on a wild guess by a close associate of mine, there are well over 2,000 restaurants in the Manhattan area and its surrounding boroughs. Although I cannot validate the absolute accuracy of his count, I do trust it is in the ballpark, since he happens to be one of those guys who seem to know everything about everything in life (and more). Innovation Management - what are the practical impediments? Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Turnover is Not a Problem "Ha!" you say. "For someone to make a statement like that, they obviously haven't worked in the real world and certainly have never had to run a company. Organizational Culture, Creativity, Innovation It can be concluded with great certainty that certain organizational cultures inhibit creativity and innovation whilst others foster it. Some organizations are just better at identifying problems, generating and selecting valuable ideas and developing and commercialising them - this is why those firms tend to maintain competitive advantage and remain leaders in their field. Dialogue: the Four Dialogic Principles For Successful Communication "But you don't understand!" exclaimed the manager, "this new initiative is vital for our team. If it doesn't work we could all be out of a job!" "Uh-huh. Coaching Champions at Work I saw Brian Kerr (the Irish national football coach) on television not so long ago and it reminded me of a platform I shared with him at a Banking Institute seminar in Dublin. Whilst I was waiting for my turn I listened to Brian and experienced two emotions - admiration and jealousy. Great Employees = Passionate Consumers Companies spend millions of dollars each year identifying their brand, and then communicating their brand promise through various media.Employees are the primary "media" in the majority of brand contacts. Leadership Skills Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60% of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this and at such little cost. Problems with Group Decision Making DECISION BY AUTHORITY RULE: Many groups start out with-or quickly set up a power structure that makes it clear that the chairman (or someone else in authority) will make the ultimate decision. The group can generate ideas and hold free discussion, but at any time the chairman can say that, having heard the discussion, he or she has decided upon a given plan. Appraisal Interviews: What To Say & How To Say It STEPS TOWARDS A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW:Don't say: "You just don't seem to care about doing a good job." "You seem to be more interested in scoring points against Charlie than in working with him. Hire Winners: Avoid These 10 Interview No-No's Have you ever hired someone who did not live up to expectations? I'm sure many of us have at one time. The purpose of the interview is to obtain good information about an applicant to make a wise selection decision. A Fast and Simple Way to Update Your Business You open your computer, the flashing button says, "We have a new update for your software program. Do you wish to update now or later?" You choose the Update Now button and immediately your computer begins to download a new version of the software program. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Conduct Successful Training Activities Whether you are training preschoolers in the classroom or executives in the board room, here are 15 premises you might want to keep in mind the next time you're designing training activities.1. Business Innovation - Core Competency and Competitive Advantage Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
