You spend a good part of your day reading, writing and responding to emails. Due to the volume of emails you are dealing with it’s not uncommon to make mistakes.

Here are HR Gurus’ Do’s and Don’ts for email etiquette.

Five “Do’s” for email etiquette

Use your subject line

Always title your email! Make sure the title lets the reader know what the email is about. For example, if you are sending a budget report title the email “Budget Report” and the date.

Make sure your greeting and sign off are professional

Always have a greeting such as “Hello” rather than “Hey” as this sounds more formal. Sign off using “Kind Regards” or “Regards” rather than “Cheers” or “Cya”.

Use correct grammar

With spell check there is no excuse for spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. These make you appear incompetent and again look unprofessional.

Sign off with your signature

Every email should sign off with who you are, where you are from and how they can contact you.

Acknowledge when you receive an email.

Let your sender know your received their email and you will get back to them ASAP.

Five “Don’ts” for email etiquette

Don’t use an unprofessional email address

Make sure your email address is professional if your company does not supply one. I have seen some doozies in my time such as “markybadboy” and “jessgoodtimegirl”. Try and stick to your name and a number or underscore such as Natalie_80@.

DON’T USE ALL CAPS!

IT MAKES YOU LOOK AS THOUGH YOU ARE YELLING AT YOUR AUDIENCE.

Don’t use humour or sarcasm.

Emails do not translate emotions well and can end up being misinterpreted by the reader.

Don’t use emojis, smiley faces or hugs and kisses

These have no place in office emails. Keep them for emails to your mum.

Don’t send bulk mass emails

We all love a video of a cat doing something cute but it’s a bad idea to forward it to the entire office.

If you have any questions give HR Gurus a call on 1300 959 560 where our qualified and experienced team are here to help!