Tough question. Most times when people are using their cell phones at work, it is for personal reasons. If it is being done blatantly or obviously, it can be a real rub for the management staff. They are essentially using company time for personal stuff — not fair to the employer.
I know several companies that have banned the use of cell phones from the workplace, allowing them only at break time and at lunch. I personally think that this should be the appropriate goal. It is not just an issue with people being on their cell phones, but if they ring or beep with a text message while someone is on the phone with the client, it can be distracting. The other issue that is starting to arise is texting, which does not place the cell phone in someone’s ear, and can be done in their lap — being even more covert. The strong majority of all of this is personal and is taking away from the business. Cell phones should be kept out of sight, and not on desks where people can see incoming text messages, etc. Distractions are costly to business.
I think you know I am an advocate of promoting culture rather than rules. If you can have a companywide or departmentwide discussion on this whole issue and ask them to respect their business time and use cell phones only at breaks and at lunch, unless there’s an emergency, it could go a long way towards everyone being committed to not using them during work. If that fails, then a policy or a rule is the next best choice.
Some businesses do allow personal phone calls if they are kept short. This is the other way to go with it — by saying that cell phones are allowed for very brief phone calls but anything lengthy should be done at break or at lunchtime.
If it is one person who seems to be abusing their work time on the cell phone, then I would take the approach of having a discussion with that person. Sometimesthe resultant “buzz” is enough to get everybody to stop.
If there are people in your operation who use their cell phones for work, enforcement is much easier, because if the employer has given them the cell phone, the records are available to the employer to check personal versus business use.
Bottom line, the excessive personal use of cell phones and texting during working hours is a drain to the productivity of the business, and can be career threatening to the individual abusing the privilege.
Some people actually try to solve complex issues by email. Ridiculous!
Check out our other blog post on Toxic Emailer “Chatroom Chuck.”
When something needs to be discussed, DON’T use email. Email is not for discussing, it is for the passing of one way communication.
So, beware the email meeting. Once you’ve seen an issue go around more than once, call a meeting!
Okay. Now it is time to rant. This past week I received at least 15 e-mail messages with this simple one or two word response, “thanks” or “ok.”
Hey, I know folks are just trying to be nice. BUT – We have got to let go of our need to keep the trail going. With the average worker receiving anywhere from 100 to 150 e-mail messages daily, let’s do everyone a favor and stop with the one word responses.
I actually received this response — “Thanks — and how are the kids?” Puh-lease! It is bad enough that you send me an e-mail I didn’t need, but now you are asking me to comment on something absolutely and totally unrelated to the original stream of information.
The one exception that I can tolerate as a one-word response is something that relates to a meeting or scheduling or timing. I actually do like to receive a message that says “Confirmed.”
What are your pet peeves?
We’ve all groaned when we’ve gotten that “reply all” that we REEEALY didn’t need to see… Someone copying everyone, telling the meeting organizer that he can’t make a meeting… Someone hitting “reply all” with a mere Thank You… Another sending a note of congratulations to 30 people, when it was intended for just one.
This all goes back to — “THINK before you send!” combined with some business etiquette that respects the recipients. Why does e-mail give people an excuse to be careless or lazy? Even more than that, don’t they realize that when others see people hitting reply all, they draw (negative) conclusions about that person? Can be career limiting!
Consider what you thought when you got those “reply alls” that made your eyes roll. Yup. You though less of the person. You may have even resented the person for wasting your time.
And you don’t think hitting “reply all” can be career limiting???!!!
Think again. And… remember…
THINK before you send. EVERY TIME.
Email is NOT a meeting! Don’t try to make it one!
Some people use e-mail to “discuss” issues and gain opinions. Each time an opinion question is sent to numerous people or to a group list, the e-mails tend to develop branches: the opinions multiply exponentially, the threads take on different paths, and each recipient is now receives multiple strings of the same subject e-mail that have gone in different directions. It all results in spending much more collective time than a one time meeting or teleconference may have taken. This makes it more difficult for participants to see the big picture and hear the overall opinions. The multiple threads are confusing and time consuming.
Instead of using e-mail this way, it is much more effective and productive to call a meeting and discuss the issue in detail. Invoke the “two-round rule:” when you see e-mails developing circling back the second time, call a meeting to discuss the issue in further detail and put an end to future lack of productivity caused by all those e-mails. Better yet, call the meeting in the first place.
Here is a great post by Dudley Dawson… enjoy!
We’ve all been on the wrong end of a phone call when the other party was clacking away at his or her computer. Probably doing email, right? Or maybe that culprit is ourselves? Maybe WE’VE been the ones doing email while the other party is trying to discuss something with us.People can’t do two things at once. We try, but it is physically impossible, just like we can’t be in two places at the same time.
When that inbox is open, it stares us in the face as a temptation. Truth? It IS a temptation!
Here’s a strategy you can try. Minimize or close down your inbox. Simple. Just do it! Then truly focus on the discussion at hand.
The benefits outweigh the milliseconds of productivity you fool yourself into thinking you’ve gained. Your discussion will be more fruitful because you’re fully engaged. It most likely will be shorter because you weren’t distracted causing repeats of information or the other party correcting our “misunderstanding” of dialogue. And, oh yeah, you won’t offend the caller.
You think they can’t hear that clacking? Think again.
Hey – don’t just read these, rate them 0-5 on how well you follow them, 0 being stinky, and 5 being fabulous.
1. Be concise. ‘Nuff said.
2. Get to the point. Place your main point, request, or question in the very first sentence of your message.
3. Spell check. Proofread. Make sense.
4. Use proper layout.
5. Use a readable font in a size that is easy to see.
6. Avoid stationery that takes a large amount of megabytes
7. Use the person’s name, either in the greeting, or in the body of the message.
8. Keep language gender neutral.
9. Avoid text lingo (oops, I mean language.)
10. Use only abbreviations that are well known.
11. Avoid emoticons and smiley faces.
12. Avoid long sentences.
13. Use active vs. passive voice.
14. Answer all questions, and anticipate future questions.
15. Include the important points of the message thread.
16. Clean up forwarded emails. Either delete unnecessary verbiage or highlight the important points.
17. Use detailed subject lines to help your recipient quickly understand the focus of your message.
18. For very short messages, use the subject line as the message, ending in EOM (End Of Message) to let them know not to open the message.
19. Avoid writing in ALL CAPS. It is viewed as “shouting.”
20. Use the high priority option only when it is truly high priority.
21. Use the words “URGENT” and “IMPORTANT” sparingly, and only when it is true.
22. Use ‘Reply all’ only when every person in the distribution really needs to receive the message.
23. Avoid sending email messages when you are emotional. Regardless of how you try to mask it, people will “feel it.”
24. Never forward messages that are off color, offensive, racist, or obscene.
25. Don’t forward chain emails, or emails threatening you if you “don’t forward in 24 hours.”
26. Copy ONLY the persons who really need to receive the email.
27. Avoid using email to provide “constructive criticism.” It is never taken positively. Those conversations should be done in person.
28. Avoid using BCC to rat out your co-workers. It turns YOU into the rat.
29. Avoid using email to “discuss” issues among several people – the threads become diffused, and the content is difficult to follow. Call a meeting instead.
30. Avoid sending urgent emails. If you need a response in under 3 hours, visit or call.
And it ain’t cuz Emily Post wants you to.Businesses will benefit from promoting proper email etiquette for three great reasons.
1. Protection from liability. Here’s the no brainer. Certain rules need to be followed to avoid problems for the business. Email messages can and will be reproduced, and employees can, knowingly or unknowingly, put their employers at risk.
2. Efficiency and effectiveness. Many etiquette guidelines promote efficiency and effectiveness, for the sender and the recipient. Following etiquette guidelines will contribute to the overall efficiency of the organization
3. Professionalism. A professional image is important to a business’s success. Proper email etiquette and professionalism go hand in hand.
Please feel free to peruse the category, email etiquette for some great hands on tips.
When traditional etiquette books were written, email did not exist. The absence of guidelines or rules therefore allowed people to create their own ways of doing things, some of which are downright poor etiquette. All these new technologies – email, voicemail, smart phones, cell phones – have opened the door for some horrific etiquette blunders.
Let’s remember that the basis of all etiquette is RESPECT – not just politeness, but consideration for people’s time and energy and emotions.
When in doubt, ask yourself, “am I being as respectful of the recipient’s) as I can be?”
That’s the key question. That’s the one Emily would have asked you.
