Best Practices for Using Email
Read the following case study:
I am a manager of an agency who cares for a person named Fiona. I sent an email to Fiona’s team detailing the changes to Fiona’s services. The email mentioned Fiona’s behavior and family pressures as reasons for the changes in services. I started typing the names into the email “To:” box and used auto-complete to fill in the addresses. What I failed to do was to check the recipients’ addresses before sending. I mistakenly sent the email to an employee at the local bank instead of the CLBC analyst I thought I’d sent it to. The worst part was we live in a very small community where everyone knows each other, and even though the bank employee deleted the email, the family felt that I (and CLBC) had let them down.
Emails sent to the wrong recipient is the number one cause of privacy breaches. So much can go wrong with one click. Read the points below for best practices to avoid that regret.
Make the Email Subject Specific
- Create a clear subject title.
- Do not put an individual’s name into the subject line of an email—use initials only. If your inbox is on your computer screen, it is visible to others.
One Issue Per Email
- Discuss one individual and one issue per email. If you are discussing a group issue, make the email general without adding names.
Limit the Number of Recipients
- Before you send an email, consider whether every recipient should receive or needs the information in the email you are about to send.
- Avoid using “reply all” except when every recipient on the list needs to receive the message.
Attachments
Forwarding Emails
- Do not forward emails without the sender’s permission. Unless there is a specific reason, do not forward long email chains attached to your message.
Emails are Records
- If an email contains information leading to a decision, then the email should be saved. You may need to convert the email to a permanent document.
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