Email etiquette

TNGL

TNGL

TNGL

Soldato
Joined
2 Jul 2010
Posts
3,098
I think my manager read a book on business writing or similar recently because he's gone from structuring his emails like:

Hi X,

Can you please run me through y at some point?

Kind regards,

Name
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To:

"X,

Can you run me through Y?

Thanks,

N"
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This has been a change that has occurred overnight and has persisted. He has either read the aforementioned book or an awful article on Business Insider. The emails never consist of a salutation and never consist of a please, only a thank you, as if you have already accepted what he is asking.

The whole 'Name' becoming 'N' thing is real by the way. He no longer signs his emails off with his own name unless emailing externally.

Does anybody else find this style of writing an email borderline rude?

It isn't just a case of him only emailing his subordinates like this. He emails his manager, his manager's manager and most external contacts like it too (but with a proper signature).
 
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I've seen it before yeah and just accept it's how that person communicates. I've never seen someone specifically change overnight to that format though, it is a bit odd...
 
He's your boss, not your mate:
  • Opening - no issue with just opening with a name. I start mine with "Team" or the name of the team member i am speaking with. If it's external i will throw in a "good morning/afternoon", but never "hi".

  • Text - i'll usually add a please in mine when giving taskings, but your example text isn't that bad.

  • Sign off - he did add a 'thanks'

  • Initial sign off - i don't like that, especially if the email gets larger and you have to read the trail - could get confusing.
Not too bad, but i've seen much worse.
 
I wouldn’t read too much into it, perhaps just short on time.

IMO Hi and “Kind Regards” are good to add as standard but I’m not fussed if others don’t.

I’ve probs got the opposite view to you re: please. I’d see the use of “please” as more appropriate in a request that you’re giving someone the option to turn down. “Please could you do x too if you have enough time”. If it isn’t a request/is something you’re telling someone to do them meh.... add thank you at the end instead if appropriate.
 
I think too much is read into this. I end most emails with either:

[Many] Thanks,
HangTime

if I'm asking for something [Many is excluded for simple requests to avoid sounding condescending and make it more impactful when I do use it]; or...

Regards,
HangTime

If i'm not. But apparently from what I've read on social media "Regards" instead of "Kind regards" means I'm annoyed or something.
When replying to a chain of emails I also think putting "Hi [Name]" is a bit superfluous at least when you've already replied at least once, it's just taking up unnecessary space in the email.

So in general whilst I put a bit of thought into what I write, I don't take umbrage at what others do, I'm much more likely to take an issue with the content of an email rather than the way it is packaged up.
 
Yeah I don't generally put the hi <name> any more, the body will be a bit less brief but then just signed off with "Thanks, Rroff". Only external emails will be a little more formal.
 
I am more understanding of a lack of a salutation than a lack of a 'please'. Imo if your boss is asking you to do something, whether it has a please or not, you are going to do it; the please just makes the instruction slightly more pleasant.

Like I say, this extends beyond his subordinates and he emails his superiors in the same way. I find this surprising because his manager always says please in his emails.

He's a nice guy and we get on well and so it's nothing personal, just an observation.
 
Just a thought experiment

- how long does it take to type the extra words you'd like to see
- how many emails are written each year
- how long does it take to read the extra words and check that don't contain any information
- how many people read each email

Multiply up the numbers, think of it in terms of "hours wasted by convention", and consider whether it's actually the best use of resources.

J
 
Basher said:
I don't see the issue and it's definitely not rude. Comms seem perfectly clear.
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Yeah this. Jeez you should see some emails from my boss. He works in the US and I get emails with one-liners like "Call me now" or when forwarding a chain I already took care of earlier "Did you take care of this?". lol. As well as numerous typos, grammar mistakes etc. which really make me cringe :o

In my industry at least it seems the more senior you get, the shorter your emails become until you hit the point where if people need you to chime in on something it's so high-level that you have to go to them in person. Memos etc. aside, obviously (although EAs would obviously write them from their email). My other boss is very senior and it's fairly common knowledge that he doesn't really read emails (unless it's from his bosses presumably). He's also a bit of a joker and reckons he came back from holiday and just deleted 10k emails rather than reading them :p I guess you get to a point when your time is so valuable to the company and your presence is much more valuable in meetings - that's just the way it works for you at that level. You don't get to be a CEO by spending 8hrs a day tapping out well-crafted emails, do you?
 
Personally I just tend to start with the persons name and by default sign off with Regards and my name.

If they are doing something for me that may change to Thanks rather than Regards. If the email is just going to people in the same team as me, or is more informal to someone I know quite well, then I quite often just sign off with my first initial in lower case.
 
memyselfandi said:
Personally I just tend to start with the persons name and by default sign off with Regards and my name.

If they are doing something for me that may change to Thanks rather than Regards. If the email is just going to people in the same team as me, or is more informal to someone I know quite well, then I quite often just sign off with my first initial in lower case.
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So you're the OP's boss and i claim my internet cookie!

You're doing exactly what has annoyed the OP, maybe a chance to reflect??

For me, the only (very small) issue, is the signing off with your initial - if the email escalates, some people may not know who "initial" is. My sig block is

Regards

Ivrytwr3

post and contact details
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I only need to concern myself with the actual text of the email then.
 
The second example is perfectly acceptable between work colleagues and managers <> direct reports who usually work closely together in the same location.
 
Just an FYI there is a great term for what you are discussing that i picked up whilst studying. The etiquette of online communication and behaviour online in general is known as netiquette.
 
Scam said:
My other boss is very senior and it's fairly common knowledge that he doesn't really read emails (unless it's from his bosses presumably). He's also a bit of a joker and reckons he came back from holiday and just deleted 10k emails rather than reading them :p I guess you get to a point when your time is so valuable to the company and your presence is much more valuable in meetings - that's just the way it works for you at that level. You don't get to be a CEO by spending 8hrs a day tapping out well-crafted emails, do you?
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It's a genuine issue, email volume can be so high that you can't take it all in, especially if you have very little time to actually sit processing emails. I typically only have about 5-10hrs a week not in meetings, and the majority of that is spent on dealing with emails, leaving hardly any time for 'offline working'. Some people think that / act like email is a work orchestration system, i.e. they expect people to be organising their day based on what emails they have received. My boss (a Director) doesn't read emails he is cc'd in for example but at least he tells his direct reports that so we know to address him directly if it's something he needs to know. I usually read everything with the exception of long chains about low-level issues, but if something requires an action I might not have time to complete that and respond for days/weeks. Sometimes I forget about stuff - like I say, it's not actually a work orchestration system in itself, despite use of flags etc.
 
I think ultimately you're seeing that, E-mail is an awful method of communication.

There is nothing worse than huge walls of text in email. I'd welcome more mails like how your manager has done it. Its not a conversation.

If they wanted a chat, they'd pick up the phone.
 
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