You know about email. You probably use it all the time, both in your personal life and your professional life. You may have even heard of email policies-you've probably agreed to one or two in your time. But does your organization have one? Email has become such an important part of the modern world, and nowhere is that more true in the world of small business, where internet communications provide economical and simple technology solutions. Having an email policy for your organization helps protect this important facet of your operation and increases your efficiency and productivity.
An email policy is a relatively simple document. It simply states what your organization considers a professional and acceptable use of the organization's email system. It describes what sort of content is appropriate, and who it can be sent to during work hours.
If your email policy is such a simple document, then why is it so important? Having an email policy and documenting that all of the workers in your organization have seen it and agreed to it does three things: it helps represent your organization in a professional manner in keeping with your goals, it increases productivity in the workplace and cuts down on distractions, and it protects your organization from liability. How, exactly?
The first part is very basic, and very intuitive. By promoting a professional atmosphere along all lines of communication and making your expectations clear, you encourage everyone who uses your organization's email system to use it in a more refined manner. This not only improves overall email communication, but also helps avoid embarrassing mistakes. If your email policy disallows the use of email for personal communications, you ensure that your workers stay in a professional mindset and voice, rather than switching back and forth from casual, sloppy, informal style to a more sophisticated presentation. You also limit the possibility that a worker might send out an email that was intended for her boyfriend to a customer by mistake-yikes!
This sort of restriction on acceptable use will also make your workers more productive. We all know that working at a small business can be an exhausting occupation, so whenever there is a lull in the activity, it can be easy to give in to an urge to use that time for personal uses, like an email to a friend. But we also know that there is always something to do at a small business. Workers could be using their time to catch up or get ahead, instead of catching up with old friends. By instituting an email policy that limits the acceptable use of the organization's email system, you help remove the temptation and the distraction.
Finally, an email policy helps protect your organization from liability. Think again of the employee accidentally sending her boyfriend's email to a customer. If there were inappropriate content contained in that email, your employee would be open to a harassment suit, and your organization would be liable by extension. If, on the other hand, you can document that your employee went against the explicit mandates of your organization's email policies, you are in the clear. Better yet-by instituting your email policy now, you can avoid the imaginary unfortunate email altogether.
Because it is, in this way, a document that provides your organization with legal protection, many companies choose to have a lawyer write their email policy for them. Though this can be a little costly, it might save you a lot in legal fees down the road. If you choose to write it yourself, simply look at the policies of other organizations like your own to establish useful parameters.
An email policy is a relatively simple document. It simply states what your organization considers a professional and acceptable use of the organization's email system. It describes what sort of content is appropriate, and who it can be sent to during work hours.
If your email policy is such a simple document, then why is it so important? Having an email policy and documenting that all of the workers in your organization have seen it and agreed to it does three things: it helps represent your organization in a professional manner in keeping with your goals, it increases productivity in the workplace and cuts down on distractions, and it protects your organization from liability. How, exactly?
The first part is very basic, and very intuitive. By promoting a professional atmosphere along all lines of communication and making your expectations clear, you encourage everyone who uses your organization's email system to use it in a more refined manner. This not only improves overall email communication, but also helps avoid embarrassing mistakes. If your email policy disallows the use of email for personal communications, you ensure that your workers stay in a professional mindset and voice, rather than switching back and forth from casual, sloppy, informal style to a more sophisticated presentation. You also limit the possibility that a worker might send out an email that was intended for her boyfriend to a customer by mistake-yikes!
This sort of restriction on acceptable use will also make your workers more productive. We all know that working at a small business can be an exhausting occupation, so whenever there is a lull in the activity, it can be easy to give in to an urge to use that time for personal uses, like an email to a friend. But we also know that there is always something to do at a small business. Workers could be using their time to catch up or get ahead, instead of catching up with old friends. By instituting an email policy that limits the acceptable use of the organization's email system, you help remove the temptation and the distraction.
Finally, an email policy helps protect your organization from liability. Think again of the employee accidentally sending her boyfriend's email to a customer. If there were inappropriate content contained in that email, your employee would be open to a harassment suit, and your organization would be liable by extension. If, on the other hand, you can document that your employee went against the explicit mandates of your organization's email policies, you are in the clear. Better yet-by instituting your email policy now, you can avoid the imaginary unfortunate email altogether.
Because it is, in this way, a document that provides your organization with legal protection, many companies choose to have a lawyer write their email policy for them. Though this can be a little costly, it might save you a lot in legal fees down the road. If you choose to write it yourself, simply look at the policies of other organizations like your own to establish useful parameters.
