Why Your Business Needs an E-Mail Policy

Why is it imperative to have a company E-Mail Policy? It issimply good business, that's why! In addition, having a clearand detailed e-mail policy in place, one that employees sign anddate before they are allowed access through your businesss'computers, is critical to you being able to enforce or react tosituations that may arise at a later date.

Even assuming you have the best folks working for you, or on yourbehalf, does not negate the need for this type of policy to beestablished. Hopefully, you will never need to refer to yourpolicy statement in regard to an employee's actions or behaviorwhile on company time. However, if you do find yourself in thatsituation down the road, you will be relieved these terms andconditions are in place for your protection.

With technology now in the workplace and e-mail accessible tomore employees than ever, connectivity makes it easy for allemployees to surf the Web on company time, circulate unnecessaryand/or inappropriate messages and illegally copy content. Theseactivities can lead to:

=> Claims of sexual harassment and discrimination. This occurswhen e-mail or information is forwarded to an employee who maynot have the same sense of humor as the sender. We all have hadour e-mail boxes filled by well intending friends with the latestjoke or chain letter, some of which could offend the recipient orare not appropriate in a professional environment.

=> Misaddressed messages that lead to intentional or inadvertentrelease of corporate trade secrets. One typo, dot, dash or spacewhere it shouldn't be (and folks typo e-mail addresses all thetime) and your company information can very easily end up beingdelivered to another e-mail address outside of the company.

=> Network and spam attacks. Those who do not understand thebasics of Online Netiquette, many times put themselves in asituation of having e-mail bombs or repetitive e-mail being sentwhich can cripple your network due to their actions. Employeeswho do not market your business within established protocols cancause your server and ISP to cancel your accounts due to spamcomplaints to your hosting and e-mail providers.

=> Copyright infringement issues and the possible legalities thatcan ensue. Copyright is one of the most misunderstood issuesonline. Many believe that information, graphics, etc. are onlinefor the taking. Right click and it is yours! To set the recordstraight, there is nothing further from the truth. Allinformation and graphic images are protected by the person whocreated them. To take content or images without thecreator's/author's written permission is copyright infringement.It is also copyright infringement to forward or quote anotherperson's private e-mail in a public venue such as mailing listsand discussion groups without their written permission to do so.

Abuse of e-mail may also lead to:

=> Waste of computer resources. Large gratuitous downloads cannegatively impact your bandwidth allowances and incur additionalcharges from your provider not to mention lower employeeproductivity.

=> Drain on limited storage capabilities. Limits in disk storagespace can easily be maxed out incurring additional charges.

=> Slower response times for legitimate business activities.Focus is lost on priorities and customer service. Company e-mailactivities should be considered one of the highest prioritiesthat many times will fall by the wayside in lieu of employeesbecoming sidetracked by these other activities.

=> Increased network traffic. Unnecessary network traffic cancause your entire network to come to a grinding halt ifacceptable computer and online usage is not clearly defined.

=> E-mail forgery. I could send an e-mail today appearing to beBill Gates. Only those with an above average technical knowledgewould be able to determine it was a hoax and trace it back to me.

All company e-mails should use your dot com/net/org to identifyall employees. E-mail settings should not be tampered with orchanged for any reason.

=> Create a negative perception of your business image,legitimacy and level of credibility. One cannot underestimatethe power of perception as it relates to your businesss' e-mailactivities. Each e-mail should be taken as seriously as though itwere written on company letterhead. How it is written, the wordsused, whether proper Netiquette it practiced or lack there of canhave a negative impact on those communicating with your company.

Any e-mail policy should start with the following basics. Youwill want to review each carefully and then jot down and add thespecifics unique to your business environment and culture.

1) Specify that the computer and e-mail system belongs to thebusiness for authorized purposes only. While on company time anyuse of the Company's equipment (computer) is to be used solelyfor business activities related to the performance of anemployee's job responsibilities.

2) Set clear expectations of employee privacy. What will beprivate and what won't - if anything. Trends indicate that themajority of e-mail policies currently in place state clearly thatwhile on company time, employees should not expect to have anyprivacy in regard to their use of company owned equipment andresources.

3) Establish monitoring as a "right" of the employer. It shouldbe expected and acknowledged.

4) Make sure employees understand attention should be taken whenaddressing e-mail and when drafting them to avoid includingcopyrighted material. Each e-mail an employee sends utilizing ane-mail address with your dot com/org/net reflects on yourbusiness and makes you inevitably liable if another author'sinformation is misused without their permission. Not only arethere legal ramifications, but again, do not underestimate howyour enterprise will be perceived by virtue of the use of acompany e-mail address in communications.

5) Outline specific types of content that should be avoided ine-mail messages. The more detail the better here!

6) Have employees sign and date the e-mail policy. Put a copyin their personnel file and give them a copy to have on hand forreference purposes.

It would also be recommended that each employee be sent to myOnlineNetiquette.com site or given a copy of my soon to bereleased book: "Because Netiquette Matters! Your comprehensivereference guide on e-mail etiquette and proper technology use."This will ensure they are aware of all the issues and practicesthey need to integrate when e-mailing on behalf of and using yourcompany's resources to communicate online.

For a sample E-mail Policy that you can use and modify, visit mymain consulting site @:http://www.theistudio.com/example_epolicy.html

About the Author:
Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse who has been playing @ http://www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade. Check out her popular Technology Cheat Sheets @ http://www.LearnAndThrive.com