Email Etiquette for Everyone in the Construction Industry, Including You

By Amber Rouleau, J. Rouleau & Associates. Like it or not, email is a key part of our social and business communications in the construction industry. However, despite the prevalence of email in our society, there are myriad email offenses, many of which you’ve either encountered, committed or both. Email is a visual (and permanent) reflection of who you are, so act accordingly. Here is a list of some of the top offenses, and what you can do to avoid being guilty of them:

1) The “Shift” Button Phobia
Email: HI FRANK – I REALLY ENJOYED TALKING TO YOU YESTERDAY. I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AND BILL NEXT WEEK.
or
Email: hi frank – i really enjoyed talking to you yesterday. i’m looking forward to seeing you and bill next week.

Translation: All capitals in email is the typed equivalent of shouting at someone. If you are mad enough at someone to feel the need to yell at them, you probably shouldn’t be making it permanent by sending an email. If you aren’t mad, then you are just too lazy to actually capitalize words properly. The all-lower case email, of course, leaves little doubt about this.

Consider this: if you’re too lazy to hit the “shift” button periodically, then it’s not a far stretch to reason that, from a client or an employer’s perspective, you’re too lazy to take your job seriously, or from a prospective or confirmed customer’s perspective, you’re too lazy to take my business seriously.
Solution: Use the “shift” button as required by the laws of grammar. The benefits of coming across as professional and educated far outweigh the inconsequential effort it takes.

2) LOL and Spell Check

These afflictions typically go hand in hand with the one mentioned above. Typos run rampant in email, and abbreviations are far too often substituted for actual words, and can frequently be left open to random interpretation. Teachers around the globe are reporting that students are turning in papers written as if they were sent via email, instant messenger or text message:

Actual essay: “My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc.”
Translation: "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three kids face to face. I love New York. It's a great place."

While it’s doubtful (I hope) that most working adults commit this level of communication crime, the advancement of technology has undeniably had an effect on grammar and spelling. Since presumably, you want to portray yourself as intelligent and professional, do not send an email to anyone (your boss, your customer, your vendor, your wife, your buddy) unless you use actual words, and then spell check them. You don’t have to say “u r impt as a cstmr 2 me” to prove that you are on the “up and up” technologically. On the contrary, taking the time to properly construct words, sentences and paragraphs demonstrate that you are conscientious and dedicated. And remember, on most email systems, you can (and should) set it so that spell-check automatically runs when you hit the “Send” button.

3) The “Respond Before You Read” Affliction
Email: Hi Tom – it was great seeing you yesterday. I am really excited about building my dream house with you guys. As a reminder, please let me know the status of the following items:
- How many square feet is the living room going to be?
- What happens if I need to delay the shipment a week or two?
- Can you make sure that the designer calls me tomorrow?
Thanks,
James

Response: Hi James – it was nice to see you too. Looking forward to chatting with you soon.
- Tom
Result: James is now annoyed and frustrated (rightfully so), because it’s clear that despite the fact that Tom responded, Tom clearly doesn’t have two minutes to actually read his email. Now, James isn’t sure any if his questions will be acted on, if he needs to re-ask all these questions, if he’s made the right decision to work with Tom, and so on and so forth. Tom, of course, has made it clear that he’s not paying attention to the details, that he’s too busy for measly James, and that he simply doesn’t care.
Solution: Don’t respond to an email unless you’ve read (and understood) its contents. Then, when you do respond, do so accordingly, so that questions are answered, and it’s clear you are paying attention.

4) The “I wonder if he ever got my email?” Black Hole
Not all email transgressions are the fault of the sender – the recipient also bears some responsibility. Now, while there are certainly circumstances that don’t require an email response, if someone sends you an email that requires you to take an action of some kind (research some information, dig up answers to questions, arrange a meeting, etc), then reply. Let them know that you’ll get to work on this, and will get back to them as soon as possible with the specifics. That way, they’re not left wondering if the email was ever received in the first place and wrestling with whether they need to resend the email to you.

5) Oops – didn’t mean to send that to you
All of us have accidentally sent an email either too soon, to the wrong person, etc. A great way to avoid this is to put the email address in the “To” section after you’ve typed your email. Make the “To” address the last thing you do. That way, if you’re halfway through an email, and your computer “freaks out” or you accidentally hit the send button, it won’t go anywhere. Then, once your email is completed (with proper grammar, spelling and punctuation, of course), you can add the recipient’s email and send it off with warranted confidence.

So, to sum up: don’t view email as a casual means of correspondence. View email as an extension of you and your own brand. Do you want people to view you as lazy, unintelligent, unfocused and unresponsive? Then by all means, ignore these tips. However, if you’d prefer to represent yourself in a more positive light, then please (on behalf of all of us) consider these suggestions the next time you send (or receive) an email.