The purpose of this policy is to ensure the proper use of company’s email system and to make all employees aware of what the company deems as acceptable and unacceptable use of its email system. The company reserves the right to amend this policy at its discretion. In case of amendments, users will be informed appropriately. The policies are outlined below. The company considers email as an important means of communication and recognizes the importance of proper email content and speedy replies in conveying a professional image and delivering good customer service. Therefore the company wishes users to adhere to the following guidelines:
• Writing emails: o Write well-structured emails and use short, descriptive subjects. o Email style is informal. This means that sentences can be short and to the point. You can start your e-mail with ‘Hi’, or ‘Dear’, and the name of the person. Messages can be ended with ‘Best Regards’. The use of Internet abbreviations and characters such as smileys however, is not encouraged. o Signatures must include your name, job title and company name. A disclaimer will be added underneath your signature. o Use the spell checker before you send out an email. o Do not send unnecessary attachments. Compress attachments larger than 200K before sending them. o Do not write emails in capitals. o Do not use cc: or bcc: fields unless the cc: or bcc: recipient is aware that you will be copying a mail to him/her and knows what action, if any, to take. o If you forward mails, state clearly what action you expect the recipient to take. o Only send emails of which the content could be displayed on a public notice board. If they cannot be displayed publicly in their current state, consider rephrasing the email, using other means of communication, or protecting information by using a password. o Only mark emails as important if they really are important.
• Replying to emails: o Emails should be answered within at least 8 working hours, but users must endeavor to answer priority emails within 4 hours. o Priority emails are emails from existing customers and business partners.
• Newsgroups: o Users need to request permission from their supervisor before subscribing to a newsletter or news group.
• Maintenance: o Delete any email messages that you do not need to have a copy of, and set your email client to automatically empty your ‘deleted items’ on closing.
• Personal Use Although the company’s email system is meant for business use, the company allows the reasonable use of email for personal use if certain guidelines are adhered to: o Personal use of email should not interfere with work. o Personal emails must also adhere to the guidelines in this policy. o Personal emails must be kept in a separate labeled folder. The emails in this folder must be deleted weekly so as not to clog up the system. o The forwarding of chain letters, junk mail and jokes is strictly forbidden. o On average, users are not allowed to send more than 2 personal emails a day. o Do not send mass mailings. o All messages distributed via the company’s email system, even personal emails, are the company’s property.
• Confidential information Avoid sending confidential information by e-mail. If you do, you must secure the information by including it in a Microsoft Word or Excel file and protecting it with a password and encrypt it. Then provide the recipient with the password by means of other communication, for instance by telephone.

• Disclaimer
The following disclaimer will be added to each outgoing email: ‘This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Finally, the recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The company accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.’ Summary These principles that are outlined in this policy are so that everyone at the company understands what is expected of them in regards to email communication. The policy also protects the company from any legal issues, such as if an employee decides to send any libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks. Email is a business communication tool and users are obliged to use this tool in a responsible, effective and lawful manner. Although by its nature email seems to be less formal than other written communication, the same laws apply. Therefore it is important that users are aware of the legal risks of e-mail. By following the guidelines in this policy, the email user can minimize the legal risks involved in the use of e-mail. If any user disregards the rules set out in this Email Policy, the user will be fully liable and the company will disassociate itself from the user as far as legally. I wrote the message this way because I wanted to get straight to the point and ensure that the employees understand the policy, that’s the reason I put them in bullet format so that each point of the policy was emphasized. I utilized the background information on routine email messages and memos, where I utilized Guffrey’s 3-x-3 Writing Process. I chose the best mode of communication, determined my purpose in writing. I also researched and organized all the relevant data in regards to this policy. I structured the email based off the background information, which are the subject line, opening statement and body. I also followed the guideline of the background article titled e-mail is easy to write and to misread, where it states that if you are not clear about what are sending in an email it could be misinterpreted and send the wrong message. In the email policy I wrote I ensured that it was straight forward, clear and to the point.