Etiquette and Decorum at Work Place

Youth struggle a lot to get into the college of choice, burn the midnight oil to clear the campus interview, heave a big sigh of relief when they complete the course successfully and land up in the job they are selected for.

Those who are already in employment, put in additional efforts to improve their skills and abilities to land themselves in better opportunities and positions.

All these efforts are worthwhile only if they retain the hard sought job and here are some tips, which could help them in this cause. These are by no means exhaustive, but should be enough to make a decent mark based on which the individuals can create their own signature acts and share with their posterity. This, I feel, is one of the best ways to serve the upcoming generation.

General:

·         Aim to be at your desk atleast 15 minutes before the start of the day.

·         Before stepping into the office, switch your mobile phone to silent mode.

·         Always carry and display the office ID card, within the office premises.

·         Have a strong password consisting of Upper case, lower case and special characters.

·         Never reveal or share your password with anyone, unless demanded by law or exigencies.

·         Maintain the 'Clean Desk Policy' with no papers strewn around your workstation.

·         Ensure that the used coffee cups are trashed immediately.

·         Ensure that the project and client related classified wastes are shredded as per the organization's security policy.

·         Never store any official or project related information on the local disk of the workstation- Make sure that they are always secured in the network folder.

·         Request for and stock some printer stationery that could be useful when you work late on a day or during holidays & weekend

·         Update timesheet with the last working day's efforts.

·         Have a quick glance at the mails. Segregate and prioritize according to the importance.

·         Have a look at the Engagements calendar and make a mental note of the items scheduled.

Mails:

·         Ensure that your mail has a meaningful subject.

·         Do not include those who are not directly connected with the subject.

·         Unless otherwise essential, discourage use of BCC.

·         Do not ask for a "Read Receipt" unless absolutely essential, as this could irk the receiver.

·         Your mail footer should contain your role and contact details.

·         Wherever possible zip the documents being sent as enclosures.

·         For incoming mails, make sure that the enclosures are virus scanned before opening.

·         Language of the mail content should be business communication and should never be personal

·         Make sure that the enclosed documents are formatted and ready to be printed.

·         Ensure that the mail contents are spell checked before sent.

·         If unable to act immediately on the mail received, acknowledge and keep the receiver updated about the progress periodically.

·         Never forward a mail with a FYI (For Your Information) as the body/subject of the mail. Provide a gist of the mail and then add "FYI"

·         Place the reply to Critical mails in Draft for some time, review after a break and then press 'Send'

Meeting - If you are a Participant:

·         Respond to meeting invites unambiguously.

·         If unable to attend a meeting after accepting it, send a note to the organizer

·         Arrive at the meeting venue on time and never be late.

·         Never attend a meeting without a notepad.

·         Carry the required and relevant documents related to the agenda.

·         If it is a follow up meeting, be ready with the updates of the action points marked against you in the last MOM.

·         Make a note of your own points of understanding of the discussions, without waiting for the MOM.

·         At the end of the meeting, make sure that the points noted by you are correct.

·         Do not interrupt when other participant is delivering his views. Wait for him to conclude.

Meeting -If you are the organizer:

·         Arrive at the meeting room atleast 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the meet.

·         Make sure that the venue is properly equipped with the required materials & infrastructure

·         Check the OHP, and white board marker- wherever applicable

·         Check for the network connectivity in the meeting room  before the meeting

·         Carry the required documents and presentation in the laptop also to thwart network issues.

·         Open the meeting with the purpose read out from the agenda and identify various owners without ambiguity.

·         Stick to the agenda and any distracting points consuming time, politely intervene and suggest they could either be taken at a separate meeting or Offline.

·         Never deviate from the topic and discuss personal matters

·         Never discuss about those who are not present at the meeting.

·         At the concluding time, request the MOM owner  to read out the noting for the benefit of all

·         Follow-up and make sure that the MOM is sent to all invitees (please note- not only attendees but all invitees) at the earliest.

Making a Presentation

·         Prepare the presentation with pleasing and printable colors. Please note that the colors pleasant on your computer screen may not suit a display on a screen through OHP. Select the colors appropriately

·         Review the presentation thoroughly  for contents and formats

·         Take a print out and check for readability.

·         Carry some hard copies of the presentation, in case of system/ power failures

·         Conduct a mock run the previous day for business critical meet/calls

·         Check for the bridge link atleast an hour before the business critical calls

·         Make a written request for technical support team to standby , for business critical meets/calls

·         Open the bridge sufficiently early, so that no one waits for you.

·         Request the participants to switch the mobile phones to silent mode.

·         Identify and publish your second, to be contacted in case of your non-availability.

Telephone Calls

·         While taking calls from your desk, make sure that you are not on speaker phone

·         If on speaker phone, control the volume to the acceptable level

·         Keep the phone under 'Mute' mode so that others in the call are not disturbed by external noises.

·         If there is a missed call when you are away, return the call on your return to your desk.

·         Ensure that your desk phone is protected against misuse of calls, as per the organization policy.

Leave of Absence:

·         Wherever possible, apply for leave in advance through the official system

·         In case of unplanned leave, keep your immediate supervisor informed about it through a phone call or message.

·         Set 'Out of Office Reply' for your mails and also mention who could be contacted in your absence.

·         As soon as you report back for duty, remember to remove the Out of Office settings.

·         In case you join earlier than the sanctioned leave, update the leave application accordingly.

·         Leave does not mean that your office has vanished. The business may still need you. Keep tracking the mails periodically and attend critical calls.

End of Day:

·         Make sure that the end of day/week reports are sent, before you log off

·         Ensure that the system,  printer and desk lamps are switched off, before you leave for the day

·         Make sure that your table is cleared of all papers and used coffee cups.

Appearance:

·         Always attire yourself with business apparels

·         Fridays does not mean that it is a culture holiday. Dress in business casuals

·         White hand kerchief is preferred over dark colored ones

·         Use a clean sox every day

·         Make sure your shoes are polished to a shine

·         Use of mild perfumes/ colognes is recommended

 Don’ts:

·         Never seek or discuss others' salary details

·         Never arrive late for meetings.

·         Never indulge in too much of discussions over lunch/dinner with the clients

·         Never interrupt a discussion; allow the speaker to complete before presenting your point.

·         Never talk with a mouth full of food

·         Never violate table manners

·         Never make sound with cutleries during official lunch or dinner

·         Never justify your mistakes. If true, accept and apologize

·         Never approach your boss with just the problem. Go with solutions.

·         Never work short of the stipulated duration in a day. If so, raise exceptions to your supervisors

·         Never respond to haughty mails in haste.

·         Never expect to be reminded for anything

·         Never release anything from your desk without a review

·         Never send bulk mails as this could clog the server obstructing business communication.

·         Never disturb your colleague on vacation , unless it is business critical

·         Never forward meeting requests as some applications are built to inform such forwards to the Organizer also.

·         Never miss an opportunity to thank others

·         Never fail to appreciate others efforts and support

·         Never do anything that is not expected of your position and status

At the client site:

·         Before travel, seek and equip yourself with the basic information on the client location, their culture, expectation , Do's and Don'ts which every organization worth its name maintains

·         Always carry and display relevant Id card

·         Respect and obey the client's privacy and security policy.

·         Never misuse their system with personal mails, USB, portable hard disk etc.,

·         Never share client's classified information with others

·         In the presence of the client, never speak with your friend  in a language that is not understood by the client

·         On return from the client site, send a note thanking for the courtesy extended

Separation:

·         Discuss with your supervisor before shooting that mail. A resignation mail without discussion normally depicts the respect you have for your boss

·         After HR clearance, speak to your team about your proposed exit plans.

·         Keep the clients informed about your exit plan , after discussing with your supervisor

·         Make and publish clear plan of action for your identified successor

·         On completion of handing over, publish a report to all stakeholders

·         Cooperate with the HR separation process

·         Send a thank you note to all concerned, before signing off.

·         Never speak ill of anyone as the bickering of today may appear trivial later

·         Never burn the bridge as the world is very small and you may work together again

·         Discharge your duties until you are discharged from the organization

·         Never step out without a formal relieving letter from the Organization

·         If required, get a referral from your last supervisor.

·         Leave your contact details with the HR and your last supervisor

·         Always support your successor/ team's queries even after your exit until they are comfortable