Problem
In my professional career, from time to time, I get forwarded an email, out of the blue from a colleague, and this email has a message that reads “Hey Wes, can you do this for me?”. Following this seemingly simple message is a week-long thread of thirty emails between several people and I am the lucky individual who gets added to the chain in hopes that I can resolve the issue.
This is one of those office etiquette pet peeves of mine that I find frustrating at times. It is frustrating because the expectation is that I am supposed to follow the clues in a long chain to even figure out what my colleague is asking of me. This is an indication to me that my time is not respected, and actually makes me less willing to help out my fellow colleagues.
Etiquette: Be Precise
What is the proper etiquette here? How are you as a professional supposed to communicate to your colleague the important information that is stretched across a quagmire of hastily constructed emails? It’s easy, and it starts with respecting your colleague’s time. Just like yourself, your colleague has an endless list of things to do so you should respect that time. If you expect them to give you a timely response and help out with the email you just forwarded, make sure to be very precise with your message that you write to them. Don’t make them go through all the past emails to try to figure out the context of what you’re asking. Instead, summarize precisely the key points in the chain and explicitly ask what you’re looking for your colleague to do for you. Their time is as valuable as their’s so don’t waste it!