Business Eiquee he new rules in a digial age
Table of Conens Acknowledgmens...1 The New Rules of Eiquee... 2 Professional Neworking Sies, Including LinkedIn... 3 Social Neworking Sies, Including Facebook... 7 Twier...11 5 Quesions o Ask Yourself Abou Social and Professional Neworking Sies...13 E-mail...15 Insan Messaging...18 Mobile Devices... 20 Phone, Video and Web Conferencing... 22 Sicky Eiquee Quesions... 24 Conclusion... 25 Abou Rober Half... 25 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Acknowledgmens Rober Half Inernaional would like o recognize he following individuals for providing heir ime and insighs on eiquee in he workplace. Their conribuions are grealy appreciaed. Jane Aronica, Communiy Manager, onefory inc. Laura Fion, CEO and Founder, onefory inc., Co-auhor, Twier for Dummies Vicky Oliver, Auhor, 301 Smar Answers o Tough Business Eiquee Quesions Tonia Ries, CEO and Founder, Modern Media, Founder of TWTRCON Tim Sanders, CEO, Deeper Media, Auhor, The Likeabiliy Facor: How o Boos Your L Facor and Achieve Your Life s Dreams Clara Shih, CEO and Founder, Hearsay, Auhor, The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Neworks o Build Beer Producs, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Suff 1 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
The New Rules of Eiquee Polieness is o human naure wha warmh is o wax. ~Arhur Schopenhauer, 19 h cenury philosopher You ve masered radiional business eiquee, seamlessly reaching for he righ fork during a professional dinner while engaging in animaed conversaion wih your dining companions. Bu a a ime in which more business discussions ake place via LinkedIn, Twier or e-mail han over cockails and hors d oeuvres, i s jus as imporan if no more so o know how o presen yourself professionally using digial ools. Given he newness of social media and oher communicaions vehicles, i s easy o say or do he wrong hing. Unforunaely, misseps in his area can have lasing consequences: An online misake can show up nex o your name in an Inerne search for years o come. To help you avoid falling vicim o such blunders, Rober Half has creaed his guide offering insighs ino digial proocols, as well as advice for handling sicky siuaions. The informaion and ips are based on surveys of execuives, independen research, inpu from social media and eiquee expers, and our own experiences working wih job candidaes and cliens hroughou Norh America. We hope you find his guide useful and invie you o conac us a 1.800.803.8367 for more informaion or help wih any of your saffing or employmen needs. 2 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Professional Neworking Sies, Including LinkedIn Are you linking in or being lef ou? Professional neworking sies are among he mos popular ways of nururing professional relaionships oday. Neworking online is no differen han rubbing shoulders a in-person neworking evens i s imporan o make a posiive impression and follow he rules of he road. Here are some ways o ge he mos ou of LinkedIn and similar websies: Complee your profile. Provide as much informaion in your LinkedIn profile as you can. This migh include your professional summary, work hisory and educaion. Be sure o add key accomplishmens so oher users ge a clear picure of your capabiliies, and reques recommendaions from pas colleagues and managers. They can highligh and praise your accomplishmens in a far richer and more credible way. Reques recommendaions individually. Trea each reques wih he same respec you would in he real world. A generic message asking all of your connecions o endorse you may fall on deaf ears. Think abou i: Why creae a personal recommendaion for someone who can wrie personally o reques one? When appropriae (and if i s permissible by your company), recommend hose whom you know he bes and rus he mos. Be careful, however, of wha may be perceived as quid pro quo recommendaions: If you recommend someone jus as he or she has posed some kind words abou you, your kudos may be viewed as payback. 3 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Professional Neworking Sies, Including LinkedIn Prioriize qualiy over quaniy. Nework envy can make some people link aimlessly jus o build heir number of conacs. Don invie srangers o your nework merely o make i larger, and don be offended when hose you ve never me or vaguely know ignore your requess. Your nework is only as srong as is weakes connecion. Be a joiner. LinkedIn offers many groups for people who share cerain passions or ineress, and hese can be a valuable asse for keeping pace wih new developmens in your field. When paricipaing in professional groups, provide useful informaion and inpu. Avoid sending direc messages o fellow group members unless you have esablished a personal connecion beforehand. 10 Top LinkedIn Professional Groups Good business eiquee on LinkedIn includes paricipaing in discussions and doing small favors for ohers. The following are he op 10 LinkedIn Groups ranked by number of members.* To access he LinkedIn Groups Direcory, go o he search box and click on Groups from he pull-down menu: 1. Linked: HR (#1 Human Resources Group) 2. Job Openings, Job Leads and Job Connecions! 3. emarkeing Associaion Nework 4. Job & Career Nework 5. Execuive Suie 6. On Sarups The Communiy For Enrepreneurs 7. Consulans Nework 8. Job & Career Nework Professions and Indusries 9. Telecom Professionals 10. The Projec Manager Nework #1 Group For Projec Managers You also may wan o find ou if your various alumni and rade associaions have any LinkedIn groups. If so, be sure o join hose you find mos appealing. *Ranked as of Jan. 26, 2011. Top lisings subjec o change. 4 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Professional Neworking Sies, Including LinkedIn Say please and be respecful. If you would like an inroducion o someone in a conac s nework, ask poliely and explain why you hope o mee he oher person. For example, you migh poin ou ha he poenial conac is in a professional associaion of ineres o you. Think wice before you say yes. When members of your nework reques inroducions o your oher conacs, don immediaely agree, paricularly if you don know very well he person who is making he reques. Your repuaion is on he line if your conac ends up becoming a nuisance o ha individual. I also is common pracice now for hyper neworkers o add as many LinkedIn connecions as possible o mine daa from your profile and hose of your friends. How o Tend o Your Nework in Only Five Minues a Day: Neworking online doesn need o be ime consuming. You can develop your professional repuaion and help ohers in he process hrough simple eiquee pracices ha require only a few minues each day. 1. Be he firs o have a poin of view. Share a relevan news aricle and add value by including an observaion ha may no be so obvious o ohers. 2. Le hem know hey ve been heard. Lisen o wha your nework has o say so you can make an informed suggesion or relevan inroducion. 3. Esablish yourself as he go-o person. Consider connecing your LinkedIn and Twier accouns o esablish more visibiliy. Twee your professional ideas and links ino your profile using he hash ag #in. (However, hink wice before connecing your LinkedIn accoun o sies such as Foursquare, or oher locaionbased social neworks. I s unlikely people in your professional nework really need o know where you jus ae lunch.) 4. Try o add a leas one new person o your nework a week. Growing neworks are far more effecive han sagnan ones. 5 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Professional Neworking Sies, Including LinkedIn Make he connecion clear. Too ofen, people connec wihou hinking. When seeking o make a new conac, remind a person of how you know him or her if i has been a while since you ve alked. For example, you migh reference a recen conference you boh aended. Don be one-sided. An all-aboume approach won ge you very far. LinkedIn and similar sies allow you o ask for help from members of your nework quickly and easily, bu don abuse his privilege wih consan requess. Also, don forge o hank hose who lend you a hand, and always look o reurn he favor. Ac quickly on requess. Paience is a virue, bu no everyone possesses i. Respond o requess ha come via your nework promply wihin 24 hours, if possible. Keep i professional. Think wice before posing on LinkedIn, and don pos oo ofen or on rivial subjecs. Your aim should be o become a rused auhoriy raher han a social gadfly. Tha said, i s OK o share personal ineress such as ahleics and hobbies, as well as a profile picure so ha ohers can begin o know you. Make a big impac wih small gesures. Pay aenion o wha people are saying or working on. You can offer helpful suggesions, send useful aricles or jus leave commens, leing hose in your nework know hey are heard and undersood. You also can share insighs and offer inroducions o ohers. This may ake you only 45 seconds of effor bu could have a profound impac on he people wih whom you wish o develop closer professional relaionships. 6 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Social Neworking Sies, Including Facebook To friend or no o friend? Social neworking websies such as Facebook were iniially designed as a way for individuals o connec wih friends and family. Today, hese ools are increasingly used for professional purposes, paricularly in indusries such as public relaions and enerainmen. Bu for individuals, online social ineracion deserves careful hough before deciding o invie your professional conacs o join your friend lis. Many people aemp o keep heir Facebook profiles away from he public eye, or creae separae profiles for social and professional purposes. Ohers have decided heir work and personal lives are so ighly linked ha hey have no reservaions abou friending colleagues as well as pals. Jus as you migh share some deails abou your social life wih a clien over lunch, you may decide ha connecing wih colleagues on Facebook allows you o build closer relaionships. Depending on your indusry, you may even find ha Facebook is a useful way o develop relaionships ha may lead o new business. Whaever your decision, i s imporan o undersand he social neworking rules of he road. Even if you deermine i s bes o keep your personal and business profiles separae, you should know how o handle friend requess gracefully and he acions you can ake o proec your privacy. And if you do combine your personal and professional lives, i s always wise o be houghful and considerae when ineracing in social communiies. Here are a few ips: Secure a vaniy URL. Your name may be more common han you hink. A vaniy URL will make i easier for people o find you. For insance, insead of a long, unwieldy user name, consider facebook.com/yournameofchoice/. Include i in your e-mail signaure file and on your business cards. (Visi Facebook o learn more abou usernames and check heir availabiliy.) 7 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Social Neworking Sies, Including Facebook Include a profile picure. A picure is worh a housand words. A personal phoo adds legiimacy and confirms ha you re he righ Mary Jones. The image you choose can be casual, bu make sure i s professional. Respec he wall. If you wouldn wan o read i on a billboard, don pos i o your Facebook wall or anyone else s. This holds rue even if you use Facebook only o socialize. Remember, anyone you friend can see your commens, phoos and YouTube video links. E-mail or use Facebook s messaging feaure insead. Facebook Faux Pas: Don Make Claims Tha Your Profile Doesn Subsaniae A woman who called in o work claiming o be oo sick o use her compuer go caugh updaing her Facebook page he same day. She old her employer she was suffering from a migraine and needed o lie down in a dark room. The company said is discovery ha she was using Facebook while home sick promped hem o lose rus in her and resuled in her permanen dismissal. Source: Ill Worker Fired Over Facebook, BBC News Make he call. Are you using Facebook for work or personal use? If you decide o friend coworkers, parners and cusomers, mainain full business acumen. Avoid posing wha you ae oday or wha bar you are going o onigh for your business conacs o see. 8 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Social Neworking Sies, Including Facebook Keep i focused. Likewise, resis he empaion o pos updaes abou games, quizzes and groups o which you belong if you use Facebook for business. You ll muddy he waers and likely lose he ineres of (or even annoy) individuals who wan o know abou your professional aciviies. Don add new applicaions lighly! Some auomaically pos your aciviies on he general RSS feed. Do you really wan all of your friends knowing every ime you add a sheep o FarmVille? Probably no. Avoid vening. Big Broher really is waching, ye people coninue o make he misake of posing negaive commens or gossiping abou heir employers, supervisors, colleagues, or any oher ouchy opic. Don do i chances are he wrong se of eyes will sumble upon your remarks. A beer approach? Coun o 10 and consider he consequences. Ask before you ag. Check wih people before agging hem in phoos, especially if you hink hey migh no appreciae i, and don ag someone else s phoo wih a business pich unless you ve asked permission. Remember o check your own phoos periodically o make sure you haven been agged in one you may no wan o be associaed wih; Facebook has seings ha allow you o receive an aler anyime you have been agged in a phoo. Please, don poke. Your friends may ge a kick ou of your nudges, bu i can be inerpreed as fliring. Use his feaure for personal ineracions only. I s never appropriae for professional purposes. 9 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Social Neworking Sies, Including Facebook Take no for an answer. When rying o friend someone, once is enough. There s no need o bombard he person wih repeaed requess. A he same ime, keep in mind ha some people may no wan o connec wih you, including your boss or coworkers. Try no o ake i personally; people use differen crieria for building heir online social neworks, or hey may no be regular Facebook users. Keep i privae. I s likely you ll find coworkers or oher business conacs on Facebook, and no all of hem will use he sie in a professional way. Respec heir privacy, and don urn heir poss ino fodder for office gossip. Thinking Abou Friending Your Boss on Facebook? Execuives were asked, How comforable would you feel abou being friended by he following individuals on Facebook? Their responses: Your boss Your coworkers People you manage Cliens Vendors Very Comforable 15% 10% 10% 6% 5% Somewha Comforable No Very Comforable No Comforable a All 23% 37% 27% 27% 17% 17% 15% 18% 21% 25% 38% 32% 39% 39% 47% Don Know 7% 6% 6% 7% 6% Source: Rober Half survey of 249 senior execuives a he larges companies in he Unied Saes and Canada 10 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Twier Alhough you may no know wha wibes are, mos people have used or a leas heard of Twier since i launched in 2006. (FYI: A wibe is a group of Twier users ineresed in a common opic.) Twier is perhaps he leas undersood of all he major social media services. How do you find meaningful informaion in a sream of wees? Wha does RT sand for? And wha s a Fail Whale? The following ips can help you inerac wih he Twierverse (Twier universe) in a professional manner when exploring his real-ime informaion nework: Inroduce yourself. Twier is no a place for a curriculum viae. In your biography, you have a limied number of characers o explain wha you do and wha followers can expec from your feed. This makes i easy for people o decide wheher o follow you. Sar by lisening. Use Twier s search funcion o find feeds ha ineres you, and hen spend some ime learning how people in your indusry use he plaform. Tools like CoTwee, HooSuie and TweeDeck allow you o creae saved search erms o rack opics of ineres. Be human when weeing. I s imporan o use a human voice. Keep your one real and naural. Add value. Wha disinc value do you offer your followers? Be helpful and generous. Share links o relevan aricles or online resources. Twee ou informaion your followers can use, no irrelevan deails. Twee regularly. Keep your profile curren by posing informaion on a regular basis a few imes a day, if possible, or as ofen as seems naural. I only akes a few minues, and i will help you connec wih ohers who share he same ineress. Remember, weeing is no abou a number, and i shouldn feel forced. Pay i forward. Reweeing ohers poss helps you build rappor wih followers, encourage discussion and show people ha i s no all abou you ohers have perinen hings o say, oo! 11 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Twier Offer hanks. Acknowledge rewees by publicly hanking he people who shared your informaion. Bu don go overboard i cluers your followers sreams. Consider a direc message (DM) insead. Keep i ligh. You only have 140 characers o make a saemen, so don wrie in oo formal a fashion. Consider using fewer han 140 characers o make i easier for ohers o rewee your poss. Be open. Twier offers a privacy feaure, and, while i s subjec o change from ime o ime, 90 percen of users don enable i. Open accouns encourage he mos lisening, learning and sharing, so hink wice before locking an accoun you use for business. You can easily block individual accouns, if necessary. Bu don be oo open. Because of he space limiaions, Twier is no he bes place o resolve sicky dilemmas. For sensiive issues, use he DM feaure. Think before you wee. When using Twier for business, keep i PG-raed. Avoid posing any informaion abou conroversial opics or sharing sensiive informaion you could ge ino ho waer. Connec your LinkedIn and Twier accouns. You can display selec wees in your LinkedIn profile by using he hash ag #in wihin your Twier pos. I s a way o gain more racion, furher build your repuaion and esablish yourself as a go-o person, as long as you follow Twier bes pracices and use a ligh hand. I can be annoying when all of a person s wees indiscriminaely show up via LinkedIn. Social Neworking Lessons From he Fay Paycheck I s undeniable ha one wee can se off a firesorm, or, in some cases, ge you fired. A job candidae was offered a posiion by Cisco Sysems, Inc., bu her angs abou he opporuniy led her o wee he pros and cons. Someone claiming o be a Cisco employee saw he wee and responded: Cisco jus offered me a job! Now I have o weigh he uiliy of a fay paycheck agains he daily commue o San Jose and haing he work. via Twier Who is he hiring manager? I m sure hey would love o know ha you will hae he work. We here a Cisco are versed in he web. via Twier Sources: A Guide o Proecing Your Online Ideniy, Mashable; Social Neworking and Your Job: Lessons From he Cisco Fay, Excelle, A Monser Communiy 12 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
5 Quesions o Ask Yourself Abou Social and Professional Neworking Sies Overwhelmed by all of he social media possibiliies? Don worry you don have o do i all. Use he following quesions o help you deermine he bes medium for your message: 1 Wha s your primary goal? Do you wan o connec wih friends, business conacs or boh? Are you looking o build your professional repuaion, relocae o a new ciy, find a new job, or say up-o-dae on indusry news? Knowing your main objecive can help you idenify he bes social neworking ool for your needs. 2 Which sies do he people you wan o connec wih use? LinkedIn, Facebook and Twier offer he opporuniy o reach a wide audience, bu hey are used for differen purposes and in differen conexs. Deermine he audience you wish o reach and find ou which sies hey use and wha communicaion syle hey prefer. 3 Wha s your sraegy? Decide how much ime you re willing o inves, and hen choose specific asks ha will help you achieve your goals. You may decide o join five new LinkedIn groups, follow 10 new people on Twier each monh, or nework on Facebook for a se amoun of ime each day. Change your approach o find ou wha works bes for you. Invesing jus a few minues a day can help you manage your ime and pay significan reurns. 13 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
5 Quesions o Ask Yourself Abou Social and Professional Neworking Sies 4 Wha can you offer ha s differen from ohers? If you re an exper in your field or jus well versed on a paricular opic, you can share your knowledge wih ohers. Provide links o relevan aricles or videos. Ideally, you can offer insighs on indusry rends or share some unique experise of your own. 5 How will you monior your progress? The more you paricipae in your nework, he more you ll gain from i. Bu don ge hung up on he numbers. There are many ways o ge more followers, bu hose large follower or friend numbers don necessarily mean you re geing more from your nework. Insead, focus on he value of he new relaionships you re developing. You ll see a much higher reurn if you focus on qualiy versus quaniy. Who s Searching Whom? - 44% of aduls who are online have searched for informaion abou someone whose services or advice hey seek in a professional capaciy. - 31% of employed Inerne users have searched online for informaion abou coworkers, professional colleagues or business compeiors, up from 23 percen in 2006. Who s Sharing Wha? - 65% of adul social neworking users have changed he privacy seings on heir profile o limi wha hey share wih ohers online. - 27% of employed Inerne users now work for an employer ha has policies abou how hey presen hemselves online such as wha hey can pos on blogs and websies, or wha informaion hey can share abou hemselves. Source: Pew Inerne & American Life Projec, A Projec of he Pew Research Cener, Repuaion Managemen and Social Media, by Mary Madden and Aaron Smih, May 26, 2010 14 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
E-mail Alhough mos professionals are well versed in using e-mail, many sill sruggle wih he finer poins. I s commonly known ha yping in all CAPS is equivalen o cybershouing bu here are some oher proocol poins o consider: Be kind. Don use e-mail o say no, argue, criicize or deliver bad news. Pick up he phone or deliver he informaion face o face. Make every e-mail figh for is righ o be sen. The less you send, he more likely your messages will be read. Don copy ohers unless hey really need o read i. Be considerae, no crypic. Don expec ohers o decipher wha you mean by reviewing an enire e-mail hread. Jus because you are on he go doesn mean you should expec ohers o piece ogeher wha s being requesed. Use only one accoun for work. Keep work-relaed e-mails coming and going from your work accoun only. Having a single address makes i easy for people o find your messages. And i will preven business messages from geing angled wih your personal e-mail and perhaps negleced as a resul. Consider your e-mail accoun when job huning. I may go wihou saying, bu don use your curren work e-mail o send resumes o prospecive employers. Also, avoid using overly personal e-mail handles when job huning, such as paryanimal@.com. No everyone will appreciae your sense of humor and oo much informaion can be a urn-off. Respond in a imely manner. Try o respond o all messages wihin 24 hours, bu don say you ll reply wih a more deailed response a a laer dae unless you really inend o follow hrough. If you re in consecuive meeings or away from he office, pu an ou-of-office message on so people aren lef wondering when you ll ge back o hem. Be crysal clear. In your subjec line (and you should always have one!), explain wha you wan: Do you need someone o review or approve somehing, or is he message simply an FYI? In he message iself, ge o he poin and use bulles, which are easier o scan han large blocks of ex. 15 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
E-mail Don ge oo fancy. Avoid brigh colors, odd fons or exra-long signaure lines. Some people find hese disracing or jus plain annoying. Include your personal or business links o social and professional neworking sies when appropriae. Wach he size. An e-mail wih a mega-aachmen migh never reach is recipien, and if i does, i could overload he inbox. Consider zipping he file or uilizing a service like YouSendI ha allows you o ransmi large files over he Inerne. (Be sure o check your company s IT policy firs.) Don cry wolf. Is i really urgen or are you simply feeling impaien? Resis he empaion o flag your messages wih a big red exclamaion poin when hey re really no ha ime sensiive. The resul of doing so consanly? People simply will sop paying aenion. Reply wih care. When responding o an e-mail wih muliple recipiens, hink wice abou wheher you really need o reply o all, and double-check your response before doing so. Bad Reply o All hreads run rampan hroughou organizaions. Think before you send. Always review he disribuion lis when sending a sensiive message. Many a message has erroneously been sen o he wrong person wih disasrous consequences. Are Tech Eiquee Breaches a Career Killer? Execuives were asked, To wha exen, if any, can echnology eiquee breaches, for example, sending e-mail messages o uninended recipiens, checking e-mail on a BlackBerry during meeings, ec., adversely affec a person s career prospecs? Their responses: Grealy Don know - 1% 15% 61% Somewha No a all 23% Source: Rober Half survey of 659 human resources managers in he Unied Saes and Canada 16 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
E-mail E-mail Misakes on he Job Execuives were asked, Have you ever misakenly e-mailed someone he wrong message or copied someone on a message wihou inending o? Their responses: Yes 78% 22% No Source: Rober Half survey of 250 adverising and markeing execuives in he Unied Saes Among he Mos Embarrassing Blunders Repored Were he Following: Someone sen ou confidenial salary informaion o he whole firm. An employee sen his resume o me by misake. I was supposed o go o an ouside company. Someone made a nasy commen abou a supervisor and i was sen o he supervisor by misake. I evenually led o dismissal. I once sen a job offer o he wrong person. A person called anoher employee an idio in an e-mail o everyone in he company. My recepionis sen a very gossipy and cay e-mail abou anoher employee o he wrong person. I was so unprofessional ha she was erminaed. We sen an e-mail o a clien ha was mean for a vendor. I made i difficul when he clien had seen our coss. Confidenial informaion abou one clien was sen o a differen clien. I was cerainly embarrassing. Someone crafed a scahing, sarcasic e-mail abou a cusomer and did no mean o hi send. I caused problems. 17 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Insan Messaging Could i be he insan in insan messaging ha makes his form of online cha so appealing? I isn used in every office, bu i is becoming more common as a business communicaion ool. One of he reasons is populariy is growing is because i allows you o send and receive messages so quickly. Bu before sending your nex IM, make sure you follow hese eiquee rules: Be unassuming. When using his medium, remember ha your colleagues have heir own schedules and deadlines. Don assume a coworker is available jus because he person s IM saus indicaes he or she is logged on. Your colleague may have forgoen o change he saus o busy or could simply prefer o concenrae on a differen ask for he ime being. Resrain yourself. IMs can be disracing because hey ofen pop up in fron of oher open compuer windows and are usually accompanied by a noise rumpeing heir arrival. Don overdo i. Keep i shor and swee. A good rule of humb is o consider he lengh of a wee for your insan messages. IMs are bes for quick back-and-forh conversaions; many IM programs even limi he amoun of ex. If you re approaching ha limi, i s a sign ha you need o swich o e-mail. And if your overall exchange is aking up oo much ime or ex, a phone call or in-person meeing can yield quicker resuls. Avoid pop-ups. There s a ime and place for IMs, bu no during meeings. Remember o log ou of your cha feaure before presening in a meeing using your compuer or lapop. Consan IMs popping up, especially if hey aren business-relaed, can be disracing. 18 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Insan Messaging Exercise cauion. People frequenly use IM a work, bu i s easy o send a message o someone you didn inend o conac paricularly when chaing wih muliple people a once. When in doub abou he appropriae use of IM a work, check your company s policy. Wach your one. Aemps a humor or sarcasm can fall fla or be misinerpreed in an IM. Make sure you are familiar wih he recipien s sense of humor before aemping o be funny. Using emoicons can indicae a more lighheared message, bu when used excessively, hey can come off as unprofessional. When in doub, be sraighforward. Go wih he flow. Afer a 10-minue IM exchange wih your manager, he wries, Back o my work and ends he conversaion. Don ake offense a his breviy or perceived one. Because IM involves quick volleys of conversaion, i s easy o appear abrup or rude when no offense is mean. Be responsive, no dorman. When chaing on IM, reurn your reply in a imely fashion. Try o respond o he oher person wihin a few minues and generally no longer han five minues. If you are going o be away from your compuer emporarily bu wish o coninue your IM exchange, ell he oher person you will BRB (be righ back). Sign off properly. There s nohing more frusraing han having a fiveminue IM conversaion ha ends wih someone waiing for a final response. Le he person on he oher end know if you mus curail a cha session. I s nice o offer a shor reason why you are signing off, such as a scheduled call, or simply a TTYL (alk o you laer). 19 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Mobile Devices Mobile devices such as BlackBerrys, Droids and ipods are pervasive, bu ohers can ake offense when hey re always urned on. As new producs are released and hese ools become even more ubiquious, i pays o undersand proper workplace decorum. Here s some advice: Take a break. Give your colleagues he couresy of keeping your devices ou of sigh during meeings. Consanly checking and exing ells ohers ha your focus is elsewhere, and i could snowball when one person uses a device, oher people will hink i s OK and sar using heirs. Sep ou if you need o respond o an urgen message or make a call. Turn i off. Are you guily of a loud ringone, or a phone vibraing on he conference able? Boh will annoy coworkers during a meeing. So, when in doub, urn i off compleely. If you need o be reachable, se he phone o vibrae and keep i in your pocke or bag o muffle he sound. Know your locaion. Unless you work in TV, you don wan o be known as he broadcaser. Too ofen, conversaions ha should be confined behind closed doors ake place in coffee shops, grocery sore lines, airpor gaes and even resrooms. Would you have he conversaion if he guy behind you in line worked for he compeiion or was relaed o one of your company s execuives? Make and ake sensiive calls from a privae place. Disconnec he Blueooh. Always being plugged in doesn necessarily make you look indispensible, bu i may give you he nickname cyborg. Your always accessible demeanor may imply ha you can give your full aenion o he maer righ in fron of you. Disinguish beween 911 and 411. Think abou i. Can your quesion or reques wai? If a colleague provides a cell phone number o use in emergencies, honor ha reques. Wha s urgen for you migh no be so for he company or your conac, so ask yourself honesly: Is his a 911 or a 411 issue? 20 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Mobile Devices Tex selecively. Texing a colleague is helpful when sending direcions o a lunch meeing or leing he person know you re running lae. Bu i s no he ool for meaningful dialogue. Idenify yourself. Don assume your recipiens have your conac informaion programmed ino heir phone. If you ex coworkers, be sure o idenify yourself. Go ligh on he ex speak. Crypic code, such as AFC (away from compuer) or CYE (check your e-mail) makes exing shorhand a whole new language, bu no everyone is fluen. Don send messages full of confusing acronyms and abbreviaions. Though perfecion is no always necessary when exing, remember o remain professional. Tech Eiquee Oulaws: Are You One of Them? Chief informaion officers were asked, In your opinion, has he increased use of mobile elecronic gadges such as cell phones, smarphones, handheld devices and lapops increased or decreased he number of breaches in workplace eiquee in he pas hree years? Their responses: Increased significanly Don know/no answer - 2% Decreased significanly - 2% Decreased somewha - 4% 21% 29% 42% Increased somewha Remained he same Source: Rober Half survey of 1,718 chief informaion officers in he Unied Saes and Canada 21 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Phone, Video and Web Conferencing No doub abou i, oday s echnology can make disance irrelevan. As he workforce becomes more dispersed and companies recognize he cos savings of connecing remoely, phone, video and web conferencing and especially, applicaions like Skype are growing in populariy. I can be difficul, however, o know how o inerac wih colleagues and business conacs who are in differen locaions. Follow hese ips o say on he up-and-up: Take a rial run. Know how o use he conferencing echnology prior o scheduling a meeing. If you re no familiar wih he video screen, web-hosing sofware, webcam or elephone feaures, plan a pracice run so you can roubleshoo issues wihou wasing ohers ime. Wach he clock. Would your colleagues in Asia appreciae a conference call a 3 a.m. heir ime? When scheduling a meeing ha involves individuals from several locaions, keep heir local imes in mind. Websies such as imeanddae.com can help you decipher ime zones. Avoid hosing a meeing very early, lae or during lunch, if possible. Ge he eam ready. In advance of a conference call, give aendees wha hey ll need for he meeing dial-in number, pass code, login informaion and aachmens (e.g., presenaions, sales repors). If you wan hem o review he maerials in advance, say so. Include a brief agenda so people can come prepared wih some houghs insead of coming in cold. Be a good hos. Here s your chance o show your rue skills as a faciliaor. If you re leading he call, make appropriae inroducions before giving a brief overview. Keep he discussion moving and have an eye on he clock so you can leave a few minues a he end o address quesions, recap, and confirm nex seps and deadlines. 22 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Phone, Video and Web Conferencing Be inclusive. Ou of sigh shouldn mean ou of mind. If par of he group is meeing in person, don forge abou hose joining via phone or online. Ask hem for heir houghs if hey seem quie. Make he inroducion. You may hink your voice is disincive, bu i s no always easy o ell who s alking. Encourage everyone o inroduce hemselves before hey speak. Also, be sure o acknowledge someone who joins midway hrough he call. Enjoy he silence. I can be a virue, and who enjoys being inerruped? In virual meeings, i can be difficul o deermine whose urn i is o speak. A lag in he connecion may also cause a delayed response. Allow for pauses in he conversaion so everyone can weigh in and cach up. Pay aenion. Don ge caugh daydreaming. I s easy o le your mind wander during a remoe meeing, or you may begin o muliask if you re no being direcly addressed. Don pu people on hold. More han one conference has ended premaurely because on-hold music has prevened he conversaion from proceeding. Remind aendees a he beginning of he meeing o hang up if hey mus aend o somehing else. Use mue. I s jus common couresy o limi disracing background noises when you re lisening o ohers. Remember o urn your mue buon off before i s your urn o speak. Conference Call Culpris Execuives were asked, When you paricipae in meeings via eleconference, how frequenly do you do oher hings, like answer e-mail or surf he Inerne, during he meeing? Their responses: Very frequenly 12% 33% Somewha frequenly Never 19% 36% No frequenly Source: Rober Half survey of 763 adverising and markeing execuives in he Unied Saes and Canada 23 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Sicky Eiquee Quesions Occasionally we all come across siuaions in which we wonder, Would Miss Manners approve? Bu in he digial age of social neworking, he eiquee lines can become even blurrier. Following are some common sicky eiquee quesions and ips o help ackle hem: Should I personalize my LinkedIn requess o connec wih ohers? I s perfecly fine o use he form leer, even when connecing wih close conacs. Bu if you wish o connec o someone you haven seen in a while, ake he ime o personalize he message. Wha s he righ way o decline a reques o connec wih someone? No response a all migh be your bes be. Don feel pressured o connec wih someone you would raher no form a relaionship wih, and don feel he need o explain your decision. Simply click Ignore. Should I friend my boss or coworkers? This is he $64,000 quesion, and hose on he receiving end may provide he answer. (See Thinking Abou Friending Your Boss on Facebook? on Page 10.) If you do connec, uilize privacy seings and differen friend liss o conrol how and wih whom you share conen. Be sensiive o how engaged your company is in digial neworking. If someone follows me on Twier, should I follow him or her back? No, because you may end up unfollowing he person laer. Before following people, check ou heir feed, bio and previous wees o ge a sense of hem or heir organizaion, and deermine if you ll be ineresed in seeing he kind of conen hey share. Alhough i s considered good eiquee o follow someone back, don do i indiscriminaely. I s your feed, and you wan o make i valuable o you. Uh oh. I sen a confidenial e-mail o he wrong person. Wha do I do now? Firs, ry o use he recall funcion if your e-mail program offers his opion. If his sep doesn solve he problem, conac hose who are affeced, and explain your error and wheher you need heir help correcing i. You also may need o inform your manager of he misake. For more sicky siuaions, visi roberhalf.us/businesseiquee. 24 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
Conclusion Social media and oher echnology ools have creaed new forums for connecing, sharing and, unforunaely, blundering. Workplace conroversies have ensued, bu we can learn from our own and ohers misseps. The occasional oops is ineviable when using a new device or becoming accusomed o an emerging online plaform. When ha happens, recify misakes as soon as possible, apologize o hose who may have been affeced and forgive ohers when hey make gaffes. Puing yourself in someone else s shoes and forgiving quickly could indeed be he bes eiquee lesson of all. Abou Rober Half Founded in 1948, Rober Half is he world s firs and larges specialized saffing firm, wih more han 350 offices worldwide. The company s professional saffing divisions include Accounemps, Rober Half Finance & Accouning and Rober Half Managemen Resources, for emporary, full-ime and senior-level projec professionals, respecively, in he fields of accouning and finance; OfficeTeam, for highly skilled office and adminisraive suppor professionals; Rober Half Technology, for projec and full-ime echnology professionals; Rober Half Legal, for projec and full-ime saffing of lawyers, paralegals and legal suppor personnel; and The Creaive Group, for ineracive, design and markeing professionals. For more informaion abou he specialized saffing and recruimen divisions of Rober Half, visi roberhalf.com. All rademarks conained herein are he propery of heir respecive owners. 25 Rober Half Business Eiquee: The New Rules in a Digial Age
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