The other day I rang someone I had arranged to speak to for an interview at the prescribed time. My call went unanswered, straight to voicemail, where I was abruptly informed the person – their emphasis – never checks voicemail and to email or text instead.
I was immediately put off. The call was mutually arranged, albeit through the person's PR.
![Business etiquette is a minefield.](/web/20170207152403im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/o/p/0/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu66kh.png/1486341254667.jpg)
My understanding in a situation where someone isn't available when they said they would be is for the caller to leave a message to be returned.
It's a simple exchange based on mutual respect. The person who missed the call responds, partly to acknowledge they should have been free to take the call.
Turns out the interview subject had the time wrong. But I wasn't inclined to reschedule the interview because I felt the recorded message was ill considered and arrogant.
That gives me a clue as to how they might also respond to my interview questions. I would prefer to include people in my stories who display good judgment and who don't dictate the manner in which others can communicate with them. This should be a mutually agreed thing, in my view, rather than a decree.
As even this tiny example shows, business etiquette is a minefield. Voicemail is just one communication mode to navigate. It's probably easier to get right than email, a more complex beast.
Expressing gratitude is my perennial email conundrum. I find it incredibly hard not to respond to emails with a "thanks" when someone has kindly agreed to help me in any way.
This puts me at a quandary. I realise by replying with a one-word "thanks" I'm just cluttering other people's inboxes. But it's in-built in me – and all of us – to say thank you. So what's the best way to acknowledge receipt of an email, without annoying your correspondent? I don't know the right answer.
Whose responsibility it is to send calendar invitations is another point of communication etiquette with which I struggle.
This is particularly perplexing as a freelancer. If I'm organising an interview should it be my job to send the calendar invite?
There's a two-fold problem with this. First, I'm usually external to the business at which my talent works, so my invitation often won't get through their internal firewalls.
Expressing gratitude is my perennial email conundrum.
Second, I work on an Apple Mac computer and my calendar won't always sync with invitees' calendars on a PCs.
My solution is to let people know I can't send them a diary note for these reasons, on the basis clear communication is the best communication.
Sending emails out of hours is another challenge. It suits me to work at odd hours and also at weekends, when I can get a lot of writing and work done as the phone doesn't ring.
So I'm often sending out emails outside traditional business hours, but I don't expect a reply then. I expect people to respond during the working week. The way to resolve this is to schedule emails, but that's not easy within my email software.
Business etiquette is a complex, ever-changing beast that is evolving with the digital age.
Even though the pace of change in the commercial environment is rapid, displaying basic courtesies is always the best way to go if you're unsure of the right way to act in a business situation.
What's your most perplexing business etiquette experience? Post a comment below.
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