When you start working, it is obvious to the employer that a lot must be taught. However, the problem at hand becomes complex if you have to be spoon fed. Make life easier for everyone and get yourself on track to be a true corporate professional by following the full of etiquette tips for newbies in this blog and in the coming weeks.
01. Telephone and Email Etiquette
While these require two separate blogs of their own, I will start and stop by reminding you that both telephones and emails are essential parts of business communication. The telephone, no matter what it looks like, is not to be considered an ornament – it MUST be answered and if a call is missed, the caller should be called back without excuses. Emails are not to be read as bedtime stories, they need to be read and responded or at least acknowledged preferably within minutes or hours.
02. Cubicle Etiquette
Open offices are shutting the door firmly on cubicle offices, but some legacies will last beyond our lifetime. (Open offices require a new level of common sense and etiquette, which I will cover soon). One must ALWAYS receive permission prior to entering. Two or three polite knocks will help the occupant know of your presence, refrain from using the door as a drum. If you can see that the occupant is on a call, wait, catch his or her eye before knocking and at all times avoid knocking the door down to the ground.
03. Lunch Room Etiquette
Depending on the type of organization, power distance could vary. First gauge for yourself the level of familiarity and friendliness the company maintains in general and be cautious as you build cordial working relationships over lunch. The topics you discuss, how you eat, how you contribute to conversations would depict a lot about you; be conscious of it.
Choose topics that are not offensive, does not require people to detail their personal lives and ones which are open and general where everyone can contribute. Avoid sounding too opinionated as it would make it difficult for you to make friends.
Mind your table manners and don’t go overboard to share food with others; it may be perceived as though you are trying too hard.
It makes more sense to keep quiet even if you are highly knowledgeable on the topic, if butting in looks impolite in the remotest way. If you are invited to join the conversation through verbal cues or expressions, you may; at all other times, mind your packet of rice and be done with it.
Also, make it a point to inquire the permitted duration for lunch from a colleague in your department – never overstay.
04. Mums the Word
Client information, personal lives of colleagues and vendor details are to be treated with respect and the highest levels of confidentiality are to be maintained. Blabbing inside or outside of the office is frowned upon and could result in dire consequences for both the company and yourself. Don’t use your seat in office or in the lunchroom as the stage to divulge the idiosyncrasies of your partner or all your personal tit bits either.
There could be multiple other settings in office where you feel like a fish out of water and flounder around bewildered about how you should react. If so, feel free to write to us at fullofetiquette@gmail.com and we will guide you through these difficult days of your career. Together, the most active team members at fullofetiquette.com count over fifty years of corporate experience; we probably have been through these awkward moments too.
Till I return with ‘Full of Etiquette’ next week, stay safe!
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Praveeni Jayasekera is the Founder and Editor of fullofetiquette.com; she is a regular advocate on the subject. She is an ACMA, CGMA; holds a BSc. Economics and Management; PG in IT and Diploma in Social Sciences. She is employed full time in the capacity of Chief Operating Officer at CL Synergy (Private) Limited; a Sri Lankan freight forwarding company. She is an ardent fan of the written word and has compiled content for numerous websites for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, corporate profiles and blogs. She has experience in training corporate professionals on customer service and business etiquette. She conducts coaching sessions on etiquette for school children every now and then.
