How to Interact with the Bosses (Part 1)-Basic tips on Chat and Email

Almost every client I've worked with has approached me at some point in time stating that their team members do not know how to communicate with seniors and being into Talent Management, I should train them on these aspects.

So here are a few things to be avoided while communicating with seniors:

For chats and emails:

1. Avoid responding with a plain "Okay" if they tell you something. Instead, say "Okay" followed by either first name or sir/madam. Even better, say - "Sure. Will do."

2. Avoid asking "how are you" or "wass up" all the time to seniors. It is a question that should flow from top to bottom, not vice versa.

3. Avoid addressing them with a plain "hi" or "hello". They are not your colleagues. It's always;

"Hi, sir "or ma'am or "Hi <first name> " depending on who senior the person is, designation or age-wise.

4. Avoid using emojis like plain 😀 👍👋 etc. unless they treat you as a friend or it's a fun conversation. Remember it is not a social media site.

Just to quote an example that actually left me in splits.

Boss: You took a lunch break of almost 2 hrs. without informing me?

Team member: I had some personal work.....😀

Boss, a bit annoyed: Make sure you inform me next time.

Team member: 👍

The boss got so furious with this reaction that he immediately sent a screenshot to me and to top it all he said - "These are the kind of people being hired by HR". Now, this should have made me furious, but instead, it made me laugh like crazy!

5. Always acknowledge a senior's chats or emails.

6. Avoid addressing every person in the team as sir or madam. At the same level, it's a strict no, unless he/she is extremely senior age-wise. If the person is an immediate superior say a TL and you a team member, and there isn't much age gap, address them by their first name. But always show respect and never cross boundaries.

In tier 2 cities in most small or mid-size companies, people take immense pride when someone calls them sir or get offended when a junior calls them by their first name. This culture needs to be shunned as it creates false egos and even clashes which leads to other problems later on.

 In traditional manufacturing, textile, finance, electronics companies calling seniors sir/madam is fine since the seniors are generally in the age group of 35-55 and from old school of thought. People working in IT, advertising, mobiles, startups, etc. are mostly millennials. It doesn't make sense to spoil them at such a young age, only to make the matters worse.

HR should come up with a basic uniform addressing policy for the staff depending on what kind of organization it is.

6. Never compare yourself to your seniors. They will be given privileges based on their seniority. It doesn't mean you start demanding the same things for yourself. Earn it with experience, performance, maturity and time. 

I actually feel awkward at times, that these basic etiquettes need to be told to the people. Nonetheless, I do it, in a fun and light way!

More later...