Processing Mail






Handling E-Mail
Handling Traditional Incoming Mail
Handling Outgoing Domestic Mail
International Mail
Office Equipment
International Holidays and Mail
Services
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
2
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling E-Mail



Tips for Handling E-mail
E-mail Etiquette
Ethical Issues Regarding E-mail
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
3
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

E-Mail —Tips

Check messages frequently

Respond to messages immediately

Sort and delete messages regularly
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
4
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

E-Mail —Etiquette/Netiquette

Never send anything you don’t want made public

Address receiver by name in opening sentence

Reread message before sending

Use spell-checker

Keep message concise
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
5
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

E-Mail--Etiquette
(continued)

Use capital letters sparingly


Include original message in replies or forwarded messages to eliminate need to summarize what has been written
Always get writer’s permission before forwarding or posting e-mail message

Post only messages pertinent to members of group
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
6
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

E-Mail —Ethical Issues

Employers have reasons for monitoring employees’ computer activity

Maintain organization’s reputation

Improve employee productivity

Increase security

Prevent employee disclosure of trade secrets/other confidential information
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
7
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

E-Mail —Ethical Issues
(continued)

Employees’ concerns include

Privacy issues

Long hours at work and need to communicate with others outside company
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
8
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Incoming Mail

Sort

Open

Inspect contents

Register special mail

Date-time stamp

Read and annotate

Present mail

Handle packages, publications, and advertisements

Distribute mail

Answer mail in manager’s absence
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
9
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Incoming Mail —Sort

Sort by groups:

Mail sent with urgency



Letters, including bills and statements
Interoffice mail
Personal mail


Newspapers and periodicals
Booklets, catalogs, etc.

Packages
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
10
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Incoming Mail —Open
Mail

Assemble supplies:

Opener, date stamp, paper clips, tickler file,
To Do list, and pencils


If envelope opened by mistake, seal and write
“Opened by mistake” and initial; then distribute to addressee
Establish preferences for handling “Personal and Confidential” mail with manager
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
11
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Incoming Mail —
Inspect Contents

Keep envelopes until information is accounted for

Check for address and signature of sender, date, and enclosures

If document is not dated, write postmark date and staple envelope to back of letter

Attach enclosures:

Staple if same size or larger

Use paper clips if staple would damage
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
12
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Incoming Mail —Register
Special Mail


Mail register provides a record of special mail, including insured and registered mail and packages
Form should include:




Date and time received
Sender’s name
Recipient’s name
Type or description
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
13
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Incoming Mail —
Date-Time Stamp


Time of arrival of certain correspondence has legal significance


Received in time for cash discount?
Received in time for bid openings?
Typically, date-time stamp all incoming mail

Stamp correspondence in white space at upper left, right, or top edge

Stamp booklets, catalogs, etc. on either front or back cover
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
14
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Incoming Mail —
Read and Annotate

Know what manager wants:

Does he/she want you to underline key words and dates, and write marginal notes?

Keep alert to things that




Contain date of appointment
Mention report being mailed separately
Confirm phone conversation
Request decision that cannot be made until additional information is obtained
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
15
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Read and Annotate Mail
(continued)

Annotate

Use small handwriting

Make notes brief

Reasons for annotations
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
16
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Incoming Mail —
Present Mail

Process mail quickly


Place urgent mail on top and least urgent items on bottom
Protect manager’s privacy

Place mail so it is not visible to others

Place confidential items in large envelope or folder
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
17
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handle Traditional Incoming Mail —
Packages, Publications, and Ads By Mail

Packages receive priority over periodicals, newspapers, and advertising materials

Packages with letters enclosed are processed with important mail

Give new items to manager

Store regular supplies
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
18
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handle Packages, Publications, and Ads By
Mail
(continued)

Unwrap newspapers; try to flatten them

Affix routing slip

If manager reads these first, place his/her name at top of list

Give manager opportunity to read advertising materials
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
19
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handle Packages, Publications, and Ads By
Mail
(continued)

Determine which advertising materials, catalogs, etc. should be kept, discarded, or shared

Replace old advertising materials and catalogs with new ones

If you keep many catalogs, set up filing system
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
20
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Distribute Mail

Managers distribute mail to others to:

Obtain information so he or she can reply

Ask someone else to reply directly

Keep others informed

Procedures to follow
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
21
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Answer Mail in Manager’s Absence

Abide by manager’s preference

Typically, if only gone one or two days, set mail aside

If urgent correspondence, call or e-mail manager

Organize business mail in folders

Forward mail that requires immediate action to person designated

Respond to letters you can answer
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
22
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Outgoing Domestic Mail

Formats

Classes of Domestic
Mail

Extra Services

Special Situations

Basic Bulk Mail

Dangerous Goods

Other Domestic
Delivery Services

Tracking Mail
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
23
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Outgoing Domestic Mail

Steps in preparing items

Review documents for signatures and enclosures


Verify inside address with envelope address
Determine most accurate way of mailing item if needed

Presort mail

Outgoing mail divided into two classes

Domestic

International
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
24
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Outgoing Domestic Mail--Formats
(continued)

ZIP + 4 —identifies geographic segment within five-digit delivery area

Locate ZIP + 4 by searching Internet for ZIP code lookup

Two-letter abbreviations
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
25
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Outgoing Mail —
Classes of Domestic Mail






FirstClass Mail®
Priority Mail ®
Express Mail ®
Parcel Post ®
Bound Printed Matter ®
Media Mail ® (Book Rate)
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
26
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Outgoing Mail —
Extra Services






Certificate of Mailing
Certified Mail™
Collect on Delivery
(COD)
Delivery Confirmation ™
Insured mail-Purchased at PO or Online
Money Orders






Registered Mail™
Restricted Delivery
Return Receipt
Return Receipt for
Merchandise
Signature
Confirmation ™
Special Handling
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
27
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Outgoing Mail —
Special Situations

Know what to do to:

Change of address

Recall mail

Return undelivered mail
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
28
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Outgoing Mail —
Basic Bulk Mail

Used to describe presorting mail

Visit USPS Web site
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
29
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Outgoing Mail —
Dangerous Goods


Prohibited from being mailed both domestically and to points outside of United
States
Articles or substances listed could be dangerous to postal workers and postal equipment, or could damage other mail







Explosives
Flammable items
Radioactive materials
Gases, oxidizers, organic peroxides
Corrosives
Toxic and infectious substances
Asbestos, air bags, dry ice
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
30
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Outgoing Mail —
Other Delivery Services

Provide pick-up and drop-off services

Emery Air, UPS, FedEx, Purolator Courier
Corporation

Online service provides forms and tracking procedures

Private Companies

Mail Boxes Etc.
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
31
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Handling Traditional Outgoing Mail —Tracking
Mail

USPS and other delivery services provide online tracking systems

On Web site, enter label or receipt number and follow directions
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
32
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

International Mail

USPS —International Mail Manual (IMM)

Policies, regulations, and procedures
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
33
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

International Mail —Special International
Services

USPS offers

Expedited Services


Standard Services
Volume Mailing Service

Certified and COD services are not available for international mail

Other delivery services include

DHL, UPS, and FedEx
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
34
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

International Mail —International Postage

Be sure mailroom has current postage information for all countries

Be sure information is clearly posted, so anyone can calculate the correct postage
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
35
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —Postage Meters

Postage added automatically to envelope or package

Procedures
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
36
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —
Postage Meters
(continued)

Advantages






Mail need not be canceled or postmarked by post office
Sent directly for sorting
Allows receiver to track actual time, date, and place where processing occurred
May be dispatched slightly sooner than mail that must be canceled at post office
Convenience of not using stamps
Apply exact postage needed
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
37
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —
Postage Scales

Show weight and amount of postage required
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
38
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —
Postage Price Calculation

Use postage calculation link on USPS Web site

From Web site, print postage
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
39
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —Fax

Copies and transmits documents over telephone lines to corresponding remote fax machine

To send or receive a fax from your computer, use fax software
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
40
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —Fax
(continued)

General procedures for sending

Complete adhesive note or use transmittal form to show contact information of sender and recipient

Place document in fax unit (face up or down?)

Dial fax number; if sending long-distance, enter LD access code

Press Send button
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
41
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —Fax
(continued)

Tips to establish guidelines —determine

If message is appropriate for faxing

If document is delivered by fax, type an appropriate notation on line below signature, such as “By fax”

Appropriate cover sheet


Guidelines for maintaining confidentiality
How misdirected messages will be reported
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
42
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —Scanners

Used to input text and photographs

Common types are

Flatbed

Sheetfed

Photo

Portable

General Procedures
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
43
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —Photocopiers





Copier-based
Printer-based
All-in-one
Size/purpose according to workgroup needs




Personal
Small to mid-size
Department
Production
Considerations
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
44
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Office Equipment —
Photocopiers
(continued)

Tips


Copy when you have several items
Determine best times to use copier


Keep track of monitoring device, such as a card or access code
Plan ahead for copying needs


Comply with Copyright Act
Turn on “Power Down” mode when you have finished
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
45
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

International Holidays and Mail Services

Holidays celebrated each year change from year to year

Countries with diverse populations may practice over ten major religions

Before mailing or faxing important documents:

Check out country’s schedule of holidays

Use Internet and access search tools for current list of holidays
Office Procedures for the 21 st
Burton and Shelton
Century, 8e
46
© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.