Frank Hagy, CIO
09 November 2011
Professional Image
The Organization’s
Personal
Legal Risks
Liability Issues
Copyright, trade secrets, etc.
Productivity
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
Emails are not private, assume they are retained
forever.
Assume your email will be forwarded and read
by others.
You can be held legally responsible for any
libelous or defamatory content.
Does the email pass the “newspaper test?”
If you would be embarrassed to see the email published
on the front page of a newspaper,
don’t put it into an email!
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
When not to email
Extremely important or confidential information.
Conducting negotiations.
Communicating bad news.
When you need an immediate response.
When participants located close together.
Complicated instructions.
Email is a hybrid communication method
Requires a degree of formality like a letter.
Facilitates quick exchanges of information.
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
Signature block
Who are you; name and title.
Where you are from.
Disclaimer/Public Records Notice
Phone numbers?
Friendly Feeling
Who am I
Disclaimer
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
Signature block (continued)
Example of Public Records Notice
PLEASE NOTE: Florida has a very broad public records law. Most written
communications to or from the City of XXXX officials and employees regarding public
business are public records available to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail
communications may be subject to public disclosure. Under Florida law, e-mail addresses
are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a
public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this
office by phone or in writing. The views expressed in this message may not necessarily
reflect those of the Town of Jupiter. If you have received this message in error, please
notify us immediately by replying to this message, and please delete it from your
computer. Thank you.
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
Out of office assistant
Use sparingly.
Include useful information.
Whether you will be checking email.
When to expect a reply.
Alternate contact.
Do not indicate you will be out-of-town.
Make the subject line meaningful.
Use headings and blank lines rather than special
formatting or tabs.
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
Addressing
Use “To” and “CC” appropriately.
Hide email address using the BCC when
appropriate.
Use “reply” and “reply all” appropriately.
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
Check file sizes for attachments.
Never open an attachment from someone you
don’t know.
Don’t forward emails without a comment as to
why it is being forwarded.
Posting or forwarding an email could be a
copyright infringement. Be sure you have
permission.
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
Use proper spelling and punctuation… use the
spell checker.
Do not overuse “high priority” function.
Do not use CAPITALS…it means your shouting.
Be careful with abbreviations and emoticons.
Do not request delivery / read receipts.
Avoid using “Urgent” or “Important” in subject
line.
Keep it brief.
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
Do not use patterned backgrounds.
Do not use fancy type.
Refrain from using multicolored fonts.
Never criticize other people or organizations in
an email.
READ YOUR EMAIL BEFORE YOU SEND IT…think
about the tone of the email…is it appropriate.
Always end emails with “Thank You”,
“Sincerely”, “Best Regards”…..something!
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved
© Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved