7 Workplace Etiquette Tips to Build Stronger Relationships

0:28This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. of America for a reason. With SUVs made to move with your rhythm. The versatile Equinox tackles your entire day. The spacious Traverse fits your crew and your whole weekend. And tracks bring style with value you can count on. All infused with tech that has your back. So your drive always hits the right chord. Chevrolet. Together let's drive. Is proper workplace etiquette really necessary to do a good job? No. But does it improve interpersonal relationships and pay dividends in the long run? Oh yeah. In this video, I share the top seven workplace etiquette tips I've noticed in the past eight years working in the corporate life, first as a management consultant and now as a product marketing manager.

1:15Let's get started. Hi everyone, Jeff here, and I've always been fascinated by how some of my colleagues always seem to be well-liked and well-respected regardless of their role and tenure. So I'm glad to be back with Harvard Business Review to bring you an episode on workplace etiquette. In this video, I'll share behavioral traits all these high performance seem to have in common, and more specifically, what you can do today to replicate some of that success. The first workplace etiquette tip is teach your colleagues how to fish. Something I'm positive that has happened to literally all of us is a teammate messaging you with a question they really should know the answer to.

1:50Instead of rolling your eyes, treating it like a burden, and wondering how anyone can be so slow, a thought that has never crossed my mind, give them their request information upfront and provide instructions on how they can replicate your steps. This way, you've helped them out in the short term and they have something specific to refer to the next time they run into a similar situation. Second, a workplace etiquette tip for email communication. If you know you're gonna be out of office in the next few weeks, change your email signature so your correspondents have ample time to prepare. Within the settings page of your email service provider, create a new signature template and name it something like upcoming OOOO.

2:29Include the dates you'll be unavailable and feel free to switch it up a bit with a cute multiple choice menu like this. I generally like to enable this new signature two weeks beforehand by selecting upcoming OOOO for new emails, upcoming OOOO for replies, and checking the insert signature before quoted text option here. Pro tip here is actually while you're on this page, you can scroll down and turn on vacation responder, pick the first and last days of your OOO, like so, include a thank you for your email greeting, and paste the multiple choice menu to stay consistent. This seemingly small change prompts your colleagues to take your OOO into account and prepare accordingly ahead of time.

3:09The nice ones will even make a mental note and really not disturb you doing this well-deserved break. Speaking of respecting OOO, tip number three is scheduling emails around regional holidays. Although I myself am based in Asia, I get to work with colleagues from all of the world. And so I enable holiday calendars from some markets in Europe and North America. I don't have a perfect track record, but I've been pretty good about observing my colleagues holidays and using the schedule email feature to schedule emails to be sent a day or two after they're back. And it's always so fun to hear what my North American colleagues did over Thanksgiving and Christmas break because we just don't have that here.

3:48Must be nice. Moving on to best practices for meetings. Workplace etiquette number four is to ensure all attendees have access to shared documents. Good sleep is everything. That's why Oli's science back support is made with a blend of melatonin and L-theanine for both kiddos and grownups. So when your mind won't switch off, you've got something that can help. Erasing thoughts and restless nights won't stand a chance. Find Oli's sleep solutions for the whole family at Oli.com. That's O-L-L-Y dot com.

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5:16few access. Some platforms even have a little pop-up warning you when you don't have the right access. While it might not seem like a big deal to take a few seconds during the meeting to take care of this, having to stop in the middle disrupts the rhythm of the presenter, the meeting, and it comes off as a little bit unprepared. Tip number five involves a huge pet peeve of mine, so I look forward to reading comments down below, and that is around rescheduling meetings at the last minute. In my own very humble opinion, for colleagues with sizable time zone differences, there should be at least a 24-hour notice for meeting reschedules.

5:52In these situations, there's often at least one party who needs to wake up earlier for that meeting. And if the meeting is canceled when that person is asleep, it's a bit disrespectful since they might have made special arrangements for that morning or day. For me personally, I have a specific color for meeting invites with colleagues based out of the US and in Europe. So I can take extra care in confirming the time and date to avoid last minute surprises. Workplace etiquette number six is something I only appreciated after it was done to me. And that is to strategically follow up with colleagues in order to strengthen relationships.

6:24There's this one time I was taking a part in an internal presentation where we had people like Dallin from all over the world. And after my very small quick session, a colleague I've worked with just once who's based in San Francisco messaged me saying, it was great to see me again and really enjoyed my part. Since there was a large audience, I was feeling really nervous even after my session ended, and that message instantly made me feel a thousand times better. And so I started to copy that behavior. I recognize someone presenting in a large team meeting, I pay attention, I message them afterwards mentioning a specific detail they shared, and that usually results in a catch up a week or two down the line.

7:01Tip number seven is to say no without burning bridges. And this is a tip I'm extremely fortunate to have learned from my manager very early on in my career. When you're already overwhelmed, but don't wanna come off as uncooperative, the best thing to do for your own personal wellbeing is to say no. And the best thing to do to maintain a positive relationship is to point your colleague to alternative solutions that will help resolve their issue. This combined with an explanation as to why you're unable to help this time is a great way to buy you some goodwill, even though you turn down their request.

7:35If you'd like to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share practical career and productivity tips, Feel free to click right here or search for Jeff Su. See you on the next video. In the meantime, have a great one.

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