The Importance of a Greeting

A call to bring back common courtesy in the workplace.

It just might change your professional relationships.

Many times in the fast-paced business world, we are quick to jump into our endless void of email and start firing off work-related messages without even thinking about the person on the other side that will be receiving the messages.

This may be a side effect of a socially disconnected environment; however, there is a straightforward yet effective way to combat it: start your message with a greeting.

What function does a simple greeting serve?

It's about recognizing that there is a person on the other side of the message.

For some people, starting a message with something like “good morning” when emailing a colleague may seem trite or not practical, but it changes the effect of how the message is perceived whether you recognize it or not.

Starting with a greeting is not pandering or patronizing; it really comes down to basic courtesy.

Here is an example: Imagine that you are in a restaurant and seated at your table. The waiter comes over to you and asks, “what would you like?”

That example will not faze some people at all; however, imagine if the waiter said, “Good evening, how are you all doing tonight? Did you have a chance to look at the menu? What would you like?”

The result is the same, but the second approach communicates a greater sense of courtesy and respect.

The same thing applies in most workplaces in that we all want to be treated with respect. It is not a question of wrong or right; it is much more subtle than that.

The first scenario with the waiter is not necessarily wrong; it is just less courteous than the other. Courtesy in the workplace is a complicated thing to “enforce” because, for the most part, people aren’t doing anything that is against the rules.

It needs to be suggested as a practice rather than enforced, and it may take more than one try to be successful.

I have personally implemented the practice of starting every message with a greeting, and just by observing what I am doing, my staff will usually follow suit. After that initial phase, simply make the statement to your team that you would like to see a greeting when writing an email on every initial message, regardless of who it is to. Replies I leave up to the employee’s discretion based on how long it has been since the initial message.

The effects of just that change alone can have a shift in the way employees treat each other, whether it is virtual or in person.

I hope that this simple step helps to create a more courteous workplace for you because every little shift towards being more courteous can assist in significant things like employee satisfaction and retention, as well as increased feelings of camaraderie in the workplace.

Courtesy costs very little, but its impact can be far-reaching. Sometimes the smallest expressions of respect leave the greatest impression.

Thank you for reading and until next time — Robert Andrew Stanley