PR Tuesday: Reply All

This week’s post is a little less PR-specific; instead, it’s more focused on general office etiquette: specifically, the use of “reply all” in our e-mail inboxes.

Before I get in to my post in depth, I want to acknowledge that I didn’t meet the criteria I laid out two weeks ago, in my  last PR Tuesday post. I didn’t meet my deadline. I have a good excuse, though. Last Tuesday, I was happy to welcome someone new in to my life. His name is Atticus. He’s a 9-week Border Collie/Beagle cross.

I figure the cuteness will help you cut me some slack.

Reply all is the bane of my career

I’m not saying this because I had a “reply all disaster”, but because one of the things that bothers me in my career is when people click reply all, to provide information that is not needed to the group or to continue a discussion that perhaps doesn’t need to be continued.

For example, when I receive an e-mail letting me know a meeting has been moved, one of the things that drives me absolutely bonkers is when someone within the recipient chain replies with “Thanks.” I agree it’s important to acknowledge that the message was received; that’s good etiquette. But to clog the e-mail inboxes of your colleagues with “thanks” is uncalled for. What’s more, you should also consider who is included on these e-mail chains. Do you really want to start a “fun” conversation via reply-all about who is bringing what kind of cupcakes to the meeting when your manager or director is on the list? What does that say about the way you use your time at work?

The Huffington Post has a good article on reply all e-mail etiquette. Reply all has cost people their job, and has led to court cases about wrongful dismissal. It can – and clearly has been – a deadly tool. Thankfully, if you’re an Outlook user, you can block reply-all and there is even an add-on that lets you completely disable it. I know more than a few people who need to install this…

What are your thoughts on reply all? Is it a necessary evil, or should people just stop using it?