Treat Work E-Mails Just Like Letters

By Andi Atwater, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

Jun. 21–There’s no question e-mail has become an indispensable tool in the corporate world.

Ferris Research estimated that in 2006, some 25 billion non-spam e-mail messages were sent worldwide every day. The total of non-spam business e-mails sent in 2006 was 6 trillion.

As convenient as e-mail is, however, there are risks involved that no employer — or employee — should forget.

“E-mails are so great; they can be such an efficient means of communication,” said Wichita attorney Monte Vines with the Adams Jones Law Firm. “But partly because they are so easy to send… sometimes people do them without really giving them the same kind of consideration they would give a formal letter on company letterhead.”

An e-mail carries the same legal weight as any formal company document, Vines said. Company e-mails, in fact, are owned by the corporation and are legally discoverable and admissible as evidence in court.

Saddled with the extra burden of protecting private patient information, Wichita health care provider Via Christi is reminding its employees next week of appropriate use of company e-mail.

Some 7,200 Via Christi Health System employees use company e-mail, and generated about 350,000 outgoing items in May. The company received about 7 million incoming e-mails last month, but only about 10 percent made it through spam and virus filters, said Kirk Swilley, system director of information technology.

“E-mail is such a prevalent tool used in the work place, sometimes patient information or sensitive corporate information can be sent,” he said. “So I thought it would be a good time to put it in our tips and tools and remind our end-users about it.”

Common e-mail mistakes that can get employees — or their companies — in trouble include sending e-mails to the wrong recipients, replying to all users instead of the one who sent the e-mail, and assuming an e-mail is deleted when, in fact, it’s probably stored on the sender’s (or the recipient’s) company server.

And that’s not even addressing the content itself.

“E-mail is so easy that people overuse it,” said Nancy Bereman, who teaches human resources management at Wichita State University’s Barton School of Business.

“Employees need to remember when they are at work and using e-mail, they are using company resources.”

Corporate e-mail is not private, warns Swilley. His biggest tip for employees next week?

“Sending an e-mail is like sending a postcard — if you wouldn’t want your e-mail to be displayed on a bulletin board, don’t send it,” he said.

Reach Andi Atwater at 316-268-6642 or aatwater@wichitaeagle.com.

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