How to Communicate Appropriately with your Employer

In the Staffing industry we interact with people constantly from all different walks of life. How you communicate with your employer leaves a lasting impression and can set the stage for future promotions and job placements. Here are the top 5 things to keep in mind when you engage with your employer:

1. Quantity of Contact: If you need to contact someone outside your office or worksite via phone/text/e-mail, please keep in mind these individuals also have responsibilities other than answering direct communication. Give them the opportunity to receive your message and respond. Do not, for any reason, call or message repeatedly i.e. 10x in a row. If your situation is an emergency, it is appropriate to contact more than one individual within the organization.

2. Your Employer is not your Friend: Remember that your employer is not a personal friend and every interaction you have with them leaves an impression. It is unnecessary to share additional, non-pertinent personal information and it is never appropriate to curse. A friendly salutation will suffice “ Hi, how are you?”

3. Be Reasonable: Most organizations, whether big or small, have policies and procedures. You may not agree with every policy, but it is futile to try and argue against something in the moment and it is never appropriate to argue with the messenger. Most likely the employee you are discussing the policy with is not the individual who created it; they are simply explaining what has already been established.

4. Be Respectful: This I cannot express strongly enough! It is NEVER, I repeat NEVER appropriate to be disrespectful to your employer. If you feel you are being mistreated and you have a valid reason to be upset, there is certainly a method to follow to get resolution. At the worse case scenario, there are agencies put in place like the EEOC to protect employee’s rights. You will get much further professionally by calmly and logically expressing your concern and taking the correct steps toward action.

5. Do Your Part: It is your employer’s responsibility to create and implement policies and procedures that outline the most common scenarios that employees will encounter. However, it is the employee’s responsibility to read and understand policies when they are notified. If a new policy is established and sent specifically to employees, it is your responsibility to make yourself familiar with that policy because it affects you; otherwise it would not have been sent.

Keep these things in mind while navigating the professional waters. Maintaining basic etiquette with your employer establishes a collaborative rapport that will serve you well when you engage with other individuals in your organization and beyond.