The guidance has been created following feedback from colleagues across the University who said the following: 

• There is an overwhelming volume of work emails to manage 

• Sometimes email is not the right channel for certain communications, yet there is an overreliance on it as a communication channel at the University  

• Improvements need to be made to the email culture at the University  

• Staff need support to understand how they can communicate in a way that meets accessibility requirements.  

Adhering to email and MS Teams etiquette respects everyone’s time, enhances productivity and alleviates the sense of email overload. It fosters stronger collaboration across the institution and sustains positive working relationships among colleagues. Additionally, it ensures that responsibility, safety, and compliance are upheld by minimising the risk of information security incidents. 

We recommend reading through this guide to help you get the best response from your emails and MS Teams conversations and meetings, as well as saving time and resource by using the tools and features available to you on such systems. Within your School or Department, you may already have similar guidance specific to your local area. If this is the case, please use this resource to support any existing information and to act as general advice that applies across the University.  

The aim of this guide is to improve the working culture at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ. We welcome your feedback about this email and MS Teams etiquette guidance; please email Sadie Rue, Internal Communications Manager if you would like to share your thoughts.