Guide to Enterprise IM Etiquette
July 1, 2002
By Bob Woods
Multi-User Conversations
Avoid non-business related multi-user conversations. People who aren't invited may feel "out of the loop" if all of their co-workers are giggling about a private IM conversation. Most people would think twice about standing around in a circle whispering jokes to each other on company time -- they should think twice about using IM for this purpose as well. (Mark Noble, Columbus, OH)
Don't invite someone to join a conference in progress without asking the other folks already there. The newly invited may see (hear) comments not intended for them. (Stowe Boyd, Ikimbo Inc.)
The Actual Act of Messaging
If you've ever been in an AOL chat room, you've probably seen all kinds of examples of "Chatters Behaving Badly." People typing in ALL CAPS, changing font styles and sizes, using different colors, and so on. A basic guideline here is don't do anything that would get users in an AOL chat room ticked off at you. Many would say the bar is pretty low by that standard. So let's raise it. Type normally, and in full sentences, when you're in an EIM conversation. After all, this isn't SMS. You wouldn't put a phrase like "c ya l8ter" in a business letter, right?
Also...
It's hard to know when an IM is over. Back and forth "see ya's" and "bye's" often take place. Good etiquette might be that the first person to indicate it's over is enough. (Claudia Siegel, DBM)
Direct the chat to e-mail (or even to the phone) if it appears to be a substantial issue that needs to be documented or intended for multiple recipients. (Adriene Nazaretian, Yale University School of Medicine)
When Available Really Means Busy, and Other IM Client Setting Details
Remember when IMing that just because someone is online doesn't mean they have the time to talk to you. Nothing is more annoying than being on a conference call or finishing something up for deadline and having the same person IM you repeatedly, asking why you are not responding. Especially on a client call, when the person on the other line is perfectly able to hear the repeated message ding, or the sound of your typing a response. (Mara Klein, Ingate Systems)
One of the most important lessons that I have learned from using instant messaging every day at work is that sometimes it is perfectly acceptable not to use IM. By changing my Lotus Sametime status from available to "Do Not Disturb," my colleagues know that I am busy working, and they should contact me later. For the same reasons that I do not answer my phone 100 percent of the time, it is important that I am able to control who can IM me and when. This feature makes my co-workers feel more comfortable contacting me when I am available without worrying that they are disrupting my work. (Jeremy Dies, Offerings Manager for Advanced Collaboration, IBM Lotus)
Set the timeout below 5 minutes. More than that is not a good "available" indicator. Set your location status with as much information as possible to assist people in contacting you the way that you want to be contacted, like cell phone, pager number, cube number, and so on. (Alan L. Huberty, Ford Systems Integration Services)
Set the preferences on your PC to have a gentle, not-so-intrusive sound accompany an incoming IM. In an office where people have a sound for incoming e-mail and a sound for incoming IMs makes for a cacaphony. Perhaps turning off the incoming e-mail audio chime is a good option. (Claudia Siegel, DBM)
Public IM Usage
If your IM system is interoperable with the public IM networks (AOL's AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger), keep conversations with family and friends to a minimum. Remember: You're on company time, even when you're IMing with your significant other about picking up milk and flour on the way home.
Also keep in mind that more and more enterprise IM-strength systems have auditing and logging capabilities. So keep that in mind if you have long, winding conversations with friends or siblings. Plus (just like with phone calls), it's generally legal for your employer to "listen in" on your IM conversations -- after all, you are on your employer's time if you're at work.
Also...
Don't SPIM -- don't use IM as spam. Setting up a 'bot-based or alert-based service that pushes information is fine. But it is evil to pounce on the unsuspecting and put the hard sell on them. (Stowe Boyd, Ikimbo Inc.)
Above all, as Aryeh Gortesky puts it, "Treat each communication you have, regardless of whether it is
with a co-worker or a customer, as if it were going to be printed in the New York Times." Amen.
Editor's Note:Have suggestions? E-mail them to InstantMessagingPlanet Managing Editor Bob Woods. We'll try to update this guide at the end of the year -- if not sooner.
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