Write an Email to Human Resources
If you have urgent situations that you need to discuss with your employer, you may be wanting to get in touch with a human resources department at your company. Businesses appoint human resources professionals to handle everything from payroll issues to more complex policies and processes for employees. If your human resources department is like many, you may be confused as to exactly how to address the people who work there. When you need to write an email to human resources, here are the basic steps in figuring out how to draft one of these essential modern business communications.
Steps
- Address your email to the right people. Getting your message to those in charge is a major part of making your communications work for you. Take a few extra moments to locate the right email address, and you could save yourself hours of trouble.
- Utilize the Intranet and other business directories to find involved HR pros. A phone directory or an Intranet page might yield and relevant contact information.
- Avoid the "all" folder. Employees have been significantly embarrassed when they hit "send" and inadvertently query their entire department. Look closely at who is CC'd on the email before sending.
- Create an appropriate subject line. In modern email, the subject line is also all-important. In many cases, the subject line of the email is more than just an optional title line. It helps professionals to more efficiently answer their emails when they have some basic reference items in the subject line.
- Some sources consider a blank subject line a breach of Internet etiquette, so be sure to include some of the relevant details in the subject line.
- Avoid improperly casual subject lines. Some email writers are notorious for jokey, vague or even slightly illiterate subject lines. Make your subject line professional and focused on the issue at hand.
- Include your own contact information. Before drafting your email, make sure you have the right response email and other attributes set correctly, including your name as it appears on the outgoing email.
- Address specific issues. In your email, write clearly and concisely to address the issues that you have and how you want to move forward.
- Cite applicable policy if possible. The human resources workers are usually the most well-versed in company policy. They often appreciate having the right policy information included to make sure that all parties are on the same page.
- Do a final edit. Look over the email for any major issues before sending it.
- Catch spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. Your final edit is a time to fix any embarrassing mistakes like typos that make your email look bad.
- Assess the email for appropriate tone and style. Again, too casual can be bad. Sending emails that emote excessively can also hurt your success when contacting a human resources department. Keep your tone even and consistent, as well as calm.
