Dear Boss,
Here’s the update you asked for: I should have the spreadsheet done today if I can get Jane’s info. Once I hear from her I’ll post that in the group Google doc – speaking of which I need the Google login from Kelly. Do you know if Larry is sending me his stuff directly? I haven’t heard from him. I’ll be emailing John tomorrow to let him know I’ll be combining what he has thus far with my work. Sound good?
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Dear Employee,
My grandmother isn’t very computer savvy but one of her favorite aspects of email is the “reply all” feature. She uses it all the time. It does this cool thing where it sends one email to everyone copied – or “cc’d” as it’s called in tech circles – in the original email. Jane, Kelly, Larry, and John were all cc’d on my original email to you. I’m going to ask for one more favor and this one’s a little tricky – could you locate the “forward” button in your email and send Jane, Kelly, Larry, and John the same email you just sent me?
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Why Your Torture Plan Will Surely Backfire
It’s the one extra step you leave for someone else that could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back on any given day. Sure, we all sometimes fail to reply all, but we all know those people that for some reason never do. If your boss doesn’t catch that you didn’t reply all then time will potentially pass with no progress. You’ll then receive a subsequent email later on asking for another update. You’ll respond that you did send an update and then the truth will surface. You will look incompetent in the end.
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Maybe Try this Instead?
Reply All.