My Top 4 Workplace Etiquette Tips
I’m over half way through my placement at Starick and I can assure you, if theres one thing you get to learn from placement experience it is work place etiquette. Now don’t underestimate the importance of the manners and behaviours required at a workplace. Being a Public Relations Intern and gaining practical experience of the art of PR is obviously the main purpose of this job, however, whats the guarantee that my career will always be PR related? Whats the guarantee that my career will be with a not for profit organisation similar to Starick? The one thing that remains consistent through out any job experience is the minor details along the way that make a solid difference in creating your professional persona. So I have gathered 4 top tips from these past few weeks at work to provide you with an insight on what you can and what you probably shouldn’t do in a workplace.
- Clean up your dishes after you’ve used them
Coffee and Lunch breaks are a great opportunity for you to relax for a while before powering through the rest of the day. However, it is totally possible to do so without being messy and annoying!! Nobody likes working with someone that can’t clean up after themselves. At Starick, when dishes are used, they’re TEMPORARILY kept in the sink and then washed before leaving at 5pm. Also ensuring that the dishes go back in their spot. Starick has a corner cupboard that holds the glasses, cups and bowls. Make sure you are familiar with the kitchen manners as you will take these manners with you through out your career, no matter where that may be.
- Keep noise to a minimum
In one of my past internships, I sat next to a colleague that had a habit of clicking his pen constantly while reading through his documents. It is not fun. A little background whisper or click never hurt anybody but a constant, inappropriate noise can really disrupt your colleagues ability to concentrate. Make sure you don’t watch loud videos (maybe bring earphones?) and only hold a pen when you’re using it!
- Put your phone down!
Especially in meetings or in conversation with a colleague, it is extremely unprofessional and rude to be seen using a phone. It can make you look non serious and lacking in basic professional etiquette. Try to use your phone as little as possible and do your work on a laptop or desktop. Sometimes, using a phone can be important. For example, I had to keep in contact with a family member who is under my primary care. When communicating with them via text or call, I would excuse myself and go outside. Of course, there is no harm in letting your supervisor or colleague know of the reason behind the importance of the communication. They’ll always understand and make you feel comfortable.
- Stand and Smile!
Quite often at Starick, my supervisor would introduce me to a fellow member of the team. Meeting and greeting colleagues and other individuals is very common. It is important that you stand, shake their hand and smile while saying Hi. Don’t forget a cheeky ‘nice to meet you’, it only makes you seem nice and approachable. Give people the respect you would expect from them.
You Think You Can Answer A Phone Call?
Ring! Ring! The phone is ringing! Each time the phone rang, I bit my lips, crossed my fingers and hope that someone would answer the phone instead of me. The longer it rang, the more anxious I would become. This fear might sound ridiculous for a PR student, but that’s me!
Of course, that only occurred in the beginning of my internship.
I have just officially marked off the completion of month two of my internship training from my calendar. So, let’s throw back to the first two weeks of my internship – I was always afraid that the phone would ring and no one was there to answer. There were a couple of silly reasons as to why I had this embarrassing fear as I started off.
FIRST, I was afraid to mess up. You see, here at Equatorial Hotel, we have a certain line of greeting to memorize as we answer the phone. It goes like this – “Good morning. PR department. This is Janice. How may I assist you?”. YES. I KNOW. It sounds simple and short, but for those of you who know the difference between theory and practical would probably understand. I was a newbie, so I could imagine myself stuttering and getting my tongue twisted the first time or two.
SECONDLY, I knew neither how to answer a phone call nor pass it over. Every desk was placed with a telephone, which operates with different extensions. I was clueless as to what buttons to click in order to answer the telephone call on behalf of my colleagues. I truly wanted to help, but in the beginning, I was just too afraid to ask. Nevertheless, fears are meant to be overcome. I asked my seniors and supervisors to show me the method so I could note them down and stick it on the wall, just above the telephone.
THIRDLY, I was worried if I did not possess the answers to their questions, or I did not answer well. Being observant plays a crucial role. I say this is because by listening to their phone conversations, I know what to answer during certain circumstances, as well as learning the art of telephone etiquette. I also learned that there are certain information that we cannot disclose over the phone; I learnt that there will be people out there trying to test your organization by using the words against you; I also learned that you should not let the phone ring more than twice before picking it up and greeting the caller.
As my supervisor once said, “People make mistakes. We allow them to make mistakes. They just need to admit.” These were words of encouragement for me. Sometimes, we as humans, are so afraid of making mistakes that we tend to avoid trying, or eventually lie. For my case, mistakes can lead to joy as well. Let me share a funny phone scenario.
ONCE, at 10.30 in the morning, I answered the phone and greeted as usual. Guess what was the reaction I received?
“Good afternoon?” She sounded surprised, “It’s only 10.30. Shouldn’t it be good morning?” the caller replied with a laughter.
“Oh, did I say good afternoon? Sorry, my bad. Good morning! How may I assist you?” I corrected with embarrassment.
Not only that, sometimes I don’t even know whether to feel privileged, or to feel unimportant when nobody actually calls me in particular. I should feel privileged because there are less distractions when I’m at work since no one calls me to specially disturb me. Yet, I joke about the fact that I feel insignificant because many a times, these are the scenarios when I answer a phone call:
*** SCENARIO A ***
“Can I find Ms.Marry?” asks, the caller.
“Sorry, she’s not in the office currently”, I answered.
“How about Ms.Helen?”
“She’s engaged on the phone at the moment”
“Ms.Olive?” the caller asked again, this time with a tinge of hope.
“Sorry, she’s busy having an interview now.” and the next thing I know, they hang the phone on me after saying a quick “thank you!”.
*** SCENARIO B ***
I picked up the phone as it rings, “Good afternoon. PR department. This is Janice. How may I assist you?”
“Sorry. Who’s this again?”, confirms the caller.
“This is Janice speaking. Trainee” I replied.
“Oh…trainee…hmm…Is there anyone senior there, like Ms.Marry, or Ms.Helen?”
“Oh ok. Please wait a moment while I direct you to her.”
As you can see… this is exactly why sometimes I had to joke with others, “How can I not feel petty?”. Well, I hope this blog post has served you well, and is somewhat relatable to some of you. Cheers!