Under the piling debris of traffic jams, deadlines, meetings etc there is a silent awakening that is descending on the corporate minds. And, that is the concept of corporate courtesy. Many organizations are waking up to the importance of corporate courtesy… of clear standards of behavior in how we treat clients and customers, suppliers and colleagues.

Interpersonal communications are very important if one wants to succeed in whatever business one is doing. Unfortunately not many people know the rules of treating one another with a decent amount of courtesy, and make so many faux pas that lead to miscommunication and upsets in interpersonal and professional relations.

Punctuality, reliability, support, clear communication is being adopted consciously by professionals in ways more than one. Rude companies inevitably experience poor engagement and motivation, high stress levels and absenteeism, so discourtesy is costly to the organizations that fail to curtail it.

Percolating from the top…
“A company’s values provide a touchstone for guiding and evaluating behaviors, but these values only become meaningful if managers adopt them and lead by example.”
Dr Gilbert, Head of Organizational Research & Effectiveness, Mercer Human Resource Consulting

The lesson in manners must definitely be taught from the top. In an organization whose leaders are sparingly courteous, fail to attend scheduled meetings, are indifferent to deadlines or casually bully their direct reports, others will inevitably follow the unspoken rules of engagement.

Enlightened business leaders agree that communicating with employees is vital to corporate success. Surprisingly, many are still to learn that communicating courtesy is a key part of the equation.

Consensual Management on the rise…
In present times control leadership has long been replaced with a general commitment to consensus management. Employees report that where people feel they are in the stronger position, rudeness can creep in to the relationship: “The boss will frequently interrupt a conversation between staff and guests and undermine your authority and question your judgment.” Authority can lead to abuse with numerous professionals reporting that people are sometimes bullied into doing things.

Customer service redefined…
In this customer driven corporate ethos, customers are treated well some employees would say, ‘too well.’
Over 80% of sales professionals say they always keep promises to customers, no matter how difficult or inconvenient. But, in many cases, this can mean putting up with bullying behavior by customers.
One respondent observed:
“The only discourteous people in our business are customers. It’s up to us to remain polite and calm and try our best to resolve their problem effectively.”

And, “Customers are often discourteous: they never say please or thank you and can be very rude to us,” corroborates a Customer Relationship Manger, of a leading bank.

First impressions… 
Most organizations now understand the impact of first impressions on corporate reputation. In a bid to give the façade a facelift, receptions are well staffed, guests are greeted appropriately and callers’ first contact with organizations is positive. Present time switchboard operators answer the phone in a warm and interested tone. And, 8 out of 10 report that calls are almost always answered within four rings. Visitors, too, are greeted warmly with over 8 out of 10 reporting that their receptionist is welcoming.

After greetings, over to meetings…
Meetings are internal forums to communicate. But, as observed, meetings are hardly healthy get togethers that serve to resolve matters or get new ideas on issues.

The top complaints are:
1. People try to dominate meetings
2. Meetings over-run without checking with everyone that it’s okay
3. People turn up late for meetings
4. Meetings are cancelled at the last minute
5. People interrupt colleagues
6. More junior people are ignored
7. People check their emails or use their mobile phones in meetings

You’ve got mail
E-mails are wonderful tools to communicate and create a sense of community. But, more often than not, it is sadly misused. Email is used to avoid difficult conversations:
1 in 5 employees say emails are used to reprimand staff or criticize their actions or decisions

Over-use of email can be a sign of laziness too:
It has been noted that emails are used when a meeting would have been appropriate.
Unmindful sending of ‘all staff’ emails, create traffic and clutter in the inbox, adding to information overload and time wasting.

Corporate courtesy should be formally articulated as part of an organization’s values, a ‘to do’ list essentially keeping to the norms of proper, polite, yet professional treatment to all.

The basics
· Remember the simplest rule of good manners: pleasing and thanking people
· Actively listen and respond to the current situation not past issues
· Avoid aggression and rudeness
· Treat others, as you’d want to be treated. Look at situations from both sides
· Use collaborative language ‘we’ not ‘you’ suggesting you are working together on the same side of the table to solve a shared problem.

Email etiquette

· Before you start the next email, stop to consider whether you should be communicating in a different way e.g. face-to-face or more formally in a letter
· Do not use email to break difficult news, reprimand or comment on behavior.
· Don’t share email addresses with strangers use ‘bcc’
· Check email regularly and respond within 24 hours.

On the phone

· Answer the phone within three rings
· Start the conversation with a greeting, in a clear voice.
· Do not speak while eating or chewing
· Listen to the message attentively and take points down if needed.
· Ask a person to hold, politely and try to make the process short.
· Put mobile phones on silent mode when in office

Breezing through the points, we can straightaway list the three pivotal aspects of communicating with one another respect, kindness and integrity. All of us want to be respected whatever our age be. Treat all your employees/colleagues/subordinates with the respect they deserve, irrespective of age, whether he/she is more experienced and older or better skilled, better qualified and younger. Little things like saying, “Please” or “Thank you” shows that you are respectful and courteous and also helps you to communicate better with people. Little acts of kindness help generating a warm response from those around, colleagues, customers or suppliers. Offering help, not indulging in gossip, saying a kind word infuse a positive energy in any work area. Lastly imbibe integrity like keeping your word and not breaking trust. A proven fact is that if a customer identifies that trust and solidarity, his loyalty is assured for life!