PowerPoint Presentation

Email Management. Tips on Using Email Effectively.

Do you own your Government Issued email? No – the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador owns all email. The information contained within the email account is the property of the Government of NL. Is Email considered truly secure? No – Once you send an email, you have no control what happens to that email. The sender loses control over the distribution. My personal emails in my Government email account are not ‘ATIPPable’. True or False? False – ALL email, regardless of content, are considered ATIPPable. However, there are exceptions in the legislation that can be used to withhold personal information. Email is not my responsibility. It is the responsibility of the OCIO and the Information Management Division of CSSD. True or False? False – all employees and contractors are responsible to protect the information they create, share and maintain on behalf of GNL, this includes email. As employees, we are responsible to become familiar with policies, guidelines and best practices..

Use Email Cautiously When using email always ensure that you protect confidential and private information. Check the email address to ensure it is not accidentally sent to the wrong recipient Reduce the number of recipients on a ‘need to know’ basis Take all possible steps to mask or remove personal identifiers Use a password protected (encrypted) zipped file Check the OCIO website for instructions on encrypting files The password placed on the encrypted file should not be shared within email. If a password is forgotten, the file can not be opened. Use Kiteworks – (Managed File Transfer) to transport personal or confidential information. The Kiteworks Request Form is located on the OCIO website. Kiteworks can handle large volumes of file transfers, is faster and requires less bandwidth. The recipient has a 7-day period to download their document and file appropriately..

Tip #1 (continued). Be careful when opening emails or attachments from unknown senders. Be aware of Phishing, viruses, and spam. The OCIO has introduced a new Report Phishing button in Outlook (see image on slide). This new feature lets you easily report suspicious emails directly from your Outlook inbox to the OCIO Security Team. Never send your login ID or password by email.

Personal Email Never email government information to your personal or home email account (Gmail, yahoo and etc.) The OCIO has implemented the Use os a Non-Government Email Accounts and Work Purposes Directive. The purpose of this Directive is to instruct individuals on their obligations related to the use of non-government email accounts. Government employees are issued an email account to conduct work on behalf of government. These email accounts are managed by the OCIO and proper security precautions are applied. Government Email Government emails must be filed appropriately and captured in an official government records storage area such as an electronic content management system like ISM or HPRM; the network shared drive; or in a paper file. This ensures that government records are accessible in the event of operational requirements, access to information requests, litigation, and disclosures etc..

Do not use email where a telephone conversation, or Microsoft Teams chat is more practical or appropriate Consider using a telephone call to discuss sensitive and/or confidential topics.

Keep your email professional in content, tone and appearance. Do not insert any unnecessary comments Email are subject to ATIPP requests; therefore, you should not put anything in an email that you would not put in a signed paper document Never insert comments that may be uninformed or offensive Avoid unnecessary uppercase and exclamation marks Your signature block should be short and simple with no backgrounds or graphics.

Keep messages as short as possible Email length is recommended to be 50 to 125 words, this will get a response rate more than 50% of the time. One subject per message, if possible. Ensure content is clear and proofread before sending Think of how the content and tone represent you and your department.

Use Reply All, Carbon Copy and Blind Copy appropriately Use Reply All only when it is important and relevant to reply to the majority of recipients of the original message Carbon Copy (CC) should be used when an individual or group has a common interest in the information, but no action is required If you are CC’ed on an email it is not your responsibility to file the email it is the recipients responsibility. The exception to this rule is if the file originated outside your department or organization and there is a need to retain the file. Blind Copy (BC) should be used when a common interest in the information exists, however, it is preferred the receipt of the information remain anonymous. BC should be used sparingly..

Always double check addresses and use distribution lists sparingly Double checking addresses will ensure that emails are not sent to incorrect recipients Distribution lists should be used sparingly and checked periodically for accuracy and business value Your email has an auto complete feature when typing into the To, CC or BC field. It is a good idea to turn of Auto-Complete List and to manually look up the individuals you are trying to email. To do so: Click File, Option, Mail, Send Messages - untick “Use Auto-complete List to suggest names when typing in the To, CC., and BC lines”.

Limit sending large attachments Where possible, instead of including large attachments, insert a link identifying where file is located If you are referring to a HPRM document, send the Reference Link directly from HPRM If you are referring to a shared drive document, send a hyperlink to the document that sits on the shared directory.

Replying and Forwarding Emails When replying and forwarding an email message, please refrain from modifying or removing content from the original messages. Alterations of an original email could confuse the original meaning and also cause Conversation Clean Up not to work. Refrain from going reply all to departmental wide emails.

Clearly State the Primary Audience Cleary state the primary audience at the beginning of the message which will help identify to staff the reason why they are receiving the email. Example: If the message is sent to the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development staff but is only relevant to all HPRM Users, then stating “Attention: Message for HPRM Users” in the subject line of the message will help staff understand why they are receiving the message..

Manager of Records Lifecycle Management Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development Phone: 729-0618.