Dixie disciplines and critiques by e-mail.
E-mail is very easily misinterpreted. When you use email to discipline, reprimand, or criticize, chances are that the recipient won’t receive it in the way you meant it. You are opening the door to a multitude of emails in reply.
Dixie’s Antidote: Because of the possibility of misunderstanding or miscommunication, as well as a lack of face-to-face interaction, email is not appropriate for disciplining co-workers or pointing fingers at wrongdoers. Though it may seem like a fast and productive way to deal with the issue, it can prompt a myriad of emails back and forth, involving many more people than necessary. In addition, the trail of emails can leave a written record of the transaction, which may work to be detrimental to the emailer or the company in the future.
The best practice has always been to reward in public, and discipline in private. Email is not the proper tool for private criticism.
Excerpted from Inbox Detox, Acanthus Publishing, 2009
