The Rules You Make about E-mail

The most important part of an e-mail system isn't the software. It's the rules you make about using it.

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If you don't want your employees to use your e-mail system to send porn, chain letters, or company secrets, a written policy is the best way to let them know. Start with a basic statement of who is allowed to use the system and for what. That part you can handle yourself.

And then call in the specialists: a lawyer for advice on compliance and privacy issues, and then your HR and IT people. Nancy Flynn of the ePolicy Institute also advises putting the most senior person possible in charge of explaining and implementing the policy. "It sends a message to employees that management takes it seriously," she says.

A survey by ePolicy revealed that 79% of companies have some kind of e-mail policy, but only 54% are doing any employee training or education. "E-mail education is the most immediate and cost-effective way to address the challenge of managing e-mail content and volume," says Stephanie Mendelsohn, a trial lawyer and electronic discovery expert with law firm Reed Smith in San Francisco. Every year, the policy should be reevaluated to make sure it's up-to-date.

Here are the key questions your policy should address.

What's private?

According to the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, employees have few privacy rights when it comes to e-mail when the computer system is the property of the employer. Still, privacy lawsuits are on the rise, and spelling out what kind of e-mails (if any) you will regard as private can reduce legal trouble.

What's out of bounds?

A policy should spell out what constitutes inappropriate content, including everything from pornography to religious or ethnic insults. This part of your policy should be consistent with your policies on harassment and discrimination. You should also outline procedures for confidential, copyrighted, and proprietary internal material.

"Would you say it aloud to a client or customer? Would you be happy if your boss overheard you say it? If the answer to any one of those questions is no, don't write it in an e-mail," says Patricia Eyres, a lawyer and founder of Litigation Management and Training, a consultancy that advises clients on how to stay out of court.

Who's watching?

Fifty-five percent of U.S. companies monitor employees' e-mail, according to an AMA/ePolicy survey. Your policy should explain how monitoring is done and by whom--in-house staff or an off-site vendor. Just stating your intention is not enough. "If you have a policy that says e-mail can be monitored but in 10 years you've never monitored anybody's e-mail, then your de facto policy is that e-mail is not monitored," says Mark Rasch, senior vice president for Solutionary, an Omaha computer security firm.

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