Safeguarding Client Relationships: Internal and External Emails

Thomas Philip Corbin Jr.; Daniel R. Fredrick

Thomas Philip Corbin Jr.

American University in Dubai, UAE

Daniel R. Fredrick

American University of Sharjah, UAE

Volume 16: 2023, pp. 97-106; ABSTRACT

Business communications regarding a specific matter between clients and within the organization occur regularly and concurrently. Though Real Time Communication (RTC) tools such as Zoom, Teams and Slack are popular for internal communication, emails remain the primary mode of communication for concurrent internal and external communication. It is important to be vigilant of etiquette and professionalism in such communication. The following case study documents a professionally embarrassing incident at a for-profit learning institution where the private communication between two administrators overlapped, or “co-mingled,” with that of a parent. Because one of the administrators made a casual comment about the parent with the other school official, the parent was subsequently able to read the negative comment. Our case study highlights the critical need for vigilant separation of internal and external emailing to avoid such professionally embarrassing incidents, thus providing a valuable lesson for educational institutions and business organizations alike.
Keywords: business communications, organizational management, customer service