Professional etiquette for the workplace

1. Professionalism in
the Workplace
Etiquette Matters!

2. People, like diamonds, have basic
market value – but it is only after
they have been polished that the
world will pay their real value.
~William Thourlby

3.  Corporations spend millions of dollars on
advertising, training for their personnel, etc.
 Employees’ customer service abilities and
etiquette usage can sabotage all of that
 We expose our own weaknesses when we fail to
use proper etiquette
 Etiquette is really about respect… something we
all desire!
 Etiquette requires us to admire the human race.
~Mark Twain
Does Etiquette Matter?

4. Dress for Success
 First impressions do count
 Fair or not, how you dress will contribute to
others’ opinions of you
 Competency, responsibility
 Intelligence
 Maturity level
 Trustworthiness
 Dress in your own style, but err on side of
conservatism

5. Dress for Success
 Details are important too
 Shoes/socks
 Accessories and ties
 Hair, make-up, nails
 Apparel perils
 Party clothes are not work clothes
 Tattoos & piercings
 Business casual is not as casual as you think!

6. Attitude
 Leave your personal problems at the door
 Never criticize your competition to anyone
 Smile when talking on the telephone or in person
to customers and colleagues
 Work frustrations
 Praise down, protest up

7. Manners
 Never use company resources for personal use without
permission
 Keep personal business to a minimum during regular
business hours
 If someone ‘drops in’ for an unreasonable amount of time, stand
up and move toward the door to signal you’re busy
 Maintain personal & professional confidences
 Keep your feet on the floor during regular business
hours and don’t sit on another’s desk
 Food and gum
 Social media, phones/texting, etc.

8. Greetings
 Handshake
 Practice your handshake!
 Stand approximately 1 arm’s length apart
 Introductions
 Person of authority/age first
 Client to supervisor
 Female to male
 Use first names only once asked to do so (Ms. for women)
 Nametags on the right

9. Social Functions
 Invitations
 Always acknowledge
 Bring/send small gifts when a guest in someone’s home
 Always thank the host/hostess when you arrive & leave
 Mixing & Mingling
 Have an ‘itinerary’ and designate arrival/departure times
 Size up the room, approach individuals who are alone
 Don’t monopolize, ask open-ended questions, listen!!
 Business Cards
 Accept, study, file (or leave on desk during conversation)

10. Being a Good Guest
 Wait until the host/hostess takes his/her first bite
before beginning
 Do not ask for food that has not been presented &
eat what is prepared (give advance notice of
allergies, etc.)
 Help prepare food and clean up
 Be flexible
 Remove shoes when entering a home (or wipe
well)
 Never place feet on furniture
 Always use coasters for hot, cold, or wet items

11. Basic Table Manners
 Never:
 Request ‘to-go boxes’
 Smoke, indulge in alcohol or excessive eating
 Season your food before tasting it
 Push or stack plates
 Always:
 Ask others to pass items out of reach
 Notify hosts (in advance) of dietary needs
 Try all food
 Use proper posture
 Follow the lead of the host/hostess

12. Utensils
 Remember: Outside-In
 Forks
 Spoons
 Knives
 Glasses, coffee cup
 Plates: Butter, salad, dessert, chargers
 Silverware mishaps
 Utensil placement during & after meal
 Once used, it never touches the table
 No utensils left in items that aren’t flat

13. Odd Issues
 Drinks
 Use coasters
 Balance on plate, only ½ full
 Buffets
 Napkins
 Soup
 Bread and meat (& inedible items)
 Passing Items
 Used utensils
 Cracker wrappers – top of soup bowl/salad plate
 Sugar wrappers – fold & place under saucer edge
 What is a charger anyway?

14. Gifting
 Always follow your company’s gifting policy
when exchanging gifts with co-workers
 Be discreet; exchange gifts away from the office
if possible
 If supervisors give gifts, all must be equal
 Employees are not expected to reciprocate, but
small gifts may be presented (or pool funds)
 If gifts are exchanged, typically stick to under
$20
 Maintain policies, but always be grateful

15. Quality of Work
 How good does your work have to be? What
percentage of customers should we try to please?
90%? 95%? How about 99.9%?
 99.9% Accuracy =
 At least 20,000 wrong prescriptions per year,
 Two short or long landings at a major airport per day,
 500 incorrect surgical operations per week, and
 2,000 lost articles of mail PER HOUR!
 We could not accept 99.9% in many fields…What do we
expect with regard to ourselves?

16. Problem Solving at Work
 If you fail to meet expectations, you will get dissatisfied
customers/supervisors…if you meet expectations, you
will get indifferent customers/supervisors
 You must exceed expectations
 If you can not solve the problem, find someone who can
 Be proactive…seek out & solve problems
 Take personal responsibility (but don’t take it personally)
 Always explain what you can do for the customer, not
what you can’t do
 Don’t say “I’m sorry” unless you mean it
 Never place blame on anyone else…Provide solutions,
not excuses

17. Customer Service
 Most people are not rude or discourteous…just
indifferent
 No eye contact
 Talking to others while assisting a customer
 Talking ABOUT someone else in ear-shot of a customer
 Working on other tasks while customers wait
 Pointing to an item or room rather than showing/taking
customer to it
 Failing to immediately greet a customer
 Responding “I don’t know” without attempting to find out
 Failure to follow through with promises

18. Telephone Etiquette
 Answering the telephone
 Include company name, division/department, &
your name
 Be the last to hang-up
 Making calls
 Introduce yourself and state your business, even if you
know you don’t have the person with whom you need to
speak
 The person you CALLED always has priority, even over
people who walk into your office

19. Telephone Messages
 Leave complete messages
 Chance of reaching the person you’re calling is 1 in 6
 Always take thorough messages
 Complete name (may know several ‘Steves’)
 Reason for call and information needed
 Return telephone number & best time to call
 Date & time of call
 Initials of person taking message
 Respond to all messages within 1 business day

20. Cell Phones
 Be careful about the volume of your voice…and of
your ring tone!
 Turn off when you are at work unless clients have
your cell number
 Never use in lectures/classes, at concerts,
movies, or anywhere you would not talk to your
neighbor at full volume
 If a call is lost due to a poor connection, the
person who originated the call calls back

21. Good manners sometimes means
simply putting up with other
people’s bad manners.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

22. Speaker Phones
 Always ask the person on the other line for their
permission to put them on speaker phone
 State reason for using speaker phone
 Never start a call with the person already on speaker
phone (if someone does this to you, state, “I’m sorry, I
can’t hear you well. Could you please pick up?”)
 Introduce all people in the room
 Use name before speaking (“This is Patricia, _______”)
 Notify the other party whenever someone new comes into
the room or when someone leaves

23. Correspondence
 Company letterhead
 Company business only
 Thank you notes
 Keep notecards on hand
 Within two weeks…but later is better than never
 Respondez s'il vous plait (Please reply)
 Do it and keep it
 RSVP within one week (or by date if listed)

24. Email
 Email is company property so use for
business purposes only
 Remember every single message has the
chance of being forwarded…intentionally or
unintentionally (never reply in frustration)
 Do not mass mail/forward at work
 Always include a ‘Subject’ heading
 Keep messages short; use bullets

25. Email
 DO NOT USE ALL CAPS OR EXCESSIVE
PUNCTUATION!!!!
 Utilize spell-check and re-read your
messages before sending
 ‘Reply’ vs. ‘Reply All’
 CC and BCC sparingly
 Message notification

26. Faxes
 Call before sending anything longer than 7
pages, even if the fax is expected
 Always include telephone numbers
 If you receive a fax not intended for you,
call the sender and/or the person to whom
it was intended

27. Meeting Planning
 Plan and communicate in advance:
 Goals/objective and agenda
 Decide on participants-no warm bodies
 Confirm one working day before the meeting
 Be on time (but not too early) & stay throughout
 Check out facilities, technology in advance
 Be courteous & don’t fidget
 No gadgets!
 Thank attendees & send minutes within 48 hours

28. Cubicle/Lab Code of Ethics
 Maintain low speaking voices
 Walk to cubicles to speak with colleagues
 Conduct personal business via cell phone
away from the cubicle
 Wear minimal perfume/cologne
 Refrain from smoking immediately before
going in to work and do not smoke in
enclosed spaces to minimize smoke odors

29. Flu Season…
 If you have a fever or are coughing and sneezing
frequently, use your sick leave or take extreme
precaution to avoid spreading your illness
 If you feel a cough or sneeze coming on, cover
your mouth with your left hand or, better yet, the
inside of your elbow
 Excuse yourself after sneezing
 Wash your hands often!

30. International Etiquette
 Be courteous; ask for clarification if necessary
 Invest in resources if you travel frequently
 Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands by Morrison & Conaway
 American flag etiquette
 Anthem - Stand at attention with right hand over heart
 Have nothing in your hands
 Men remove hats
 Parades - Stand & face flag, hand over heart
 Flag display - Sunrise to sunset, good weather only
 International citizens stand but don’t salute

31. In the Air…
 Board quickly; carry your luggage in front of you & check
bulky luggage
 Make your way to your seat quickly & don’t dominate the
restroom time
 Listen to safety rules & allow others to do so as well
 Allow passenger in the middle to have both arm rests
 Do not recline your seat; if you must, be sure to ask first
 Don’t chatter away to those who don’t wish to talk…when you
do talk (or listen to music or watch movies), do so quietly
 Thank the flight attendants & pilots upon disembarking
 Don’t block others at the luggage carousel

32. Theatre & Concerts
 Arrive on time & stay throughout (don’t save seats)
 Bring your own kleenex and cough drops
 Turn off cell phones and do not talk during show
 Do not stand up or do anything to obstruct others’
views
 Applaud properly
 Recitals, operas, ballets – don’t clap at every lull
 Jazz or rock – express exuberance
 Award ceremonies & graduations – be dignified
 Weddings & other religious occasions – no clapping
 Standing ovations – give if deserved but don’t feel obligated

33. Too many rules??
 Remember that…
 Manners are a sensitive awareness of the
feelings of others. If you have that
awareness, you have manners…no matter
what fork you use! ~Emily Post

34. To contact us…
UIUC School of Chemical Sciences
Career Counseling & Placement
Services
105 Noyes Laboratory
217-333-1051
http://careers.scs.illinois.edu/
Patricia Simpson, Director
plblum@uiuc.edu