Structuring an Email 📧

Example: "Thank you for contacting us, [Firstname].

Example: "Thank you for getting back to us, [Firstname]."

Example: "We understand you're inquiring about your remaining vacation days."

Example: "To confirm your remaining vacation days, please check your employee portal."

Example: "For more information, you can always visit our FAQ section [insert link]."

Example: "Feel free to contact us again if you have any other questions."

Example: "Have a great weekend!" or "Enjoy your evening!"

⚠️ After finishing your email, always read through it thoroughly to catch any typos, ensure all questions are answered, and check the overall flow. A useful trick is to read your email out loud to yourself. Hearing the message as you read can help you determine if it conveys your intended tone and clarity to the recipient.

Tips & tricks

Grammarly - Installing Grammarly to help with grammar and syntax

Auto text expander - with an auto text expander you can add short sentences with shortcuts to personalize your replies when using macros without spending more than a few seconds

The tone of Voice 🗣️👂

💫 Our tone of voice is upbeat yet balanced, aiming to create a positive impression of our brand. We achieve this through transparent and friendly language, maintaining a balance between enthusiasm, warmth, and clarity.

Our tone of voice is ⚖️ Balanced

👏 Enthusiastic

🔞Casual but professional

✅ Clear

🧘 Calm

🤗 Friendly

Writing (General)

Email Communications

⚠️ Adjust your tone to match the employee's language. If they use formal German or indicate a preference for being addressed as Herr/Frau, follow their lead. (For more insights, check empathy)

Keep these points in mind:

👆 Refer back to “Structuring an email” for further guidance.

Note: Balanced does not mean uninterested or disengaged.

Note: Direct does not mean rude or passive-aggressive but open, positive, and transparent.

Note: Personalise the replies by affirming that the request is understood, showing empathy, and using positive vocabulary - but remain professional.

What’s more, we depend on our hub to deliver best-in-class customer service.

☝ Keywords: Flinkers associate us with professionalism, care, joy, and reliability. Friendly and upbeat; mature and reliable. Clear, genuine & balanced.

Outline:

What is empathy and why use it?

Difference between empathy & sympathy

Different types of empathy

Making the employee feel heard

Don’t assume, ask

Respond to the tone of the employee

Limit your apologies, instead, say thank you!

💡 Empathy is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of someone else; understand their perspective or their point of view, and show compassion.

By using empathy/empathetic statements we can;

The goal in short; we want to show that we care.

The difference between being empathetic and sympathetic

The dictionary defines sympathy as sharing the feelings of another; empathy is when you understand the feelings of another but do not necessarily share them.

Cognitive empathy is the ability to understand how a person would feel in a given situation. It involves practicing active listening and acknowledging what others say. For instance, if an employee complains about a delayed response, you can show cognitive empathy by saying, “I understand you’re upset because you expected a quicker reply. Let’s work together to resolve this.”

Emotional empathy is the ability to share feelings and connect with a person. It involves putting yourself in the employee’s shoes and relating to their emotions. For example, if an employee expresses frustration over a technical issue, you might say, “I’d be frustrated too if I faced this problem. I completely understand how this must be affecting your work.”

Compassionate empathy involves taking action to soothe and comfort a person in distress. This means not only understanding their feelings but also doing something to help. For example, if an employee is stressed about a complex process, you could say, “I understand this process is overwhelming. Here are a few steps to simplify it, and I’m here to help you through each one.”

Combining cognitive, emotional, and compassionate empathy is the key to successful interactions. By understanding the employee’s situation, sharing their feelings, and taking action to help, you create a supportive and effective communication environment. This approach not only resolves issues but also builds trust and rapport with employees.

Making the employee feel heard

by paraphrasing / Starting with a short summary of what the request is

“If I’ve understood what you’re saying correctly, you’re facing/having trouble with {employee’s issue}” “Please let me know if my understanding of your problem is accurate - {employee’s issue}” “To sum up, {employee’s issue}” “Just to be clear, {employee concern}”

Positive phrasing/vocabulary 😊

☝ This page aims to provide an overview of what positive phrasing is & the impact it can have on the employee experience, provide you examples of negative vs. positive language, and how to use it in praxis. We want to make sure our communication with the employees is written in a positive, friendly, engaging, and cheery manner

What is positive phrasing?

Positive language means telling an employee what you can do for them, rather than what you can't. It is about seeing every interaction from the employee’s perspective and highlighting the benefits of a particular action to them. It is about replacing negative words and phrases and emphasizing workable solutions which, in the end, is what our employees care about most.

Please see below a rough overview of the do’s and don’ts we will be explaining in more detail throughout the page: The listed “do’s” are clickable and will directly take you to the related section.

✅ Do’s

Tells what can be done

Use positive words

Use “we”

Suggests alternatives and choices available. Shows gratitude.

Sounds helpful and encouraging. We can, let’s try,

Focuses on positive actions and positive consequences

❌ Don’ts

Tells what cannot be done

Use negative connotations

Use “you”

Blames

Includes words like don’t, won’t, unable, etc.

Does not stress possible appropriate actions, or positive consequences

Okay, now we have an idea of what positive phrasing includes. Let’s have a look at some written examples of ****using negative connotations vs. positive words & the difference between focusing on what we can do vs. what we can’t:

Positive words include adverbs like ‘definitely’ and ‘quickly’, as well as adjectives like ‘fantastic’, ‘great’, ‘super’, etc.

It is always a nice start to flip the way you phrase replies by replacing all the “you” with a “we”. By doing so it gives the receiver a feeling of community, and that we can solve the issue together as a team rather than being left with a feeling of being left to solve their issue on their own. After all, they reach out to us to get help!

Have a look at the difference when we replace “you” with “we”:

When an issue has been resolved or a question answered, take a moment to show your gratitude for cooperating with you. It could be that they gave you feedback, reported an issue, or shared some handy advice - appreciate their contribution and say “thank you”.

It can be as simple as changing the greeting when the employee gets back to us with the information we asked for: Thank you for contacting… to Thank you so much for getting back to me and providing [xx] / Thank you for taking the time to [..]

Speak aloud while typing

Without the benefit of body language or tone of voice, the receiver might not understand or misconstrue what you’re trying to tell them. Creating real employee engagement hugely depends on the tone of voice the employees hear in their heads while reading your message.

A technique to get past this obstacle is to speak and read aloud what you’re writing in your email.

Hearing yourself while writing can help you predict if your message will be as you intended it for the receiver.

☝ Assertiveness is the ability to express your opinions positively and with confidence.

Seeking win-win solutions to the problems that may arise

✅ Do’s

Use “I” statements

Show understanding & acknowledge criticism/feedback

Use positive language

Use clear verbs (“will”, “need”)

Ask questions

Use “you” statements

Avoid extreme language (“always”, “never”) & using blame

Use all caps or negative language

“could”, “want”

Make assumptions

⭐ Somewhere between aggressive and passive is the assertive communication style. People who use this style are active listeners, state clear expectations, make non-judgmental observations, express feelings openly and honestly, and are sensitive to others’ feelings.

Aggressive response: “Absolutely not. You always ask for favors at the last minute! You need to start learning how to manage your life before asking me to drop everything to help you.”

Passive response: “Yeah, of course. No problem at all.”

Assertive response: “As much as I’d love to help, unfortunately, I have a lot of work to get through today. I hope you’re able to find someone else though.”

If you don’t understand the other person, ask for clarification. Don’t assume or interpret what they said. See empathy - Don’t assume, ask!

Examples;

Use “I” statements to ensure that you communicate how you feel to the other person (e.g., “I would like...”).

Aggressive requests usually begin with “you” (e.g., “You never do this…)

Avoid extreme language (e.g., “always”, “never”).

Use clear verbs to communicate your message (e.g., “will” instead of “could”, “need” instead of “want).

The idea is that when someone shares critique, you acknowledge something in their criticism that you agree with. Fogging aims to give a minimal, calm response using terms that are placating but not defensive, while at the same time not agreeing to meet demands.

See below a few examples:

👂 Actively listen to the feedback you receive (whether it’s positive or negative) and be respectful in your response back

💡 This page aims to clarify when and why requesters are frustrated and when this behavior turns rude or even abusive, as well as steps to de-escalate the situation before it becomes a conflict.

Difference between frustration and rude/abusive communication:

Remember: it’s not personal!

🤯 Sometimes, the employee gets frustrated having to wait for a reply to an important inquiry. This frustration can lead them to communicate rudely or aggressively.

Remember even though it can feel personal, the employee is simply frustrated with something that went wrong in their opinion, etc. You just happened to be the person on the other end of the request and the employee is not actually angry with you but frustrated with the situation.

⚠️ After an unpleasant encounter, give yourself time to recover. Reach out to your lead in case of serious or worrying incidents, and be alert to any patterns of rudeness – so that we can take steps to avoid them happening again.

When you do write a reply, keep your cool, state the facts, and make your willingness to help clear to the employee.

🫂 Make sure to take a short break and then read your message again before sending it to make sure that your message is clear, empathic, and assertive. Again, it helps to read your email out loud to yourself to hear how your message comes across!

2. Listen, read between the lines & apologize (if appropriate)

Try to find the core of what the employee is actually unhappy with. Make sure to read through the email thoroughly and narrow it down to understand the employees’ concerns and why they are frustrated. if we made a mistake sincerely apologize for the mistake made. Make use of everything you learned in empathy.

3. Rephrase and confirm with the employee

Once you have a clearer understanding of what the issue is, and if a mistake was made - make sure to rephrase your understanding to show and confirm with the employee that we understood their concern.

Make use of empathy “making the employee feel heard”

4. Be assertive & use positive language

Now we want to reply to the employees’ concern/issue and best case scenario; Solve it!

If you need help from the employee to solve their request, make use of positive rephrasing and substitute the “you’s” with “we’s”.

Make use of everything you learned in assertiveness and positive phrasing (it’s a team effort!)

5. Solve the problem

You are the expert! Who better solve the employees’ issue/request?

👉 When dealing with rude employees, it's crucial to control your own emotions and counteract inflammatory behavior with calm, considered responses.

Try not to take any comments personally.

Apologize if it's appropriate to do so. But stand firm when necessary.

Don't be afraid to ask your lead or a colleague for backup.