ROUTINE WORKPLACE CORRESPONDENCE
affiliates, sponsors or donors, and other offices that have
Workplace Correspondence
= in the professional work environment, e-mail is a
work tool and is considered to be an important way to
communicate about and document work performed by
members of the organization
= a body of letters or communication
***Significance of Written Communication
Business correspondence is an essential tool for the
day-to-day operations of the company. It helps people
within an organization communicate with each other
efficiently. It also helps an organization transact and
maintain a good professional relationship with their business
partners, customers, and other organization.
It is important that we know how to communicate
effectively, both in actual and via email. Maintaining
professionalism, choosing the right words, and staying
courteous and sincere when communicating will make a big
impact on your business image.
***Types of Office Correspondence
Five (5) most common types of business correspondence
1. Internal Correspondence
= a written communication between the
employees, units, departments and branches of the same
organization
= can either be formal or less formal
a. Routine Internal Correspondence
= usually less formal, such as quick instruction
between a supervisor and a staff, and these are normally in
the form of email
Other more formal types of internal correspondence:
1. promotion letter
2. written reprimand
3. notice to explain
4. memorandum
5. formal requests for approval
6. letter of approval or dismissal
= these types are ideally printed on paper, signed
by the sender and physically received by the recipient
2. External Correspondence
= takes place between different organizations, or
between an organization and their individual clients
= form of written communication made by a
company to those who do not belong to their organization
= commonly made to vendors, creditors, suppliers,
existing customers, prospective clients, financial institutions,
government offices, law and accounting firms, business
neither direct or indirect business relationship with the
company
3. Sales Correspondence
= refers to sales-related communication
= not limited to just selling a product or service, but
it also includes other activities relating to sales
= include marketing letters, offer and discount
letters, sales proposals, invoices, statement of accounts,
sales reports, order confirmation, purchase orders, letters of
authorization, collection letters, etc.
4. Personalized Correspondence
= involves personal and emotional factors
= though labelled as “personalized”, it can also be
used for business purposes
= includes letters of gratitude, letters of favors or
requests, appreciation notes, letters of congratulations of
commendation
= does not need to have a very formal tone
= though can be done via email, it is more
preferable to write an actual, physical letter because it has a
sense of personal touch
A regular office paper may be used or perhaps a
personalized yet cheap notepads or a greeting card for a
certain purpose (e.g. Thank You card, Congratulations card,
etc.)
5. Circulars
= notices that are communicated to a large number
of people within the organization
= also referred to as office instruction or
announcements
= often, general announcements are being
communicated via circulars (e.g. changes in contact
information, details about meetings with shareholders,
instructions about certain protocols, etc.)
Other types of correspondence:
Four major formats used for producing workplace
correspondence
1. Letters
= The most formal of the types of correspondence
and therefore the most appropriate for communicating with
people outside the organization or, in some formal
situations, with people within the organization.
2. Memos
= moderately formal and therefore appropriate for
people in one’s own organization
--2— ***Format of a letter
(Typical formats used for letters)
3. E-mail 1. Modified block
= used best for quick, relatively informal 2. Full block
communication with one or many recipients, as well as
capture the text and reuse it in other documents ***Writing Memos
= the writer can attach other files Like letters, memos have a characteristic format
which consists of the elements:
4. Microblogs
= the most informal type of correspondence TO:
Microblog posts such as /twitter tweets or FROM:
Facebook status update can be useful for quick questions DATE:
addressed to a group. SUBJECT:

***Process of Writing Correspondence ***Writing E-mails

1. Analyze your audience Before you write an e-mail in the workplace, find
2. Analyze your purpose out your organization’s e-mail policies. Most companies
3. Gather information about your subject have written policies that discuss circumstances under which
4. Choose a type of correspondence you may and may not use e-mail, principles you should use
5. Draft the correspondence in writing e-mails, and the monitoring of employee e-mail.
6. Format the correspondence
7. Revise, edit and proofread the correspondence ***Guidelines (E-mail)
8. Send the correspondence When you write e-mail in the workplace, adhere to
the following netiquette on a network.
***Presenting Yourself Effectively in Correspondence 1. Stick to business.
(Suggestions for presenting yourself as a professional) 2. Don’t waste bandwidth.
3. Use appropriate formality.
1. Use the appropriate level of formality. 4. Write correctly.
2. Communicate correctly. 5. Don’t flame.
3. Project the “you attitude”. 6. Make your message easy on the eyes.
4. Avoid correspondence clichés. 7. Don’t forward a message to an online discussion
5. Communicate honestly. forum without the writer’s permission.
8. Don’t send a message unless you have something
Writing Letters to say.
Letters are still a basic means of communication
between organizations, with millions written each day. To ***Writing Microblogs
write effective letters, you need to understand the elements Microblogs are different from letters, memos, and
of a letter, its format, and the common types of letters sent e-mail in that they are often brief and quite informal in tone.
in the business world. Usually, you do not revise microblogs extensively. You just
proofread and send them.
***Elements of a letter
1. heading ***Writing Correspondence to Intercultural Readers
2. inside address These differences fall into three categories:
3. salutation 1. Cultural practices.
4. body 2. Language use and tone.
5. complimentary close 3. Application choice and use.
6. signature
***Job searches
***Some letters include one or more of the following: job searching / job seeking = the act of looking for
1. attention line employment, due to unemployment, underemployment,
2. subject line discontent with a current position, or a desire for a better
3. enclosure line position
4. copy line
--3—

***Dossier
= a collection of documents about a particular
person, event, or subject
= a collection of papers of other sources, containing
detailed information about a particular person or subject

***Portfolio (of a person)

= an organized, visual collection of a person’s
progress, achievements, and efforts that demonstrates
his/her accomplishments
= markets your skills and abilities and reveals your
personal philosophy
= a compilation of materials that exemplifies your
beliefs, skills, qualifications, education, training and
experiences
= provides insight into your personality and work
ethics

***Content of a portfolio
1. Statement of Originality – a paragraph stating that this
is your work and that it is confidential
2. Work Philosophy – a brief description of your beliefs
about yourself and the industry
3. Career Goals – professional goals for the next five years
4. Resume – a formal document that a job applicant
creates to itemize his or her qualifications for a position
- usually accompanied by a customized cover letter
in which the applicant expresses an interest in a specific job
or company and draws attention to the most relevant
specifics on the resume

***Interview – a one-on-one conversation between an

interviewer and an interviewee