Email Ettiquette: To CC or Not | Online Executive and Admin Assistant Training

All Posts, Interpersonal Skills, Tricks of the Trade, (4) Comments

To ‘cc’ or not to ‘cc’...

Submitted by Ethan on June 03, 2009 at 05:18 PM

…THAT is the question.

Knowing when to (and when not to) ‘cc’ –which stands for “carbon copy”– someone on an email is more important than you might think.

When starting out at a new job, we suggest that you ‘cc’ your boss on almost all email communication concerning them and their office. By doing so, you will quickly learn which matters your boss really cares about and which matters they would rather leave to you for action and decision making.

During your first week, you can tell your boss that you’re going to ‘cc’ them more than usual so you both are in the loop and so you can get a better understanding of their preferences and office procedures. This also helps them to remember to ‘cc’ you on anything that they feel you should be in the loop on.

Once you’ve gotten your legs under you in a new position, you can then pull back on any ‘cc’ emails to your boss as you’ll be able to make decisions based on your knowledge about their preferences without involving them. Then, when you do ‘cc’ them on an email, they will know that their attention is warranted and needed.

In terms of people other than you boss, ‘ccing’ someone on an email is an easy way to bring someone into the loop on an issue, problem, plan or just as an FYI (For Your Information). In these types of peer and subordinate interactions, our suggestion is to err on the side of ‘ccing’ someone instead of leaving them off since it’s easy to do and will facilitate a better flow of communication.

The “sneaky” cousin to the ‘cc’ is the ‘bcc” –which stands for “blind carbon copy”– and much greater care should be taken when ‘bccing’ someone on an email. When you ‘bcc’ someone, none of the other recipients of the email know that the email is also going to the person that you put on as a ‘bcc’. The only time that we suggest ‘bccing’ someone is when you are asked to complete a task that falls outside of your responsibilities. In this type of situation, you can ‘bcc’ your boss on your reply so they are aware of outside obligations being asked of you.

Other than the above type of situation, you are better off not putting someone on an email as a ‘bcc’ and just talking with them directly about the situation. Do you have any ‘cc’ or ‘bcc’ stories or examples to share? If so, please do so below in the comments.

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Comments

#1. Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 25, 2009

I think you should also point out that people who are “cced” are not expected to respond or reply to the email unless they have useful information to contribute. As you stated the email was sent FYI. A new manager in my region was always responding to emails she was “cced” on, causing confusion and giving out inaccurate information.

#2. Posted by Ethan on July 25, 2009

Exactly. Thanks for comment.

#3. Posted by Di on December 09, 2009

I know a supervisor from Import-Export Department who always gets irritated because her staff do not “cced” her to her emails to suppliers and other departments. Her staff thinks she could do everything without help by her supervisor. But when things go wrong, the responsibility will always fall back to the supervisor as their department manager will always question the supervisor. Given the fact that the staff is just newly hired, she does not know yet every detail of their department’s job procedures.

#4. Posted by Online Colleges on October 12, 2010

As always, triple check who’s on the cc list. It’s so easy to unintentionally distribute sensitive emails to the entire company especially if you’re in a hurry or under stress.