By J. Mason
Online Career Tips Editor
Some of us are so talented at what we do that we let our work speak for us. Your coworkers can rely on you to deliver a high quality product without you constantly updating them on the status. Now this is rare. Even if you do have a great reputation for being reliable it doesn’t mean that you should skip the formalities.
When should you follow up?
- If you’re sent a request to complete a task
- Something was published and there’s a link or follow up information to share
- You finished a collaboration with someone you worked with before, or for the first time
- You handed off some tasks and need to track the progress
- You’re not being updated on the progress of a task, project, or discussion
For the most part you can use email for these types of follow-ups. Keep it short and to the point. The more you add to the message the more your original intent gets diluted. Always request a date to hear back if that was the issue with the person you’re contacting. I find it helpful to actually add “follow-up” to the subject line as well.
A personal follow through that shouldn’t involve an email is a thank you note. For recent collaborations on big projects hand write a note and mail it to that person. They’ll appreciate the personal touch and it may ensure a place to work with them again in the near future.
Follow through is so important in keeping yourself involved with the environment in which you work. It also helps with transparency among your peers. Don’t neglect this small but important part of the communication process!
How did you do on last week’s bad habit, not sharing work? If you still can’t share the workload make it a personal mission to identify colleagues with similar strengths. This way you can look at the possibility of job swapping to improve your skillset.
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