Instant Messaging Etiquette Guidelines for the Office

Let's face it: Everyone is guilty of using interoffice chat to send pictures of cats to their co-workers or complain about a difficult client to a team member. But as instant messaging becomes more prevalent in offices, it's now more important for anyone to understand and be respectful of the etiquette associated with chatting with a boss, co-worker or anyone else in your office. As with any office communication tool (such as emails or memos) there are clear do's and don'ts for instant messaging with folks at work. Read on for some of the most important chat guidelines you should keep in mind:

Avoid Being Long-Winded
Chat should not be used as a replacement for sending an email or having an in-person discussion or meeting. In fact, use interoffice chat for only the briefest of questions or discussions. For instance, you wouldn't want to get into a drawn-out analysis of a client's feedback, but you could use it for a quick question about it or to clarify a point he or she made. 

Respect the Status
Most instant messaging systems allow users to adjust their statuses based on whether they're available to chat or not. Yours may allow you to change from "Available" to "Busy" and even to write a quick note about what you're doing. It's good manners to use these statuses whenever you can so people don't chat you when you're at lunch or in a meeting and you can't get back to them. Also, respect others' statuses. If they're busy, wait until they're available or shoot over an email they can respond to when they have a free minute.

Respond in a Timely Manner
In relation to indicating your availability as much as possible, you should also be mindful of responding to people's instant messages in a timely manner. Chatting is meant to be a convenient way to have a quick, non-disruptive back and forth, which means people are expecting a response within minutes of sending you a message. 

Keep it Appropriate
There's a general rule of thumb: If you wouldn't write your messages on Post-it Notes and stick them on your computer for the entire office to see, you shouldn't be sending them over interoffice chat. In many companies, chats can be searched for and saved by others or the IT department, so sending inappropriate or inflammatory messages is a huge no-no. Simply remember to keep things professional. That means leave out the inappropriate language, instant message acronyms (no LOL allowed!) and emoticons. Oh, and save those cat pictures for your lunch break!

Ask for Everyone's Preferences
Chatting can be a super convenient way to communicate, but it simply isn't for everyone. If you know your boss or team member prefers talking face to face or would rather have everything sent via email, make sure you respect that. If you find yourself instant messaging someone more often than others, you can even ask if they have a preference.