When do you use the To: field or the Cc: field? There really are no hard and fast rules. One of the words I use most here on this site is discretion — and when to use the To: field vs. the Cc: field is all about discretion and the circumstances at hand.
As a general guideline, use the To: field if you want to address several contacts for the same reason as a group, while encouraging their input. If you are listed in the To: field know that your input is being sought.
The Cc: field is generally used to keep people in the loop (FYI) with no expectation of a reply being required. That is unless you are the one who is Cc:’d and have something important to add to the conversation that needs to be pointed out. In that case reply only to the Sender and do NOT hit Reply to All.
One concern stressed by those who e-mail me is the unfortunate situation of having an e-mail conversation with one party who then takes the liberty to Cc: others on their reply or mid-way through the conversation. For example two managers dicussing their respective team’s responsiblities. One can see how when one manager chooses to Cc: the other manager’s staff about their opinion on the situation can be perceived as a breach of confidentiality or encroaching on the other manager’s authority.
This is one of those situations where discretion is even more important. Be sure the other party doesn’t have an expectation that what you are discussing is between the two of you. It is the sign of a true professional to know intuitively when that is the case.
To arbitrarily bring others into a private conversation when the person on the other side may not agree with that choice can cause misunderstandings and cause them to not trust that they can in fact have candid communications with you.
One thing is clear — you should never play politics with these fields. Doing so will never be a successful strategy and can lend to you being perceived as trivial and/or unprofessional.
The bottom line?
Use the To: field for those who you desire to have a conversation with and want to encourage their input.
The Cc: field is best used in new conversations and is used to FYI without an expectation of a reply or additional input. Now here’s the important part — if you need to inform others about the topic at hand — discuss this first with those already involved and start a new e-mail that includes all involved.
By keeping these tips in mind you’ll be known as a courteous and efficient communicator and more importantly someone others can bank on to use their discretion when needed.
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My partner and I are the only employees in our company. She is the Founder & CEO of the organization, and I am the VP Marketing. I carbon copy her communications to keep her in the loop on developing business. There are times, however, when she will respond to communications where I am the addressee, and she is carbon copied … without including me in the conversation. So we’re working to sell a customer, and I carbon copy her so that she is in the loop. If the customer asks for additional information and replies all so that she is carbon copied on a message addressed to me, she sends the information without letting me know. In this instance, I, too, sent the information. I feel this is not only a breach of etiquette but undermines my effectiveness. I also believe it sends a negative message to those we work with, indicating that we are disorganized and operating at a petty level. My request to her is to check in with me before responding to emails addressed to me. Your thoughts?
Hey, Deb:
Thanks for stopping by! I agree 100% with everything you said. You need to sit down with your partner and agree on a system of who responds to what — and when — so that you do not appear disorganized while still keeping both of you informed.
I cannot imagine that both of you have to Cc: the other on every single communication — that in of itself is not efficient. It would behoove you to detail the types of topics/issues the other must be Cc’d on and then you both have to trust the other is doing a good job without all this babysitting going on.
Certainly if a request is sent to you and she is Cc’d — you should be the one to respond as she is just being FYI’d. To reply directly without acknowledging you does come off as unorganized to say the least.
The general rule of thumb is that if you are Cc’d you respond only to the Sender if you have important information to share or offer and let them determine how that should be disseminated. Rarely is a Reply to All efficient (not all may need the additional information) nor do you cherry pick who you reply to in e-mail that you were Cc: on.
Bottom line — both of you sit down and come up with a system that works for you to ensure you are providing a perception of efficiency and professionalism.
HTH!
Judith
Thank You for being so neat!
I have always had a problem, when colleagues insisted they be cc’d when I answer a customer who has mailed me directly and did not include my colleagues’ names. I always felt it means a breach of confidentiality to cc a person even if he is my Boss, without prior permission from the customer.
It is for the same reason, I never BCC. If a senior insists, I put them on CC, never BCC.
Hey, Praveen:
Good methodology! Thanks for sharing!