June 2000

• Outline the Primary Mission of E-mail Monitoring. Is it to improve employee productivity? Eliminate security breaches? Increase computer capacity and productivity?

• Address privacy issues. Let employees know that according to the law, employee e-mail is considered company property and can be read for any reason.

• Let staff know that you will be monitoring their e-mail. Be clear about the kinds of activities that would warrant monitoring or let staff know that you will be randomly reading e-mails of all employees.

• Set clear guidelines for internal usage. What is appropriate use of e-mail? What are your limits for personal e-mails? Some companies allow no personal e-mails of any kind. Some restrict e-mail to a certain level. Others have no policy, allowing employees to judge what is appropriate

• Specify what constitutes policy violations and required disciplinary actions. Detail the kinds of violations that will not be tolerated and the disciplinary actions accompanying such violations.