If you are using Outlook as the platform for your business email correspondence, you will invariably stumble across the Outlook Reply All feature at some point in time. This is forwarding and reply option that is offered when multiple people are included on a single transmission. With this feature, you can keep all recipients abreast of the continued communication as everyone addressed in the original email continues the conversation. Read on to learn more about this feature and to get tips on using it properly.
When The Outlook Reply All Function Is Appropriate
As the primary addressee on any particular email correspondence, you might find that there are other people who have been copied the email. This is tactic that is sometimes used as a way of holding people accountable for their responses. For instance, if the sender wants you to act fast, he or she might tag your co-workers, manager, or other people within the department to ensure that everyone is abreast of the request that is being made. This is also a great way to ensure that a message is getting to the right person when the individual in charge of the referenced subject is not fully known.
When replying to all on this correspondence, your response will be sent to everyone on the list. This will allow you to inform all referenced parties of your actions and reply so that no one is left guessing concerning the outcome of the situation. Choosing to Outlook Reply All on to the sender instead will ensure that the remainder of your conversation remains private.
Responding With Confidential Information
There are times when multiple people are included on a group email list with a request for highly personal or confidential information. For instance, your human resources department might send a request for everyone to send in their time sheets. When responding to this request, you definitely don’t want to send your time sheet to everyone in the company, or ultimately everyone on the original group email. In this instance, you can simply scroll through your reply options and choose to reply to the sender only. When using Outlook, you will also find that you have the option of customizing your response list so that your reply goes to both the original sender, and any other relevant party or parties.
Using This Function Incorrectly Can Be A Real Nuisance
In addition to sending out confidential information to the wrong parties, replying to everyone on an original mailing list can be quite annoying. Each time one person uses this response option, all parties on the list will receive a follow-up email. If there are twenty or more people on the original list, multiple responses to everyone can inundate each party’s inbox. As such, before sending this type of response, you’ll want to make sure that everyone on the list is indeed in need of follow-up communication.
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