Dear Ms. Cards Etiquette,

I just took over the HR department at a small business. I’m looking for ways to bring a more personal touch to the way we do things, and while it’s pretty easy to find nice things to do for existing employees (we just started a birthday bonus program, for instance), I’m wondering what we can do to make new hires feel welcome, right from the start. Any ideas?

- HR Newbie

First of all, I think your new policies sound like a wonderful idea! Too many employers make the mistake of thinking a paycheck is all the thanks their employees need. It’s the little ways you go above and beyond the basics that really boost company morale.

Of course, you’ll be investing more in your long-time employees than your new hires, so keep it simple, but personal. Why not send a nice Welcome card to their home address? If the newest employee was hired into an important position, you might include a small welcome gift, like a gift certificate to a popular nearby lunch spot or coffee shop. You could also put the card on their desk, so it’s waiting for them on their first day on the job, maybe with a coffee mug and a handful of pens and pencils, or something else they’ll find useful.

Whatever little “extras” you may or may not include, the important, personal part of the gesture will be the card. Have everyone in the office (or everyone in their department, depending on the size of your office staff) sign the card, with a little welcome message from each person. Then, when the new employee is meeting everyone around the office, they’ll already have names to attach to the faces!

PS. Don’t forget birthday cards! Everyone likes to get a card on their birthday!

Dear Ms. Cards Etiquette
My fiancé and I are getting ready to send out our wedding invitations. A lot of our friends are in relationships, but not married. What is the proper way to address an invitation to an unmarried couple?
The (Future) Robinsons

First off, congratulations on your (Future) wedding! Secondly, there are two ways to address a wedding
invitation to an unmarried couple, depending on whether or not they are living together:

1. Living together: Write their names on separate lines, in alphabetical
order:

Ms. Mary Ann
Mr. Tom Thumb
123 Address Street
City, ST 10000

For the inner envelope, use the same convention, but using only their
last names:

Ms. Ann
Mr. Thumb

2. Not living together: Send the invitation to the person you are closest friends with. For the outer envelope, address it to that person only:

Mr. Bob Knots
123 Address Street
City, ST 10000

For the inner envelope, write both names, with your closest friend’s
name first:

Mr. Knots
Ms. Black

The conventions for addressing the outer envelope also apply to any other correspondence with an unmarried couple, in any situation where a formal address is appropriate.

Dear Ms. Cards Etiquette

Yours Truly,
Mr. Smith

Well, Mr. Smith, in a way, you’re both right. Yours Truly conveys a more formal tone than the simple Sincerely, so you could argue that Yours Truly is better saved for formal and business correspondence. But, as far as I know, there are no hard-and-fast rules for specifically when to use which one … so, it is fundamentally a matter of preference.

If the two of you had any money riding on my answer, you can put your original bets back in your pockets now, because I’m calling this one a tie! If it’s actually a major point of contention with family greeting cards, maybe you could compromise with “Sincerely Yours”?

Dear Ms. Cards Etiquette,

What color envelopes should we use for our company greeting card mailings? I think having envelopes that color-coordinate with our cards would help them stand out, but my supervisor insists that white is the only appropriate color for a business mailing.

-Barbara

Good question, Barbara. For regular, everyday business mail, I would tend to agree with your supervisor: white is the most standard color for business correspondence. However, for holiday or special event mailings, color-coordinated envelopes can be a lovely and attention-getting touch.

Another option would be to use white envelopes with colored linings, or to put your cards in colored envelopes, and then insert those into slightly larger white outer envelopes.

While these options are a bit more expensive than simply using a single standard white envelope, they each create a very polished and distinctive look to your card correspondence. If your promotional budget allows, lined envelopes or colored inner envelopes might be a great way to reach a compromise with your supervisor!

Dear Ms. Cards Etiquette

With primary elections going on, and presidential campaigns going into high gear, I’d like to help support my favorite candidate. Would it be OK to send cards to my client list on behalf of him?

Politically Motivated

Dear Political,

In a word, no. From a strictly business perspective, this is one great way to convince any clients with opposing viewpoints to take their business elsewhere. A lot of businesses choose to display campaign signs in their windows during election season though, which could be an alternate option, but it involves the same risks. Rather than stumping for a particular candidate in your company mailings, why not send out a non-specific patriotic card, encouraging everyone to register to vote?

If you’d like to support a specific candidate, I’d recommend making a contribution to their campaign, or perhaps a contribution to the political party of your choice, rather than broadcasting your political views to your clients.