How to Write a Letter to a Government Official By Brooke Julia ; Updated June 25, How to Write a Letter to a Government Official Your neighborhood is backed up every morning with commuters desperately trying to get to work, and you're convinced the solution is a traffic light. Or you're confused by the mud-slinging during the latest campaign, and you want to know just where an official stands before you vote again. Perhaps a recent policy change in leash laws has made it impossible to walk your pet comfortably.
Enter your email to reset your password Or sign up using: Sign in if you're already registered. Here's how to do it right. The CEO of a small company has a wide range of performance-management tools at his or her disposal.
The warning letter is kept at the back of that arsenal, only dusted off when there is a serious or chronic problem. Typically a warning letter would be preceded by verbal conversations between the employee and his or her supervisor, both at performance reviews and in the course of the job.
However, "the written communication, by its very nature, suggests that things are more serious at this point and also suggests that maybe [the supervisor's] prior communication wasn't clear enough," says Steve Kane, a human resources consultant based in Hillsborough, California.
Here's how to write, deliver, and follow up on a warning letter telling an employee to shape up. Does the Situation Call for a Warning Letter? Though each company may choose to handle employee infractions differently, and the protocol will obviously change depending on the severity of the misconduct, there is a conventional progression for issuing increasingly serious warnings to the employee.
If the warning letter is being issued in response to a serious one-time offense rather than a problem that's been developing over time, it makes sense to bypass the initial verbal warnings and proceed straight to the written reprimand.
However, giving your employees continual positive and negative "feedback on their performance is the most important thing because any warning should not come as a surprise," says Kane.
But a written warning is often an indication that there has been some miscommunication on the employee or the employer's part, or both. A warning letter "cues them in that this is not something you're telling me in passing but this is really critical to my job performance.
The better you can sum up who you are and what issue has prompted you to write, the more effective your letter will be. Explanations and Suggestions Delve deeper into the issue at hand. Letters to President Obama. Here's a sample of letters sent to the president from the American people and his responses. Click on each image to view the full-size letter in our PDF reader. Sample Letter to the President. This template can help you write to the president to let him know that afterschool is important. Letting the president know about the importance of afterschool in their communities is a crucial strategy for gaining support for afterschool and summer learning programs.
Common Problems There are as many reasons to write a warning letter as there are types of behavioral and performance problems with an employee. That said some problems are far more common than others. Yet another type of problem is more common still than any of the issues listed above, and that is the quality or quantity of an employee's output.
The quantity of work an employee does can increase with additional effort on his or her part but the same is not always true of the quality. For example, "if somebody just doesn't have artistic talent, it doesn't do a whole lot of good to give them 17 warnings," Kane says. As a result, a sympathetic employer will attempt to be more accommodating of an employee's repeatedly failing to make their quota.
If it's a certain skill that the employee is lacking, you could help them secure training within the organization or even reimburse them for outside classes.
Kane explains, "it's expensive to terminate employees so you want to help them succeed. Who Should Write the Letter? Whoever writes the warning letter, and they are often ghostwritten by a human resources specialist, the letter itself should come from the employee's direct supervisor.
However, "the actual decision to formally write [the letter] up might involve more levels of the organization," Williams says. As for whether to consult a lawyer when crafting a warning letter, in most cases it's a good belt-and-suspenders measure if you can afford it, but some experts say it's unnecessary.
Instead, the time to consult a lawyer is when you are first putting your disciplinary policy in place. In certain circumstances, however, getting the input of an attorney can be crucial.
When you encounter situations that are completely outside of your ken, or need to be handled delicately because of a confluence of factors, it's time to get your general counsel on the horn.
For example, Reed says that if the employee in question recently "made complaints of racial or gender discrimination, yet the behavior or performance problem does exist, it's a good idea to talk to an attorney about how you might approach that person.
The lawyer will sit down with you and say, "'gee, let's see if we can figure out a way to defend your potentially goofy policy," Kane says. Should Your Lawyer Specialize in Entrepreneurship? Still, it can be useful both for reminding an employee of what you've already told them and when, and for protecting you in the event of a lawsuit down the road.
Once you're at the stage of issuing a warning letter, you may want to ask the employee to sign somewhere on the document to confirm that they received it and to verify that they understand and agree to conditions they must meet.
Some employees are resistant to that idea but Kane suggests that "if they say they won't sign it, then the smart thing to say is 'okay, would you mind writing something that says I refuse to sign? What it Should Contain There are three main components of the body of a warning letter to an employee.
First you need to outline the prior conduct that was unacceptable then you need to identify, by contrast, the required or expected conduct.
That way, there is as little room as possible for misinterpretation. The tone of the warning letter can also vary dramatically depending on the severity of the infraction the employee has committed.Aug 19, · To address a letter to a government official, first you need to find the official’s name and titles, which help to demonstrate respect when addressing your letter.
Then, find their address by searching online for their name and the phrase “mailing address,” or check regardbouddhiste.com for a list of addresses for many officials%(23). Sep 15, · To contact the President of the United States, send a letter addressed to the White House, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC You can also try calling the White House by dialing and asking to speak with 76%().
Jan 17, · Dear Mr. President, Greetings of peace! I would like to express my idea and hopng to help on how we can improve our country. First, Mr. President, I totally agree the RH BILL this issue is our main problem in our society which is over populated and Phils.
is the 7th populated countries of Asia. Write a letter to the President Here are a few simple things you can do to make sure your message gets to the White House as quickly as possible.
If possible, email us! Nov 18, · In this Article: Article Summary Sample Letters Addressing the Letter Following Proper Etiquette Writing an Actionable Letter Community Q&A Writing a letter to a government official can be a great way to weigh in on what's going on in your nation, state, or locality%(35).
Signing a Letter on Someone Else’s Behalf Written by J. Hirby and Fact Checked by The Law Dictionary Staff Sometimes in the business world, it is necessary for office staff to sign a letter on someone else’s behalf, such as the manager or company president.