Routine request to employees

relevant concepts
• routine messages
• request messages
• sentence structure
• verb tense
• punctuation
• number usage
• professional tone
• understanding your audience

the following routine message requests employees complete their quarterly vacation requests. per company policy, all employees must submit quarterly vacation requests 14 business days prior to the start of each quarter. employees must submit their vacation requests using the human resources information system following the outlines steps by the designated day. this message does not employ a professional tone and is unclear. additionally, the message contains several verb errors (tense and passive voice), number usage errors, and style errors.

instructions: within the body of the e-mail below, highlight the sentences that contain errors.
required information

to: prcmassoc@cob. com
from: gracekc@cob. com
subject: quarterly vacation requests – action needed

good afternoon:

as the end of the third fiscal quarter approaches we need finalized vacation requests for the fourth quarter. company policy dictates employees submit all vacation requests fourteen business days prior to the start of the quarter. the final submission date for vacation requests for the fourth quarter is september 12.

follow the steps below for entering your quarterly vacation request:

1. open the employee management system
2. enter your login and password
3. select forms/requests in the top right of the main page
4. select vacation requests from the forms/requests page
5. select 4th quarter requests
6. enter vacation request dates
7. finish by clicking save, then submit

remember, all employees received paid time off for the wednesday – friday of week, christmas eve day, christmas day, and new year’s eve. do not include any of those dates in your vacation requests. once the vacation request system is closed all area managers will be reviewing the requests for final approval.

cob appreciates your timely attention to this matter.

kind regards,
kate



kate c. grace, hr director
cob consulting group
office: 740-555-5551 | cell: 740-555-5554