10: Memos

Memo Purpose

A memo’s purpose is often to inform, but it may occasionally include an element of persuasion or a call-to-action. All organizations have informal and formal communication networks. The unofficial, informal communication network within an organization is often referred to as the grapevine, and it is characterized by gossip, rumors, and innuendo. On the grapevine, one person may hear that someone else is going to be laid off and start passing the news around. Rumors change and transform as they are passed from person to person, and before you know it, the word is that they are shutting down your entire department!

One effective way to address unofficial speculation is to spell out clearly for all employees what is going on with a particular issue. If budget cuts are a concern, then you could send a memo explaining the changes that are imminent. If a company wants employees to take action, they may also issue a memo. For example, on February 13, 2009, upper management at the Panasonic Corporation issued a declaration that all employees should buy at least $1,600 worth of Panasonic products. The company president noted that if everyone supported the company with purchases, it would benefit all (Lewis, 2009). While memos do not normally include a call-to-action that requires personal spending, they do usually represent the organization’s interests. They may also include statements that align business and employee interests.

Memo Format

Memos are typically brief, concise, organized for readability, and addressed to targeted audiences with specific subject lines. A memo’s format provides employees with clear and easy access to information. The message is direct. In order to be easy to navigate, a memo follows a specific format. Usually, we start by typing the word Memo or Memorandum under the letterhead. (Note that there are memo templates available to you in Microsoft Word.) If there is no letterhead, start by typing up the name of the company on top of the page before you write the word Memo or Memorandum. Then, follow with a heading block.

The recipient can be a single person or a group of people. If you are writing the memo to one person, use the person’s name and job title. If you are writing to a group of people, use the name of the group rather than a list of specific names. For example, we can address a memo to The Sales Team. The sender should always include their name and their job title. The subject line is very important and should be used responsibly. It must be brief and concise while specifically indicating the main point of the memo. Note that every major word should start with a capital letter (prepositions and articles are not capitalized in subject lines and titles in general). Some companies prefer that the subject line is also in bold.

You will fill in the information, and then you will begin your memo. If it is a longer memo (longer than a few paragraphs), you may also wish to use section headers. Remember that we do not start the memo with any type of salutation (such as, "Dear Assistant Managers"). Also note that the order of the parts of the memo heading block varies according to different companies’ expectations.

Unlike emails and letters, memos do not have a closing and signature. Instead, in the past, the writer would indicate that they really wrote the memo by initialing by their name in the paper heading using blue or black ink. Or, if a memo was typed up by another person, it would be taken back to a supervisor for approval, and the person who typed the memo would initial at the bottom of the memo like this, for example: /jc. However, in today's workplace, most employees write their own messages on their own computers, so this is rarely done anymore.

Finally, in the days of paper, memos also indicated attachments. If a memo arrived on a desk with the notation "Enclosure" it meant that there was supposed to be something paper clipped to the memo with additional information. And, if the recipient saw nothing paper clipped, it was immediately clear that something was missing. It is for this reason that you often see in an email a paper clip icon for the attachment button or notification. The following link shows an example of a paper memorandum.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/memos/sample_memo.html

Memo Content

In a standard writing format, we might expect to see an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. All these are present in a memo, and each part has a purpose. The introduction in the opening uses a declarative sentence to announce the main topic. If there are any effective dates or due dates that need to be presented, they should be presented in the first paragraph to ensure that they are not overlooked.

The body elaborates or lists major points associated with the topic, and the conclusion serves as a summary. It is quite common at the end of the memo to encourage readers to follow up with questions or comments and to provide contact information for their convenience. Throughout the memo, we need to pay attention to the tone to maintain goodwill.

All links live as of June 2021.

This work "Writing Effective Memos" is a derivative of "ENGL 145: Technical and Report Writing" by Amber Kinonen, “Open Technical Communication” by Tiffani Reardon, Tamara Powell, Jonathan Arnett, Monique Logan, and Cassandra Race, and “Professional Communications” by JR Dingwall, Chuck Labrie, TK McLennon, and Laura Underwood, used under a CC BY license. "Writing Effective Memos" is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by Iva Balic.