Using informal language seems to be the standard in social media communication, but does that also apply to a government organization? A bit of humor can help in webcare, but is that accepted by the government? In practice, I notice that opinions within government organizations can differ considerably on how (in)formal the tone of voice may be. I am curious about your opinion and experiences!
I was raised with 'u' as the standard for addressing someone, especially if it is a stranger or an older person. Times have changed, but I still struggle with it every now and then. For example, when I have a conversation with a mayor. Even though everyone addresses him or her informally, that little voice from my upbringing still squeaks that it is rude. At the same time, 'u' feels like creating distance and sometimes inequality. I usually follow the simple rule: if I am addressed with 'jij', then I can also address the other person informally.
I see the same struggle in government organizations. The employees who do the webcare in daily practice usually use the informal form of address. That rarely leads to complaints, but colleagues heavy construction contractors email list often have trouble with it. They keep 'u' as the norm in, for example, their letters and messages on the website. On the corporate website, 'u' is usually still the standard form of address, but that often causes friction when HR prefers to use 'jij' from a labor market communication perspective. You see that both forms of address are used almost everywhere. Sometimes consistently different per channel, but sometimes also mixed up on the same channel.
The form of address is important for making real contact
Is that bad? 'Bad' may be a bit of a big word, but I think the right form of address is important in making real contact with each other (and that is what communication is all about, right?). Using 'you' can create unnecessary distance, using 'you' can be experienced as rude or too jovial. How do you solve this dilemma? And can you even do it right for everyone?
The latter probably not, because somewhere you have to make a choice which form of address you choose in principle. I asked people in my network what they think about this via a poll on Twitter.