Do your e-mail signatures undermine your legal and brand integrity?

In SA, an e-mail signature can carry the same legal weight as an actual signature.

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How important is the signature at the end of an e-mail? In South Africa, it can carry the same legal weight as an actual signature.

In a 2014 case, a dispute over a cancelled leasing agreement set this precedent. A car wash company had hired cleaning equipment from a supplier, then struggled to maintain the contract. In a series of e-mails between the parties, they reached a cancellation agreement. The car wash settled its arrears and entered into a rental deal with a different supplier. But the original supplier was unhappy with this and, stating that there was no formal cancellation of their deal, took the matter to court.

It led all the way to the Supreme Court of Appeals, which interpreted the Electronic Communications and Transactions (ECT) Act and ruled that a named signature on an e-mail – even a generic one – was valid, particularly in transactions that didn't require explicit electronic signatures. The signature at the bottom of an e-mail is as legitimate as a signature signed on a contract.

E-mail signatures have impact. The above example is a bit of an outlier, yet there are many other reasons enterprises should take them seriously, ranging from confidentiality and procedural notices to projecting a strong and professional brand image.

"When a company doesn't have e-mail signature policies with centralised management, it creates compliance and reputational risk," says Paul Cox, Channel Manager for MEA at Exclaimer. "It's the kind of issue that doesn't seem like a big deal until something happens. Then that signature becomes a deciding factor in legal and compliance issues. Some damage is unseen, such as lost business opportunities because of lacklustre branding or not exploiting marketing prompts."

E-mail signatures can be legally binding. They also represent a company's branding and professionalism, reinforce data privacy and management positions, and establish confidentiality.

"E-mail signature legal notices are crucial for limiting liability, protecting confidential data and complying with regional and sector regulations. Some are universal, like confidentiality and non-disclosure notices, disclaimers, links to procedures for access to information or notices relating to privacy laws like POPIA. These things may seem trivial until something serious happens. Then those inclusions become legal armour," says Cox.

E-mail signatures also project a professional image through consistent and captivating designs. E-mails can include useful links to specific web pages and corporate social media channels. Forward-thinking companies often also include call to action buttons and creative touches such as inspirational quotes or thematic changes reflecting special events – perhaps celebrating a national sports team's win.

With so many good reasons to create good e-mail signatures, why do companies neglect them? E-mail is such an entrenched and ubiquitous digital channel that many enterprises just take it and its elements for granted. Yet, even if there is an intent for better branding and compliance, they don't know how to implement sufficient management.

"I see it happen all the time," says Cox. "A business realises it needs to do something, but it doesn't know what. So, it creates policies for e-mail signatures, then passes the ball to a department, usually IT. But IT isn't responsible for legal or branding. They don't own the information of who works there and their titles. They don't oversee social media or sales strategies. And they don't have the right tools to implement changes without creating much more work."

These reasons explain why companies are using e-mail signature management platforms. The market leader, Exclaimer, delivers a comprehensive automated and multi-user experience. A company's IT department vets its deployment as a service platform, while people from different departments log in securely to manage various e-mail elements. Marketing can create designs and templates, HR can adjust names and titles, and legal can update notices and boilerplate – all directly and securely.

The Exclaimer platform centralises e-mail management while extending management responsibilities to the right people, supported by templates, roll-out tools and reporting features. It closes e-mail blind spots and tames compliance dark horses, also using e-mail to grow the business.

"An attractive and professional signature stands out," says Cox. "It's an ambassador for a business and its reputation. Many companies have forgotten they own that value because managing signatures is often chaotic and limited. It's more likely to become someone else's problem than a competitive advantage. That's why platforms like Exclaimer are so popular. They bring back the advantages of e-mail signatures and help reduce compliance risks."