The case for swingeing changes to email practices

Email practises need to change radically in order to improve both efficiency and communication. Bloated inboxes and managers spending 90% of their time in Outlook are symptoms of how this modern form of communication is holding back organisations.

Due to the nature of this communication method it is also a distraction that prevents us from doing what is most important.

In 2004, Steve Robbins wrote a great article entitled Tips for Mastering Email Overload. The key point of this is that the recipient now bears the burden of the email.

Managers need to lead the change

The onus to lead this change fall on us in the management profession. Training, support and praise are needed in order for us to improve outbound communication and minimise the impact of inbound communication.

Step 1: Be email efficient

Management is leadership so lead from the front.

When communicating with colleagues send well thought out emails, that are structured and formatted for the benefit of the reader. Subject lines should convey the context of the email to assist the reader in choosing when to read it.

Close all emails with a summary of what actions need to be taken by whom. This assists in clarifying what you expect of the reader and leaves no room for ambiguity.

Practice good inbox efficiency. Close Outlook for 2 hours at a time and work through your todo list. You'll find this an amazing way to maintain focus.

One thing I've done in the past is to create an automatic Wizard/Filter that marks all email that I've been CC'd on as read and then moves it to a seperate folder (unless it has an urgent flag against it). This simple filter saved me hours in reading unnecessary email.

Step 2: Hold training on email efficiency

In a team meeting or specific team meeting hold training on email efficiency. Evangelise about the increase in productivity that can be achieved through better inbox management.

The session should be very interactive and you should work with your team to create a charter of email efficiency that everyone buys in to.

Some of the points to cover are what a good email looks like, subject line writing, and inbox management.

Ideally you should learn more in this session than you teach.

Step 3: Praise and follow up

Let team members know when they've send a good email. It doesn't need to a huge celebration, a simple "thanks for the email, I found it really easy to understand" will suffice.

In your next team meetings review the charter at regular intervals. Is it working? Are we becoming more efficient? How can we get others to follow suit?

Summary, your email tips

It's my hope that we as managers can spend more time on what matters most, creating value for our organisations and security for our teams. Email can be a huge distraction to achieving these goals. Let's fight back and improve the way we work.

Share your tips and comments about email productivity in the comments below.

About David Sealey

David is a Technical Strategy Consultant for Capgemini and an MBA student at the University of Sheffield. David also founded the Executive Book Readers Club which CMI members are free to join.

Photo credit to Amy McTigue