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Email overload – managing a team mailbox

One of the recurrent questions last week was ‘how do we manage efficiently a team in box to make sure all emails are answered once and once only and tracked’ (eg information@, sales @, project@ and even ‘my manager’s inbox’)?

You need to decide on some simple processes.  First, who ultimately owns and manages the mailbox, in terms of sorting, assigning and as appropriate deleting the rubbish.  Second, agree a process for handling the incoming emails which shows clearly the priorities and who is handling the email, eg flags, folders, colours etc.  Third check that all the users have an adequate level of Email (Outlook) IT Fitness (ie skills to use the software) and guidelines on which to make decisions about how to process and email.

Without a robust and clear process in place there is a high risk that important emails will be missed and possibly with significant costs to the business.

Do you manage a team mailbox?  What guidelines do you have in place?

Tags: email management, email overload, Outlook IT Fitness, Team inbox

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