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Top tips from Mesmo Consultancy (and Associates) on how to save time and improve business and personal performance by ‘Taking Control of your Inbox’ and using proper business email etiquette.
We are publishing the 100th edition of the Mesmo Consultancy ‘e-briefing’ – tips and hints on how to save time by reducing email overload and using brilliant email etiquette. The first edition appeared on 1st January 2003 and was emailed to 350 subscribers. 100 editions on and we have over 2,300 subscribers.
How has email changed over the last ten years since the first edition?
SPAM dominated discussion on email. There were government conferences on it. Company boards were blamed as they did not recognise the need to take control and enforce proper Acceptable Usage Policies. In 2011 the resources needed to process the current volume of SPAM are sufficient to drive 1.6 million times around the world.
Phones4U made headlines as employees were banned from using email for internal communication and their MD said this would save them £1M per year. Here we go again in 2012 with Atos trying to find alternatives to email for internal communications.
Royal Mail found that poor business etiquette was costing companies £4bn in lost customers. Poor email etiquette is now just as costly judging from some of our clients’ woes.
The Audit Commissioners found that IT fraud and abuse was posing major problems to public sector organisations. New technologies, like the use of handheld devices (PDAs) and wireless networking, are creating fresh risks to which public services are only slowly reacting.
There was a rise in the sales of traditional writing instruments according to research analysts. One teacher was so fed up with text speak that she ordered her pupils to write only with a fountain pen.
Hands up all those who still use a fountain pen – especially to say ‘thank you’?
Email overload and time wasted on the Internet were starting to become an issue. A Government survey estimated that people wasted two days per year ‘wilfing’ – aimlessly surfing the net. Now we estimate business people waste up to nearly two days per month dealing with unnecessary email.
Email addiction is becoming a problem for Blackberry users. In 2011 the Blackberry outage served to highlight just how serious email addiction has now become. It is one of the biggest drains on employee’s health and causes of stress related illness.
Twitter takes off and we launched our daily email tips under the EmailDoctor pseudonym. Some were starting to suggest that the use of email would decline in the face of rising use of social networking. See Social Networking in Business 2009.
Email overload continues to dominate the news with some declaring email bankruptcy. Cyber crime costs more than physical crime. There are an estimated 2M emails sent per second worldwide. In personal terms it equates to about 72 email messages received per person per day which is about one new email every ten minutes! Now research analysts estimate a rise to 80+ by 2015.
There are now several websites dedicated to reviewing conventional note books and writing instruments!
Does history repeat itself? Yes, just like fashion, where drain pipe trousers are succeed by flairs and then straight cuts and then back around the loop. Mini skirts come and go and for some they were called ‘pelmets’. In suits it’s double breasted then single breasted are all the rage.
Indeed for some of us of a certain age ‘Cloud Computing’ feels just like ‘Bureau Services’. Ah but many of you are far too young to have heard that term.
So hold onto a few of these challenges and make a diary not about how you resolved them because you may well need to look back in anger five years down the line!
Tags: email addiction, email and the cloud, email best practice, email carbon footprint, email etiquette, email overload
How can brilliant email etiquette help you stop email overload? That was the theme of today’s Twitter Chat. My thanks to everyone who participated. Below is a transcript of the key tweets.
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| Email Etiquette |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| There is also our ‘Email Etiquette Checklist’ to help you send the right message right first time. emptyinbox |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| For more tips on email etiquette to stop email overload either come to one of our workshops or webinars #emptyinbox |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| @MarshaEgan what’s your top tip? #emptyinbox |
| in reply to @MarshaEgan |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| A1 – Think five is my motto – five short sentences, five questions. More and you loose the other person. #emptyinbox |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| A1 Keep the content clear, concise and structured so its easy for the recipient to read. #emptyinbox |
| Marsha Egan @MarshaEgan |
| Q1 What is your best email etiquette tip? #emptyinbox |
| Marsha Egan @MarshaEgan |
| Hi from the US! #emptyinbox |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| Does correct spelling and grammar save time – Yes. #emptyinbox |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| Consider the subject line as your elevator pitch #emptyinbox |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| Always re-read your message before hitting send ask yourself will the recipient understand me #emptyinbox |
| ExecutiveSecretary @lucybrazier |
| RT @EmailDoctor: What’s best way to open an email to stop email overload? Join me today for Twitter Chat #emptyinbox at 17.00 GMT to find… |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| Does anyone have a question/tip they would like to share? #emptyinbox |
| Monica Seeley @EmailDoctor |
| Using brilliant email etiquette is a quick way to save time and stop email overload by reducing the rounds of email ping-pong. #emptyinbox |
Tags: email etiquette, email overload, empty inbox, inbox zero
Superfast broadband for Dorset: reality or pipe-dream
The Current Situation
What’s the difference between fast and superfast broadband?
Fast is up to 24MB. Superfast is over 30 MB with some able to reach 100MB.
How can I check my current broadband speed?
Use one of the broadband speed testers like http://www.speedtest.net.
How can I find out who might be offering faster broadband over the next 12 months?
Use a broadband speed post code like www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk.
A number of suppliers are currently vying for your business in the conurbation including:
BT
Indeed BT have just announced the upgrading of a number of exchanges over the next year either to their fast service or for fibre to the cabinet, their superfast service (infinity) including:
Southbourne, Dorchester, Weymouth, Blandford, Lytchett Minster.
Virgin are promising up to 100MB in some areas.
What if I am based in rural Dorset?
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| Rural Dorset |
Dorset County is eligible for a £9.44M matched funded grant from the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) in respect of the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds. Our Local Broadband plan application has been submitted and the initial feedback is that it’s looking favourable – a green light in terms of readiness. We hope to hear in February /March. Then a supplier must be selected to match both the BDUK and locally sourced funds. In total approx £38M is likely to be made available for improving broadband infrastructure, with the project management costs being met by the local partners.
Will that be sufficient? Will parts of Dorset still have poor broadband?
Yes and No. The extent of the provision of superfast broadband infrastructure will be identified through the procurement process. The infrastructure will enable access, to but will not provide the “final mile” connecting from the infrastructure point to the premise. In most instances this will be provided via the Internet service provider (ISP) and the existing infrastructure provision. Reaching some of the more isolated and remote premises could be more difficult. In these cases a minimum speed of 2Mbps is the goal, which may be made available through a different type of provision.
Will parts of Dorset still have poor broadband?
Yes, unless we can drive up demand by demonstrating sufficient demand from businesses of all sizes. Indeed unless there is sufficient demand for superfast broadband it is very likely that BT will switch off the Weymouth and Portland connection leaving just fast broadband.
How can I keep up-to-date about progress?
Follow us on Twitter Digital Dorset and check the Dorset Chamber of Commerce’s news page.
What can I do?
I chair the Digital Dorset Taskforce and am on the BDUK Project Group. Your comments and input is vital.
Tags: BT
Over the last week I have experienced three outstanding examples of the ‘can do’ attitude which engenders customer delight and survival. My theory is that businesses that do this will survive whilst the rest may well go to the wall.
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| Danny Crates |
It began whilst listening to Danny Crates the Paralympic gold medal-winning athlete. He was the after dinner speaker at AFC Bournemouth Director’s Business Club dinner last week. He talked about the option in life after losing his right arm in a road accident. They were to spend the rest of his life either feeling sorry for himself or make something of his life. Clearly he choose the latter path. He was both an inspiration and a great speaker.
A few days later my beloved bomber jacket fell apart in the washing machine. With a sad heart I trolled off to the various local sport shops. First one just said no we don’t sell that make. No suggestion of an alternative. Second one was empty and the staff were not exactly over eager to greet me and try to sell me anything. Third one was Blacks. By now running out of time, I asked if they had anything in my size. A bouncy cheerful assistant found three jackets and you can guess a purchase was made.
Yesterday it was a visit to Croydon Crematorium to check a late friend’s rose tree. The plaque used to be bronze and was stolen so they replaced it with a very fine imitation marble one. The lady who had been dealing with the matter was charming and came out in the rain to check all was well. Nothing was too much trouble, down to opening the Remembrance Book and turning it back to the page when my friend is cited.
What stands out about these three very diverse experiences is the ‘can do’ attitude of the people involved. Any business which wants to survive could learn a lesson from these three people. We have a choice so if we don’t feel welcome and receive good customer service we can go elsewhere.
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| Email overload |
Now what has all this to do with email overload? Over the last week I have listened to at least six people say their inbox is overflowing and they don’t know where to begin. When given a few simple tips they shrug their shoulders. My premise is simple. No one needs to endure email overload any more than we need to suffer poor customer service.
You have a choice. Clean up your inbox, keep it clear, send fewer emails and be ruthless about how you spend your time and you too can enjoy an empty inbox!
Tags: email overload, empty inbox
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| Email Overload |
Tags: email and the cloud, email best practice, email overload