Call 01202 43 43 40
Email info@mesmo.co.uk
Dealing with the holiday email overload is one of the most stressful aspects of being on vacation according to a survey conducted by Mesmo Consultancy. This is not surprising when you realise that most business people (and especially executives and PAs) feel that at least 50% of the emails they receive are unnecessary. One survey recently put it as high as 75%. Little wonder dealing with the holiday back log can seem quite daunting.
It does not have to be that way. For those just back from leave and who did not either adopt Mesmo Consultancy’s email detox plan, or take David Grossman’s (email free vacation pledge) here is a tried and trusted five point plan to reduce the holiday email backlog and quickly reach inbox zero.
Spending the first hour talking to your colleagues will help you discover far more rapidly what is high priority and needs your attention rather than trawling unprepared through your inbox.
When you tackle the inbox set aside a specific block of time (eg 3 hours). Group your emails by person, subject, date etc. Use the conversation view (threads) to see the whole picture before replying too quickly. You may even feel you want to reply only to the emails sent to you rather than where you are Cc’d.
As you open each email, handle it once and once only. Avoid scanning emails and then having to go back as this wastes time. Action each selected email as you read it using the four Ds principle; deal, delete, delegate or defer action. In the latter case flag/mark it for attention and tell the sender when they can expect a reply.
Still too much email, then declare email bankruptcy. You can be very sure that if an email was that important the sender will soon re-send it once they realise you have not responded.
What ways have you found useful to have a clean inbox and reach inbox zero after being on vacation?
Tags: Clean Inbox, David Grossman, Email Bankruptcy, Email detox, inbox zero, Mesmo Consultancy, Reduce holiday email overload, Vacation email management, Vacation email stress
In the final part of this series of interview with David Grossman, he reviews what are the barriers and drivers to creating a more effective email communications culture.
Monica: What do you see as the principle issues restricting the use of email within organizations?
David: Limiting email and reducing abuses is a step in the right direction, especially for middle managers.
We conducted research of 1,100 executives, senior leaders, managers, and employees on their perceptions of e-mail.
Our 2012 email perception study, “Enough Already! Stop Bad Email,” shows that when it comes to email overload, it’s the middle managers who feel the most pain:
And yet, they don’t want their ability to use email taken away or even interrupted. 83 percent of middle managers agree that email is an effective and necessary communication tool, and only 15 percent said that limiting email during normal business hours would be very effective. Our research suggests that to melt the iceberg that is the “Frozen Middle,” companies need to do a few things:
All that said, limiting email and stopping abuses isn’t the ultimate solution to improving employee engagement, work-life balance, and productivity. Really, it’s a Band-Aid because the much larger issue is about ineffective communications inside organizations today, which is negatively affecting business results. That means leadership needs to assess and improve the overall communication system for the organization.
Monica: How can we improve this situation – top three tips.
David:
For more information on email overload, its effects on the frozen middle, and additional tips, visit our Email Research and Resource Center.
David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA helps leaders drive productivity and get the results they want through authentic and courageous leadership communication, a sought-after speaker and advisor to Fortune 500 leaders. A two-time author, David is CEO of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based strategic leadership development and internal communication consultancy; clients include: DuPont Pioneer, Lockheed Martin, McDonald’s, Motel 6 and Tyco, to name a few.
Tags: Clean Inbox, clean out your inbox week, corporate email etiquette, David Grossman, email communications, email overload, The Grossman Group
In the second part of our discussions, David Grossman talked through key ways to improve email communications, both in terms of how and what your write (email etiquette) and making you email software work for you. All of this will again help you keep a clean inbox (and maybe even an empty inbox).
Monica: Given that email is an effective communications tool – how can we make better use of it?
David: Use email only when it’s the most appropriate vehicle for your communication. These situations include when you need to:
Additionally, to keep your inbox clean, consider these strategies, along with the many others that were shared this week:
As you experiment with what works for you, you’ll begin to create new habits that will tame the email monster.
Click here to benchmark your email etiquette using Mesmo Consultancy’s free on-line tools. To gauge how well you use Outlook click here.
In part three David talks about how to improve the organisational email culture.
David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA helps leaders drive productivity and get the results they want through authentic and courageous leadership communication, a sought-after speaker and advisor to Fortune 500 leaders. A two-time author, David is CEO of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based strategic leadership development and internal communication consultancy; clients include: DuPont Pioneer, Lockheed Martin, McDonald’s, Motel 6 and Tyco, to name a few.
Tags: Clean Inbox, clean out your inbox week, David Grossman, email etiquette, Mesmo Consultancy, The Grossman Group
As part of the 7th International Clean Out Your Inbox Week, I was privileged to work with David Grossman CEO and founder of the Grossman Group leaders in strategic leadership and internal communication. This is the first of three discussions we had by a variety of media (phone, email etc).
Monica: Just how effective do you feel email is as a communications tool?
David: Email can be a highly effective communications tool, if used properly. That’s a big “if.” It’s a vehicle we love to hate, and many of us struggle with e-tiquette. Here are the most common abuses and bad habits that get in the way:
No wonder email gets a bad rap. Very few of us can say that we haven’t committed at least one of the sins above. We’re part of the problem, and also can be part of the solution.
The second interview reviews how we can make our email communications more effective and at the same time reduce the volume of email overload.
David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA helps leaders drive productivity and get the results they want through authentic and courageous leadership communication, a sought-after speaker and advisor to Fortune 500 leaders. A two-time author, David is CEO of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based strategic leadership development and internal communication consultancy; clients include: DuPont Pioneer, Lockheed Martin, McDonald’s, Motel 6 and Tyco, to name a few.
Tags: Clean Inbox Week, clean out your inbox week, David Grossman, email communications, email overload, The Grossman Group
