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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
Its great to see so many people working to fight this new business disease ‘information/email overload’ which is draining our productivity. Jonathan Spira at Basex estimates that this disease is now costing US business at least $997 billion per year. For more and to see his new year’s resolutions see http://bit.ly/hq9FkO.
What are you doing to help stop the email overload pandemic spreading?
Tags: email overload, new year's resolutions
One of the major contributors to email overload is our propensity to email addiction (and social networking in general). Whenever I am with friends who have children (and friends) who are predominantly from Generation Y and younger the cry is why can’t they detach themselves from their mobile communications devices (eg iphone, Blackberry etc). Some say that even over family meals their siblings are still checking their phones and it drives them mad.
My own research (see for example Inbox-Outbox 2007 survey and Why are we so bad at switching off), and that of others suggest that we do indeed suffer from a bad case of email addiction. The more emails you send and the quicker you respond, the more you receive? How can we reduce email addiction? Here are three tips.
I will re-visit overcoming email addiction as it is such a prolific problem. Meanwhile, for more immediate tips take a look at ‘Brilliant Email‘.
Tags: email addiction, email overload
Results to date reveal that over 60% of us could not resist the temptation! If you have not yet responded, please do. Meanwhile, my thanks to everyone who has taken the poll, and especially for all those fascinating comments. Poll will remain open for another two weeks, then I will compile the responses. For those who have reducing their email addiction in their new year’s resolutions – more in Thursday’s blog.
Tags: email addiction, email overload
Email overload really does take its toll on individual’s and business’s productivity. For a reality check use my Cost of Email Misuse Calculator. It’s not just the quantifiable lost time and money, it is also the hidden costs such as the distortion of the work-life balance, stress and higher carbon foot print. See earlier blogs.
With this in mind here are my New Year’s resolutions to help me be a little more productive and less addicted to my email.
Being cited as an expert and the Emaildoctor on Twitter everyone expects that I will have it sussed, but there is an element of being both the tailor’s daughter and the worst patient. These are my personal goals for 2011 to contribute towards reducing the email overload that confronts us all.
What are your new year’s resolutions to help the fight against email overload and its drain on personal and business productivity?
There is a free copy of ‘Brilliant Email‘ for the best response.
Tags: email overload, new year's resolutions