Blog Layout
Immediate action requested: please use email responsibly
Email is a 'good servant but a bad master'; but unfortunately,
several of us are already in 'email jail' before we know it.
- How many emails have you received since you started reading this article?
- Were they all addressed to you directly OR were just forwarded to you (often without an introductory message for you) OR were you simply one of the dozens of recipients who were CC'ed on the email?
- How many of them required you to do something or respond with a decision or feedback?
- How many were simply for 'FYI' purposes?
In my experience, 'email jail' is a sad reality at the workplace: it's not uncommon for the count of unread emails being used as a false measure of busyness and/or positional power. Nor is it uncommon for folks to check their email even while on vacation or when out sick - after all, who wants to come back to 2,271 new emails on their first day back?!
How might we redefine the use of email so that it adds value for BOTH the sender and the recipient?
- How about if we think about the quality of User eXperience for the intended recipient(s)?
- How about if we treated every email like a customer interaction that's intended to create value for both parties?
In trying to answer these two questions, here's what I've come up with:
"Look before you leap."
- Is this email truly necessary? For instance, if it's something truly urgent, shouldn't we be talking to someone instead of drafting an email?
- Do we really need all those 12 people on CC in the email?
- Should we 'reply to all' by default?
What's the call-to-action for the recipient(s)?
- Why should the recipient(s) read your email(s) first?
- What do you want the recipient(s) to do after they've read it?
Know how much to write AND when to stop the ping-pong game.
- Can we say what we need to say, effectively, using bullet points OR do we need paragraphs?
- Do the recipient(s) have to scroll a few times to get to the end of this email? If so, will they retain/understand everything in this email? (BTW, think about how often we finish reading emails that require us to scroll down even once...)
- Is this the third (or more) time we're writing back on the same thread? If so, isn't it probably time to talk?
- Are we using email as a mechanism to defend ourselves at some point in the future, if someone were to contradict or misquote something we've said today?
- How does this reflect on the level of trust and transparency at the workplace?
Is email being used to get work done?
OR
Is email work in and of itself?
Email is a powerful tool - it can make or break careers and companies - and it sure has! So, the next time we're about to click 'Send' - let's pause for a second to be sure that our email is indeed going to serve a purpose. Because if it's not, nobody is going to complain about receiving one less email, are they now?! :)
NorthStar Solutions and Services LLC
