February 6, 2006

Use Your Expertise and Influence to Eliminate E-mail Overload

It’s no surprise that e-mail is one of the leading causes of information overload in the workplace. According to a recent study published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit organization that studies the impact of technology on society, 68 percent of U.S. workers claim they spend more than two hours a day reading and responding to e-mail. In addition, employees say that more than half of the e-mails they receive aren’t relevant to their job.

As a communicator, even though you don’t own e-mail (no one does), employees are counting on you to address the root causes of e-mail overload and take dramatic steps to make this communication tool more useful for them. Here’s how:

1. Make the case that e-mail overload impacts the bottom line
   Senior managers and other opinion leaders need to understand the magnitude of e-mail overload at your company in order to support your efforts to address it. One way to build your case is by asking your IT department to send you a usage report containing the number of e-mails that employees send and receive on a given day. You can also gather evidence by conducting your own research. Here are a couple of techniques to consider:
   
   

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   Observe how employees experience e-mail. For decades, retailers have been using mystery shoppers to observe the “customer experience.” You can employ the same methods to analyze the “e-mail experience” at your company: – Recruit a group of employees and observe each of them reading and responding to e-mail – Repeat this process to determine the average amount of time employees devote to e-mail – Leverage your findings to diagnose and define e-mail overload for senior management, and explain how this problem affects productivity

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   Determine the perceived value of e-mail. In addition to knowing how employees experience e-mail, it’s important to understand their perceptions and flag areas for improvement. One way to do this is by conducting a survey. Sample questions include: – How helpful is e-mail in providing the information you need to do your job? – How do you feel about the frequency of e-mail you receive?

2. Restrict e-mail distribution
   We’ve all experienced the frustration of getting bogged down with e-mails that don’t apply to us. While e-mail makes it easy to communicate to a broad group of people, it doesn’t mean every message warrants the use of the “send all” button. You can resolve this issue by preventing employees from sending company-wide announcements. In addition, ensure that only a few individuals in your company have the privilege to access mass distribution lists, and provide them with guidelines for determining when it’s appropriate to send e-mail to a widespread group.
   
   
3. Use e-mail for the job it was designed to do
   Each communication vehicle—print, electronic, face-to-face—has its place in reaching and engaging employees. Problems arise when communicators rely too heavily on one vehicle or try to use a vehicle for a job it wasn’t designed to do. You can reduce the volume of e-mail at your company by knowing when it’s appropriate to communicate via e-mail, and when to choose an alternative vehicle or venue. Here are some general guidelines about the role of e-mail: