As we work from home, Integris is finding that managing your email inbox is becoming a dilemma. People are communicating with email more and more and managing that communication in a timely fashion is becoming impossible. Here are some tips to help you manage your email communication.
Integris knows you are being bombarded with tips about what to do and what not to do with your new working situation. Let us help you cut through the noise and give you short, helpful tips you can use when managing your email traffic.
With new ways of working can come some unexpected challenges. One of these challenges is the attack of the uncontrollable email inbox.
Remote work means less opportunities to connect and communicate. Many times, it’s tempting to make up these gaps in communications with emails…and lots of them.
- Constant email barrages are ineffective, however, for several reasons.
- Lost productivity when reading and sending the emails
- Lost emails in a never-ending chain of emails throughout the day
- Conflicts of priorities and frustrations when multiple emails from several sources direct employees to do several different things at once
Here are a few tips to help you tame your out-of-control inbox and keep your employees, and yourself, focused and productive while working remotely.
Remember, Lack of Response Doesn’t Equal Lack of Productivity
If your employees and coworkers are being productive, they will be less likely to respond immediately to an email. Tame that uncontrollable email inbox by sending your message and moving on to other tasks and priorities while awaiting a response.
Limited, Targeted Emails
In step with the tip above, limit your emails and target them for one desired action or response per email. Avoid sending multiple emails for the same request and try to achieve balance by limiting the email to only one or two topics at once.
By limiting and targeting emails, you will avoid multiple responses from an employee or coworker regarding the same email. Your team will not become confused when responding to your emails, and you will have the answers you need.
Group Emails: The Number One Culprit of the Uncontrollable Email Inbox
Tagging the entire team into an email is tempting, but group emails are the biggest contributors to uncontrollable email inbox. Before you send that group email, make sure that you aren’t tagging people within the group that don’t need to be involved.
Microsoft Teams chat features are a great way to communicate non-urgent messages to multiple members within the team.
Encourage Employees to Limit Email Monitoring
One way to get that uncontrollable email inbox back in shape is to encourage your employees to limit email monitoring to a few times per day. First thing in the morning, sometime around midday, and at the end of the workday is a great rhythm for checking emails while staying productive.
Remember that Teams chat is a great way to connect outside of email if necessary, and will shorten the “back and forth” of emails by allowing you to communicate with your employees in real time.
Tag Your Subject Line with Your Email’s Priority
Your email client is most likely set up to ping email recipients when they receive a message in their inbox. One way you can keep your employees and coworkers focused on productivity is by tagging the priority of your emails in the subject line:
Urgent: Requires an immediate response to a request
Medium Priority: Requires a response at the employee’s first convenience
FYI or Low Priority: Less urgent in nature, informational messages or requests that can wait until the employee checks emails
Tagging the subject lines gives your employees an idea of the content and lets them know how and when to respond.
Need More Tips on Staying Productive with a Remote Workforce?
Integris is your definitive partner in bringing you the resources, tips, offers and information you need to keep your remote workforce connected and productive.
For more tips, visit https://iconicit.com.
