Making E-Mail a More Productive Tool

Is e-mail a tool or a curse? Despite the staggering growth of e-mail in the last several years, many senior and mid-level school administrators and company executives believe that e-mail has become a significant waste of an organization's valuable resources.

Based on a study conducted in April 2001 by Rogen International and Goldhaber Research Associates, employees are now sending an average of 20 e-mails and receiving 30 e-mails each day. As a result, workers are spending about 2 to 2.5 hours a day on e-mail tasks. No doubt, these hours are expected to increase exponentially, burdening workers with the need to keep up.

E-mail becomes a curse when it impedes productivity and adds to workplace stress. Employees cite lack of organization, no clear purpose, missing information, harsh tone, poor grammar, and overuse as the primary reasons that e-mail fails to make the grade as a productivity tool. And for some organizations and institutions, unsolicited mail (spam) makes up more than 50% of the total volume. In these cases, e-mail is clearly a nuisance.

You can make e-mail a more productive tool by writing clear, concise, positive messages. Sounds easy. But because of e-mail's "immediacy" factor, most people write and send messages hastily. And few employees have been trained in how to use e-mail to build relationships, move projects along, and share knowledge. So it's no surprise that more than half of the e-mail moving through cyberspace fails to communicate a clear message, creating a stagnant swamp of miscommunication.

Here are several guidelines for making e-mail a more productive tool.

Select e-mail with careful thought. Think about your message and your recipient and decide if e-mail is the BEST choice to do the job. Employees often use e-mail when a phone call, face-to-face dialogue, a formal presentation, or a group meeting would have worked better

Grab the reader in your subject line. Your e-mail is competing with a frenzy of other messages, so write a descriptive subject line that tells, in a nutshell, what the message is all about. For example,Upcoming Meeting could be rewritten to read Product Launch Meeting on September 9. Although the rewrite uses more words, these words will entice the reader to open the message.

Give the reader an early payoff. Organize the message with an opening, body, and closing. This may sound cumbersome, but readers prefer short paragraphs. Readers also want a "payoff" for reading, so tell them your purpose for writing in the first paragraph. In the next paragraph, present your major points supported with details, but be concise. And, finally, a good e-mail message is action-oriented, so in the closing paragraph, outline what has to be done and who is to do it. If the action is to be completed by a certain time, state it. This call to action makes it easier for your reader to reply.

Use a constructive tone. Tone is the body language of your message. Readers misinterpret many e-mail messages because of a harsh tone-even a neutral tone can send a shiver up the reader's spine. Add constructive words that will enhance the message, such as please, thank you, look forward to, appreciate your help, etc. Likewise, avoid negative words that destroy tone, such as fail to, never, always, lack of, can't, won't, etc.

Stay active. When writing e-mail, as well as any business or technical document, use the active voice. Look at every passive verb and see if you can change it into an active one. Here's an example: Passive: The contract was signed by the client. Active: The client signed the contract. Today's busy readers prefer the active voice because it is shorter, livelier, more informative, and easier to read.

Be accurate. E-mail is either an electronic conversation or a more formal message that can be saved, printed, and forwarded. As such, it is no different than any other business document. Always take the time to proofread and correct all errors-grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Also check your facts and figures, and make sure you didn't leave out any important details that would require costly re-communication.

Adhere to best practices. Get in the habit of following e-mail etiquette. Here are ten general guidelines.

1. Don't send indiscreet, confidential, or sensitive messages via e-mail.
2. Don't use ALL CAPS. This annoys readers because it is harder to read. Likewise, don't use all lower case letters or decorative or ornate fonts. Times Roman or a similar font is the best for readability.
3. Use an appropriate salutation (Dear Bob, Hello Anne, Hi Gang) and use a sincere automated signature line.
4. Cut your "Cc" list to just those readers who need to be informed of the message but who do not need to take action.
5. Use "Bcc" with caution since blind copies give the connotation that you are going behind a person's back.
6. Use the "urgent" notation sparingly. You will have better results using a descriptive, well-written subject line.
7. Don't send junk e-mail.
8. In general, don't reply to e-mail just for the sake of acknowledging a message or saying Thank You.
9. Don't send angry messages. Always take time to cool off and then review and revise your message.
10. Avoid excessive technical jargon and undefined acronyms.

If you do your part as a writer to service your reader's needs through better e-mail, you will benefit from their quicker responses, and you will be looked up to as an effective communicator. No doubt you will make a difference in the way your institution communicates.