As of 2018, there were about 125 billion business emails exchanged daily. Add to several billions of non-business emails, and you get a world inundated with emails. Email is a staple for office communication; an essential tool in management.
With so many emails swapped daily by so many millions of people, we need to understand how email can enhance communication and management, and when it can fuel confusion.
Whereas emails are great channels for communication, they must be used with caution; they are not always a suitable replacement for in-person interaction. They lack basic cues that can only be conveyed through face-to-face settings.
Generally, emails are best for general and neutral office communication. They are often misunderstood if used to communicate hard-to-swallow news. Any sensitive information that can be interpreted as tough news should not be delivered via email. Instead, deliver difficult news in person or by phone.
In their quest to keep a tab on staff and work, it’s typical for managers to shoot streams of emails every day to their team. But there is a downside to this: Email overload can tilt the team off-centre or lead to burn-out.
Torrents of emails can be interpreted as harassment to staff when they can’t concentrate due to an endless din of emails and a bulging inbox. Be judicious with emails. In some cases, walking down the hall to the staff’s cubicle or calling them on the phone is a preferred option.
One of the most regrettable mistakes managers or anyone can make is to send out emails in a fit of anger. Nasty emails ruin the person-to-person connection. Such emails accomplish little, and worst, they could come back to haunt the sender. As a manager, practice common courtesy. Marinate tough emails for a few hours before sending them out.
It is advisable not to discuss corporate confidential information on email because you cannot predict how far they will go, and you can’t retract them.
If you work with a group, you must have experienced a situation where a person replies to an email and tags the rest of the team. Yet, the recipients have absolutely nothing to do with the message. Hitting the “replying-to-all” button is an act of aggression. It distracts people, eats into their valuable time, and thins bandwidth. Do not click on “reply-to-all” unless you mean it.
Except if you are working in a religious or political establishment, keep your religious, political, or other sectarian views close to your vest. Don’t share polarising opinions with colleagues using company email services. You are likely to hurt the feelings of people who don’t share your views.
As a rule, anything that you can’t say on a lunch date of a mixed group of people of different ages, gender, religious persuasions, or ethnicity, resist the itch to say it on email. Such posts could come back to bite you.
