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Top tips from Mesmo Consultancy (and Associates) on how to save time and improve business and personal performance by ‘Taking Control of your Inbox’ and using proper business email etiquette.
Chairing a large committee made me think about how we use email to work more effectively whilst at the same time fostering transparency and enthusiasm.
Everyone feels that as Chairman I should be cc’d into all conversations. Does that sound familiar? Despite a good folder and flag system at one point the email overload was so acute that important emails were overlooked. Even as the email expert I found myself phoning the already busy secretariat to re-send me papers and attendance lists which were lost in the cc swamp. This prompted me to think what would be the best email etiquette for both Chairman and committee members? Here are the seven email best practice guidelines we are working on to reduce the email overload and save everyone time.
1. Avoid ‘Reply All’ unless it is critical. For everyday responses to simple requests, eg do you need parking, gluten free sandwiches – forget Reply All. Reply to sender only will suffice.
2. Use Distribution lists. When a Distribution list is not possible put people’s names on the Bcc box. If you want to know what your colleagues think, ask them directly but don’t copy in the Chairman.
Email etiquette for committee meetings
3. If you have something controversial and decide to write an email, put it in draft and sleep on it before hitting send. If you still feel strongly talk to those concerned before sending the email. This avoids lighting fires which are hard to contain. After talking if there is still an unresolved issue then write a summary email.
4. Use a clear subject line to highlight what your email is about. Sounds obvious, but you would be amazed how many emails linger in my Committee folder with the same subject but referring to quite a different topics!
5. Decide from whom you really need a reply and then use the ‘To’ and ‘Cc’ address line as they were intended. ‘To’ is for action from those whose name is in that line. ‘Cc’ is for information: if your name is in that line no reply is necessary. Good email etiquette dictates that if you are in the cc line and feel you must voice your opinion, only reply to the sender .
6. For sending committee papers use a file sharing service like Dropbox for sending attachments.
7. Meeting dates – send them and the reminder as a calendar invite. This saves time collating responses and ensures the meeting automatically goes into member’s calendar.
Hopefully these short term measures of good email etiquette will reduce the email overload. Longer term we plan to introduce social technologies to reduce the email overload and improve performance even further.
If you either chair or support committees and found these tips helpful why not ask us about our Brilliant Email master classes. These are guaranteed help every committee member save time and improve communications. Making life simpler and more enjoyable for your committee will earn you considerable brownie points.
Meanwhile, how do you use email to communicate and share information efficiently across committees?
Tags: committees, corporate email etiquette, email etiquette
Saying ‘thank you’ is about both the medium and the content as David Tang wrote in the Financial Times last week. A point I whole heartily endorse. It is about conveying sincerity and it is better to send an email than do nothing. If you choose to use email what is the best email etiquette to demonstrate sincerity?
Here are some tips.
BomoArt Note Card
informative. The day spent at was ……
Call me old fashioned, (but as discussed previously) for my part I still prefer to send a conventional hand written note to express my gratitude, when someone has gone the extra mile. And of course I am lucky having BomoArt as my sponsor who provide me with the exquisite cards to do so. That said, there is something about taking the time to buy a card that adds depth to the thank you.
However, in this day and age when first, many people are time poor and second, many cannot write properly and rely wholly on electronic devices, hopefully good email etiquette will help convey sincerity.
These are some of the aspects covered in Mesmo Consultancy’s Brilliant Email etiquette training masterclasses.
Tags: corporate email etiquette, email etiquette, email etiquette training, thank you emails
We all like to feel valued when we have either helped someone or done something really well. Many feel that saying thank you encourages better team work and bonding. A point supported by David Desento’s research. But what is the best way to say thank you? A thank you email is one way and is often the default. However, how many of those ‘thank you’ emails are really sent with genuine warmth and gratitude? For those who receive over 50 emails a day, the ‘thank you’ either might be overlooked or worse still just add to feeling of suffering with chronic email and information overload.
In workshops and coaching sessions, when asked what annoys people the most about email, 75% cite ‘thank you’ emails. Many perceive they are sent without thinking but rather almost as a Pavlovian response which is meaningless and without any feeling of real gratitude. After all if the boss ask for something why would you not do it.
In this age of electronic communications what is the best email etiquette to say thank you and do with feeling? Drawing on discussions with clients and their experience here are some which work really well without driving up the email overload.
1. Add a line at the end of the original email to show your gratitude in advance of the response.
2. If the person has gone the extra mile and done an exceptional job then:
either
BomoArt Note Card
especially if the person has gone the extra mile).
or
3. Only if none of the above work, should you ping back a ‘thanks’ email. But make sure it sounds sincere and it stops there. Don’t be sucked in to a pointless round of email ping-pong if they respond.
Using good email etiquette like this and switching to an alternative medium is also a very good way to improve performance and business relationships whilst at the same time reducing email and information overload.
For more ways like these to save time and enhance productivity ask us about our email best practice training and coaching.
Tags: corporate email etiquette, email best practice, email overload, thank you emails
In the world of always on email, social media and mobile working, can you business survive without superfast broadband?
As our lives in general have become more and more connected over the past few years, so too has it been vital for businesses to ensure that they keep up with the latest technology in order to compete.
In the past, businesses have relied upon a static, on-site network to share information and manage email and so forth. With the advent of cloud services, this is no longer the case, as a business can have a network set up at a fraction of the cost of a static network.
This means that the marketplace is even more competitive and those who don’t take advantage of new technologies are sure to be left behind. There are many ways in which companies can take advantage of technology though, the most obvious being social media and 
email.
Many businesses have now made the shift from internally-based email to cloud and this makes it easier for employees to manage their mail from wherever they are. Office 365 is being adopted by many in order to cut costs and run at peak efficiency, so users can access documents and programs, such as Outlook, whilst on the move.
This makes it a simple matter to sync calendars, meetings, reminders and appointments wherever they are, on any device and is ideal for today’s office worker, especially those who work in an environment that provides a Bring-your-own-Device (BYOD) scheme.
Mobile computing in the office
A couple of years ago it was considered bad form to allow employees access to some aspects of the web, such as social media. This is now changing and we’re seeing more internal social intranets, where workers can communicate with each other quickly and easily whilst sharing documents and information.
Social media has become a part of everyday business and executives are recognising the power of creating and maintaining a two-way conversation with customers.
This new way of doing business means that all departments, from marketing to buying, can be getting involved with the company social media presence, ensuring that it’s performing well.
However, an office all accessing the internet at the same time will mean that the connection can grind to a halt, even if a company has broadband. A superfast connection will do away with these woes, so that workers can stream video, use email and office applications, use cloud services and share information quickly and easily.
This gives any business a competitive edge over those who are still struggling along with a normal broadband connection, as they embrace new technologies and quickly discover the advantages.
Not only does it make sharing information easier, but it also means that employees can easily connect and work from home too, if they also have a superfast connection. This is becoming increasingly important to many businesses who want to further cut costs by moving to mobile working.
Fast broadband also means that gone are the days where you had to wait hours for a file to be sent and the old days of email ‘bottlenecks’ 
are also behind us. Larger data transfers and quicker mail make for a more productive workplace and a happier workforce.
Add social into the mix and it’s easy to see the direction technology is taking across both the consumer and enterprise space. Whilst it was previously not known what impact social can have on business, it’s now clear that it’s a valuable tool.
However, without a superfast connection, offices don’t have significant enough bandwidth to appreciate fully and take advantage of mediums new and old.
Author Bio: This article was written by Kerry Butters on behalf of Broadband Genie.co.uk, where you can find more information on fast broadband.
Empty Wardrobe – Empty Inbox
2012 saw the volume for email traffic rise by at least 10% and certainly my inbox is starting to bulge again. Email overload is rising (and hence email stress its direct descendant). Do I declare inbox bankruptcy like so many before me. The only trouble is that unlike a bank there is no bale out if I lose a valuable email. Yesterday I spent four hours clearing out my sent items and lots of old folders. It felt just like clearing out the wardrobe of all those old clothes which one hangs onto just in case either they come back into fashion or you lose some weight so once more you can get into those skinny fit jeans!
In the case of the inbox it was old projects and possible joint ventures which had long since past their sell by date.
As a result here are my top tips and indeed my own goals for limiting the effects of email overload and email induced stress.
What are your goals and plans for 2013 to help you save time and unchain yourself from the inbox?
Do you need some help slimming down your inbox for 2013? Call us and we can discuss how our Brilliant Email Management workshops and coaching can help you and your business. Alternatively, subscribe to our free monthly e-briefing.
Tags: Brilliant Email, Email Bankruptcy, email management training, email overload, email stress, empty inbox, Imrpoved personal productivity, new year's resolutions