Email pitfalls.

Email is a blessing – and a curse. It can be used or abused. Here are some pitfalls we are trying to avoid in our daily workplace emailing…

1. “Staff Spammer”

• Millions of emails are sent every day. Don’t add to the burden by sending out cute pictures, urban myths, joke, recipes, etc to everyone. Before you use the “all-employee” email address, ask yourself, “do I REALLY need to send this to everyone?” and better yet, “do they REALLY want to receive this?”

2. “E-Meetings”

• Email is wonderful for employees from regional offices interacting on an issue. But if you find yourself exchanging more than 4 or 5 emails with people down the hall on the same subject, stop! Gather the people in the conversation and have a quick meeting.

3. “Rapid-fire Response”

• We are bombarded my emails, so we tend to fire off quicker responses. Problem is, your response is probably not well thought out and may expose your emotion, such as anger or frustration. Why? The sender is not in front of you, and you are trying to clear your inbox quickly. Slow down. Read what they wrote and think through your response. Wait 60 seconds before hitting “reply”

4. “cc: Shrapnel”

• You want to communicate with one employee – so why did you include three other employees in the “cc”? Maybe it feels like you are grabbing more attention on the situation. It may be a subconscious desire to expose the employee’s shortcomings – especially if you include their supervisor in the cc! Don’t ‘tattle’ through email. Limit your email to the person or people who MUST see it, who are part of the solution.

5. “InfOverload”

• If you have to ‘scroll’, its too long! People won’t read an email several pages long. Keep the info to one screen length.

6. “Emotional Dump”

• Email is a lousy method for handling personal frustrations, disappointments, etc. Email robs you of the vital signals sent by watching a person’s face and body language. That’s why it can be tough to tell if someone is being funny, sarcastic, or serious in what they write. Bottom line – if you have something personal to express, go for a face to face talk.

7. “Top Secret – Isn’t!”

• Don’t share personal info or opinions in an email that you wouldn’t care if the whole organization read! Sad truth is, by accident or intention, anything you write could be forwarded to people you had not intended to share with. Also, remember that any email produced on company equipment, through company systems on company time – is the property of the company.

So, what IS the proper use of email?
•    It is best used to communicate brief information and interaction
•    It is useful to keep an electronic paper trail of discussion on a topic
•    It is best used to communicate mid to low level importance info, not high level

Bottom line questions to ask before sending an email:
•    Is this WHAT I need to communicate?
•    Is this HOW MUCH I need to communicate?
•    Is this WHO I need to communicate to?