I have worked with lots of teams who want to regain control over email as the dominant mode of communication in the workplace. One of the most effective techniques is to gain consensus on how to make best use of available technologies to support the most effective communications in the workplace. The table below shows communications standards that describe how some of the teams I have worked with have decided to use different technologies to communicate amongst themselves and with others.

Don’t get me wrong email is useful for certain types of communication activity. My point is that it is not suitable for all types of communication activity. In fact, when used as the default or only tool for all communications it can cause significant productivity drain within teams. The table shows the breadth of technologies at our disposal and most importantly describes appropriate usage scenarios. When adopted I have seen profound outcomes achieved such as increased productivity, reduced stress, improved communications competence and better work satisfaction.

I personally prefer to see emails as a form of letter. I use them for formal correspondence where an audit trail is required. Plain English, accuracy, spelling and grammar are vital. The suggested technique of using agreed headings at the beginning of all email subject lines to help the recipient to quickly determine the action they should take is very simple but very very powerful. Another technique I like to adopt is to open my email client for half an hour at the beginning and end of each workday. The rest of the time I use the other technologies as they are more effective and efficient in supporting the communications activities I am undertaking.