What ever did we do without email?

I’m sure I can’t remember. OK. I admit it. I can remember. I remember faxing long documents around the globe, often to find the paper jammed on the other end and it was time to start all over again. I remember scrounging around the mail room for 10 inter-office envelopes so I could send the same memo to all my direct reports. And I remember the frustration (and sometimes relief) of saying, “Gosh, it hasn’t arrived yet.”

Those days are long gone, and for the most part I say good riddance. “Email me” has become the battle cry of the busy executive.

But like all good business tools, there are uses and abuses when it comes to email. The most important thing to remember about email is just because it is fast and easy, does not mean it always the best choice. In fact, as “media richness” goes, it is not even near the top. In descending order, here is how I rank your communication options at work in terms of the quality of information that can be exchanged:

1. In-person conversation
2. In-person meeting
3. Telephone conversation
4. Teleconference
5. Instant message
6. Email to a single person
7. Email to a group
8. Formal written report

Notice the first five methods allow for a dialog, while the last three are a one-way street. Not that one-way streets don’t have their place on the corporate highway. Clearly they do. Passing on self-explanatory, non-controversial information is best done by email. It saves you and the receiver time and allows them to contemplate your message at their convenience.

And, I would be lying if I said I never dictated policy via email. It is a legitimate thing for an executive to do. But the only way it works well is if you have used some of those more media rich methods strategically in advance of the big blast email.

Here are Janie’s Rules:

The best times to email a large number of people simultaneously:

• When time is of the essence
• When a number of people must receive and act on the same information quickly
• When you are summarizing, memorializing notes from a meeting or conversation
• When you are passing on public, non-critical information
• When you have already laid the groundwork for the message with more media-rich methods

When not to email a large number of people simultaneously:

• When it is news or policy that affects some people more than others
• When it is a complex topic that will engender lots of questions and possible confusion
• When a manager learning something the same time his/her staff does may compromise his/her ability to respond well to questions

The best times to email a single person or a small group:

• When you work in different time zones or on different schedules
• To run a fairly detailed idea or plan by them for feedback
• To pass on information
• To give someone relevant details ahead of a discussion
• To give someone an appropriate heads-up before disseminating something widely

When not to email a single person or small group:

• When it is bad news
• When it is a complex or controversial subject that needs to be discussed
• When “tone” is critical to the message delivery
• When you have not properly laid the groundwork
• When you don’t want this information forwarded to others

Five Questions to ask yourself before you press “SEND”:

1. Will this information come as a shock to the recipient(s)?
2. Is it material that can be clearly explained in writing?
3. Is this something I would be equally comfortable discussing in person? (if not, you’re hiding behind your keyboard)
4. Does sending this information by email save time for both (all) of us without compromising clarity?
5. If I were on the receiving end of this information, how would I like it to be delivered?

Email is a great tool. But it is not nor should it be our only or even predominant method of communicating. My advice to you is to simply mix it up from time to time. Pick up the phone. Walk across the office. Use the conference room and the teleconference service. If you vary your media, I guarantee you that you will improve your results – with your clients, with your colleagues and with your staff.

Happy communicating.

©Janie Gabbett 2005

For more information on how the Gabbett Group can help you become a savvy communicator, contact us at: info@gabbettgroup.com or call us at 847-679-4604.