I despair at the incessant & blind use of emails in the workplace. Many employees invariably spend far too much time crafting lengthy emails (cc’d to all & sundry) instead of engaging in verbal dialogue over business matters. There seems to be a culture of shunting issues off one’s own desk & passing the ‘ hot potato’ to somebody else. As a consequence a further email is generated and an ‘email spiral’ ensues over an extended period of time. Why not engage swiftly in face-to-face or telephone conversations to clear up matters in one swoop? Excessive use of emails cannot be conducive to improving business efficiency. It is misguided and, in my opinion, is an easy ‘get out’ for employees with weak people skills.
From my experience the vast majority of emails, either overtly or by implication, raise issues of uncertainty, ambiguity, potential differences of opinion or, indeed, miss fundamental points out that the recipient usually will pick up on.
It seems to me that we need to revert to pre-email practices- where either:
One-to-one matters are dealt with face-to-face or by telephone or
A discussion paper is prepared and subject to consultative debate.
I can however, still see some role for emails if the facts are absolutely clear, simple & unambiguous but this tends to be the exception rather than the rule.
A further consequence of email malpractice is what I would call ‘email profusion’ which is being compounded by an excess of irrelevant & non-specific emails emanating from organisations such as LinkedIn, IOD and Online Recruitment agencies. Many emails, therefore, invariably get binned and not read. This email glut is now such a concern that I am aware of one institution that has reverted to old fashioned ‘snail mail’ because they know that post will definitely be opened & dealt with appropriately.
I encourage employers to pursue effective & consultative face-to - face interaction between employees, customers & suppliers in their business communications.
M F Price
5 June 2014
I am an enthusiastic businessman- currently offering my extensive services as a management consultant or non-executive director- with experience of several business sectors where I have held posts as…
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