According to a Booher Research Institute study, 42 percent of knowledge workers spend 3 hours or more daily reading and writing email, and 55 percent check email either hourly or multiple times per hour. The research explains how this equates to ~$31,500 per year per employee. The challenge is not just the sheer volume of emails. It is the lack of ability to communicate succinctly in the first email about who needs to do what by when.
Organizations need to invest in standards and training around email communications. Teaching team members to lead with the headline, reviewing email etiquette, and using email templates will save team members mountains of time and frustration. Let’s dive into this further.
Lead with the headline
As most leaders do, I get hundreds of emails a day. The ones that send me to the moon are the long ones or ones that leave me saying, “yeah, but what do you want me to do?” I end up in a back and forth with the person. My schedule is packed. I need to know upfront if someone needs something from me quickly.
Jeff Su has a great tip in his article “How to Write Better Emails at Work.” As he says, most people include a generic call to action such as “review this” or “let me know what you think.” His recommendation is to take this further, and I agree. Include the following:
Action - What do you what me to do? If there is more than one person on the email, call out if the actions differ for different people.
When - What is the deadline? By when must we get this thing done?
Time commitment - How much time do you think this will take me? If you could estimate for me how much time you think I will need to block off or should spend on this, it would be fantastic.
Questions/Contact - What if I have questions, or to who do I get the finished product back? I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me to “look over” things and then not told me if they want me to mark something up, email it back to them, send it to someone else, or what.
Think like the person to whom you are sending the email. If you only spent twenty seconds reading your email, would you be likely to do what is being asked? Be audience focused and lead with the headline information. Details can always follow below the fold.
Reviewing email etiquette
The first thing to remember about work email is that it is not a text to a friend. Every email is business communication. It can be one word such as “approved” or “okay.” We just need to keep it professional. By now, we know the basics:
Avoid all caps
Use spell check
Use the “reply all” and “forward” buttons wisely
Things about which we do not think or have gone numb include:
Use signature lines - Set up signature lines for internal, external, reply emails, etc. Do not make me go hunt for your contact information.
Use the out-of-office feature - We expect a quick response today. If you will be gone for more than a day, set up your out-of-office message.
Think mobile - As of 2018, 43% of emails are opened on mobile devices, and the number continues to rise. Format your emails so they are easy to consume on a mobile device.
Nothing is private - If you put it in writing, assume it will be sent to others. Even if you write “Confidential” in the subject, consider it might go to others.
Proofread, proofread, proofread
Even following these guidelines, email is sometimes not the best form of communication. I have a “five email rule.” If you get to five emails and are not just passing transactional information such as numbers and vendor names, it is time for a quick call. We seem to have forgotten how to pick up the phone. This can also be a short instant message, but calls are best. When I can hear your tone or see you virtually, we can solve much more in 10 minutes than we could over 30 minutes of emails.
Using email templates
Do you use email templates? I have more than twenty. Remember, I am not in sales or anything like that. I am a senior healthcare IT leader. What could I possibly use email templates for? Because, like you, I get asked the same question regularly, am in meetings constantly, and have regular reports to produce.
Here are a few of my templates:
New team member - A new person joins our team and I am announcing to the rest of the group who they are, when they start, and how to reach them.
No clear action on email - I receive a long email and am unsure what someone needs from me and by when. (If only they had led with the headline!)
“Not right now” or “No” - We need to let a customer or team member know we cannot proceed with a request.
Inviting someone on-site for an interview - Includes the position details, who they will interview with, how this interview will be different than the virtual ones, and location.
Anything I have found myself sending for the third time, I grab the first two emails, develop a template and save it. There are always adjustments to be made. The beauty of templates is I do not have to create and develop fresh content. I have already done the deep thinking to include the content, tone, and format. When I send the specific email, I just need to adjust the details.
Challenge - Email Checklist
As you can tell, emails are a “thing” for me. If 80% of the emails I received followed these guidelines, I would spend less time in back-and-forth situations and more time delivering services. Your challenge in the coming week is to:
Start, stop, continue - As you review this article, what do you need to start, stop or continue doing for each item? This is your basic self-assessment.
Checklist - From your self-assessment, develop a quick three to five item checklist to review before you send every email. Make these the items on which you most need to work. Do not make a list longer than this or it will be too demanding to follow every time.
Post your list - Post your list someplace you will see it every time. A note on your monitor might be fine if you email primarily at your desk. If you are mostly on your phone, then something in Notepad or Evernote to review a few times a day might be what works for you. The key is to revisit regularly to set the new habits.
Templates - Launch your template development journey. Start with one template every two weeks. I am going to warn you. It takes about 30 minutes to develop a template until you get comfortable with the process, where you will store them, and how to access them quickly. You might also start a list of templates you want to develop.
Focusing on email etiquette will improve our efficiency with emails, increase the results we get, and have people expecting high-quality content when they see our name.
Please let me know your tips for better business emails and the results of your email challenge.