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A client asked me\u00a0for our best practices around email communications, to share with their globally dispersed teams.<\/p>\nA client asked me\u00a0for our best practices around email communications, to share with their globally dispersed teams.<\/p>\n
They had learned the keys to getting to inbox zero, but their productivity was stymied by the sheer volume of unproductive\u00a0emails being sent around the company. These tips were born out of the shared practices we use\u00a0here at the David Allen\u00a0Company with our own staff, and I wanted to share them with the GTD community.<\/p>\n
1. Appropriate Use<\/strong> 2. To: vs. Cc:<\/strong> 3. Subject Lines<\/strong> 4. Reply to All<\/strong> 5. Response Times<\/strong> At the David Allen Company, we have a standard to reply within two business days to all internal communications. And, it\u2019s important to note that responding doesn\u2019t mean completing the action. It may just be a simple acknowledgment of \u201cI\u2019m on it\u201d so the other person can relax about it. Two business days is our standard that works for us. You may find you need a shorter or longer time period in your organization. The key here is not about the time, but having an agreement that\u2019s explicit so that everyone is clear about the rules to play by.<\/p>\n I hope these best practices have been useful for you. I encourage you to take these ideas back to your team and organization. Get some healthy debates going about them! Adapt them to make them more your own.<\/p>\n \u2013Kelly Forrister, Senior GTD Coach & Trainer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A client asked me\u00a0for our best practices around email communications, to share with their globally dispersed teams. They had learned the keys to getting to inbox zero, but their productivity was stymied by the sheer volume of unproductive\u00a0emails being sent around the company. These tips were born out of the shared practices we use\u00a0here at … <\/p>\n
\nMatch the message to the best medium. Recognize\u00a0when email is not the best method of\u00a0communicating. There are times when a face-to-face meeting is better than a string of unclear or sensitive emails going\u00a0back and forth. Just because the topic started on email, doesn\u2019t mean it should stay on email. On the flip side, are there\u00a0meetings being held that could be more efficiently be done over email if you trusted people were getting to inbox zero on\u00a0a regular basis? (See David Allen\u2019s article on Getting Email Under Control for great tips on that.)<\/p>\n
\nBe discerning about your use of To: vs. Cc:. Why? Ever receive an email where it\u2019s unclear who has the\u00a0action because everyone is in the \u201cTo:\u201d field? We designate the To: field for who has the action (could be multiple people).\u00a0Cc: is simply for their information\u2014with no expectation that they will take action on the email, other than receive it. Personally,\u00a0I find I am much more conscious about what I am asking for, and from whom, when I clearly delineate between who has action\u00a0and who just needs to receive the information. And, I appreciate when that distinction is made for me in return. I\u2019m still\u00a0processing the email to get to inbox zero, but it\u2019s very clear to me that no action is expected of me in return.<\/p>\n
\nUse clear subject lines that clearly describe the topic. I bet you\u2019ve had times when you\u2019ve done an\u00a0emergency scan of your email (particularly on your mobile device) and appreciated having clear subject lines (versus the\u00a0proverbial \u201cchecking in\u201d or \u201cupdate\u201d). Also, don\u2019t be afraid to change subject lines if the topic has changed and you want\u00a0to make the it clearer what the email string is about. While it might have initially started as \u201cchecking in,\u201d now it\u2019s moved\u00a0into the \u201cQ3 budget\u201d\u2013change the subject line to reflect that.\u00a0Another spin on effective subject lines is to use code to indicate the end of a message, when appropriate. This kind of kind\u00a0of code, such as \u201cEOM,\u201d can be useful for those times when you just need to send a quick bit of information back to someone
\nand it can be done through the email subject line. For example, for short responses such as acknowledging with \u201cthanks\u201d or
\n\u201cI\u2019m on it.\u201d simply append your subject line with \u201cEOM\u201d after your text, to indicate \u201cend of message.\u201d What that means to the
\nperson receiving it is that everything that need to know is in the subject line and they can process it based on what they are
\nseeing in the subject line, without even opening the email. For example: \u201cRe: I posted Q2 spreadsheets to the database.
\n\u2014THANKS! GOT IT. EOM\u201d<\/p>\n
\nResist the urge to simply click reply to all, if not everyone needs to receive your reply. Many clients tell\u00a0us that their staff seem to use the Reply to All function because it\u2019s quick and easy, not because it\u2019s productive. On the flip\u00a0side, if you\u2019re sending emails to your designated groups, pause to consider if everyone in that group (and subsequent replies\u00a0to all) really need to be receiving that email. Are their roles in the company relevant to the information? If you\u2019re not sure, ask them. I bet they will appreciate being asked about what they are getting to help with their own email management. Another tip to avoid the Reply to All cycle is to use the Bcc: field for all recipients, when appropriate. That way only the sender will receive the replies.<\/p>\n
\nWhat are your agreed upon response times for internal and external communications? If that\u2019s never been made explicit, there\u2019s a good chance those who think it\u2019s \u201cASAP\u201d are feeling resentful about the ones who think it\u2019s \u201cwhen I can get to it\u201d and think they are breaking an agreement. And the \u201cwhen I can get to it\u201d folks get annoyed by the \u201cASAP\u201d folks who ask them in the hallway, \u201cDid you get my email?\u201d<\/p>\n