According to technology research company Radicati Group1, the average worker sends and receives around 120 business emails a day. While email undoubtedly makes our work lives more efficient, it can also be the cause of much irritation – and occasionally genuine hurt.
Here are five common email sins that you should be avoiding for a frustration-free inbox.
1. Cc surplus / reply all-a-rama
Have you ever flicked an email to one person and then received a reply that suddenly includes a cast of hundreds in the cc field?
While it’s often necessary to bring new people into a conversation, be mindful of your colleagues’ inboxes and make sure that everyone you cc really does need to be there. And if you do cc someone new, it’s a good idea to introduce them to the sender in your reply and explain how they are relevant to the conversation.
Same goes with hitting ‘reply all’ – you should reply only to the people who need to see your response.
2. Get to the point
Super long emails are overwhelming and make it difficult for your recipient to figure out what you need from them. Keep things short and use bullet points and subheadings to make things easier for your audience. If your message is running into multiple pages, or includes a long list of questions, it might be a sign that a meeting or phone call might be warranted.
3. Don’t assume your recipient knows what you’re talking about
“I’m cc-ing in Rachel, who can handle this project from here. Ok, Rachel?”
If this is the first poor Rachel has heard about the project she’s suddenly in charge of, it’s a good idea to give her the appropriate background information she needs to be able to able to respond accordingly. And P.S – asking Rachel to trawl through a 20-email long email trail doesn’t count.
4. Don’t write angry / mind your tone
It’s notoriously easy to misinterpret someone’s tone in an email. Err on the side of caution and always be as polite as possible.
And, if something has you riled up, think twice before shooting off that angry email. Taking some time to calm down and respond in a measured, constructive way (or even better, setting up a time to have a conversation with the person) will help your cause considerably.
5. Remember, nothing is confidential
When you’re communicating privately with one person, it’s easy to say things that might become problematic if shared more widely. Emails can easily be forwarded, so don’t write anything you wouldn’t want others to see.
And remember, Macquarie’s privacy policy dictates that you should always take care when sending or forwarding emails that contain personal information, especially in attachments.
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There’s another common email irk… signature text including pictures five miles long… you get a few emails in a trail and half the real estate is taken up by signatures you’ve got to trawl past.
Remember too that the University Records and Information Policy includes email. Under the NSW Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act), mail messages sent or received in the course of your work are subject to GIPA .
A guide to your responsibilities can be reviewed here https://www.ipc.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/file_manager/Quick_Guide_April.pdf
6. Don’t send out emails to “all” when the subject cannot possible interest “all”. If it’s for academics only then get a special “academics” distribution list and use it. Similarly for Prof Staff.
7. Don’t issue meeting invitations to “all”, unless you literally mean it. Restrict the invitations to those who need to come.