On some level, most people recognize that there’s no one-size-fits-all communication format that’s always appropriate. But it’s easy to forget that while email is quite effective in some collaboration contexts, it can be a real productivity killer in others.
When you have a team engaged in brainstorming or a creative effort, for example, email is far less effective than bringing those people together in the same room to bounce ideas off each other in real time. While advances in enterprise social and videoconferencing have made the digital workplace a great platform for collaborative work, people still need to make intelligent choices about how they communicate within it.
Here are a few situations in which communicating via email tends to undermine productivity:
- Company-wide communications: Sending a “blast” to the entire organization is one of the worst uses of email. While the sender may have intended to spark conversation, the one-way communication tends to block meaningful exchange. Using an enterprise social network like Yammer is a better option for these situations. It’s more flexible and offers better opportunities for feedback. If you want employees to respond to questions, for example, you could use Yammer’s polling functionality.
- Transferring institutional knowledge: When you’re giving instructions to a new coworker or explaining a new process to a team, your choice of communication tools has a significant impact on everyone’s productivity. If you convey this information via email, the knowledge is going to end up in data silos, buried in email accounts where it’s not searchable. When the next new employee comes along, you’ll have to repeat this process all over again.If you transfer the information via your corporate intranet or in a team site on SharePoint, however, that knowledge is searchable and available for the rest of the organization, improving efficiency.
- Sensitive topics where tone is important: Most people have experienced an email exchange going off the rails due to one or both parties misinterpreting the other’s tone. The problem is that when people are uncomfortable or reluctant to engage with a problem, they tend to hide behind email, which often makes matters worse.When there are issues between colleagues or a client relationship is going bad, don’t expect to have a rational conversation by going back and forth over email. When people are upset, it’s important for them to be heard. Getting people on the phone and listening to them is far more productive than email in resolving issues. Using a unified communications tool like Lync provides additional options that may be helpful in addressing a problem, such as the ability to use video, share screens and exchange documents.
Keep in mind that email is an efficient effective way to communicate in some scenarios. One of the best uses for email is to communicate with a colleague one-on-one about a topic that’s not urgent. In other words, the communication is only pertinent to the person you’re emailing and you don’t need them to respond right away.
Another example is when you’re communicating with clients or other external parties. Your clients wouldn’t typically have access to your company network or social network, which rules out tools like instant messaging, so email (or picking up the phone) may be your best option.
For most other communications, however, it’s important to consider alternatives before you fire off an email. Making smart choices about communication and weaning people off of email has a big impact on employee productivity.
Learn more about helping your organization leverage today’s digital workplace capabilities by contacting Portal Solutions.
