Monday, February 13, 2012

Beware "Email to all"

Consider the ubiquitous office email, sent to "all".  Everyone in the company or department gets the notice, which may only relate to some.  This broadcast method distracts attention and, thus, injects waste.

Even worse is the follow up email which is not really following up.  A Team Leader sends a note to ten team members requesting a response in a week's time.  During the week, four of the ten team members responds.  A week later, the Team Leader sends out a second email to the Team, saying "Please answer my question."  He does it because he has made a "Group" for the team.  So, even the four people who DID respond are bothered again, perhaps wondering if they did actually respond to the original request.   Far better to only send the note to the six slackers and make each email carry real meaning. 



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