WEBVTT - The true cost of email

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to recognize the true cost of email

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<v Speaker 1>so you can use it more efficiently. Hire and Email

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<v Speaker 1>Management Program recently published a report about how people deal

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<v Speaker 1>with email. Their findings are sobering, though not surprising. According

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<v Speaker 1>to the report, the average employee receives a hundred eighty

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<v Speaker 1>emails per day and spends of work time reading and

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<v Speaker 1>writing emails in a forty hour work week. That's more

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<v Speaker 1>than thirteen hours. As the saying goes, time is money,

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<v Speaker 1>and the report estimates that for Bay Area employees like Hivres,

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<v Speaker 1>who are earning on average a hundred forty dollars a year,

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<v Speaker 1>nearly fifty tho dollars pays for their time spent emailing.

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<v Speaker 1>In other words, while email may seem free, no postage

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<v Speaker 1>or FedEx fees, no long distance costs, it's actually pretty pricey.

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<v Speaker 1>Despite pouring considerable resources into email, we may not be

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<v Speaker 1>getting the outcomes we want. The HIVER report indicates that

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<v Speaker 1>email goes unopened and only ten of emails received replies.

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<v Speaker 1>Email can be a tool for communicating efficiently and cost effectively,

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<v Speaker 1>but as these statistics suggest, it can also be a

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<v Speaker 1>black hole of workplace time and money. Even if you

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<v Speaker 1>get your email time down to a quarter rather than

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<v Speaker 1>a third of your work hours, a quarter of any

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<v Speaker 1>given workers salary is a decent chunk of change. So

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<v Speaker 1>what can you do to ensure that your use of

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<v Speaker 1>email is an investment not just a cost. Here are

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<v Speaker 1>a few ideas. First, before you click to compose, think

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<v Speaker 1>about why you're communicating and consider whether email is the

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<v Speaker 1>right vehicle given your purpose. Circulating an agenda for an

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<v Speaker 1>upcoming meeting email can work well. Need to consult with

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<v Speaker 1>your boss about a hiring decision, well, probably best to

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<v Speaker 1>stop by his office or pick up the phone. Second,

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<v Speaker 1>choose your recipients thoughtfully. More recipients is not necessarily better.

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<v Speaker 1>The two field should be reserved for those who need

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<v Speaker 1>to take action based on your email. The c C field,

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<v Speaker 1>which means carbon copy for those of you born after

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<v Speaker 1>night and was about generating a page that could be

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<v Speaker 1>just a reference, can be used for those who don't

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<v Speaker 1>need to actively respond to your email, but want to

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<v Speaker 1>remain informed. Of course, this can get complicated because sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>people say that they want to remain informed, and then

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<v Speaker 1>they don't read any emails there cced on. This means

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<v Speaker 1>that c seeing someone to get their TACIT approval is

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<v Speaker 1>usually not a good idea. If you ce see your

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<v Speaker 1>boss on your vacation coverage plan, her non response doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily mean she approves of your plan, or even that

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<v Speaker 1>she's read it. If you want or need her approval,

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<v Speaker 1>it's wiser to ask for it directly. You can send

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<v Speaker 1>her an email saying, Allison, here's my draft coverage plan.

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<v Speaker 1>Please let me know if you recommend changes. Otherwise, I'll

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<v Speaker 1>email my team with this plan tomorrow afternoon. Now your

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<v Speaker 1>boss knows that you want her to review the plan

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<v Speaker 1>before you circulate it, she has a chance to weigh

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<v Speaker 1>in on the plan privately before you've shared it with

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<v Speaker 1>the team, and because you've said a specific time frame

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<v Speaker 1>for feedback, you're able to incorporate any changes and circulate

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<v Speaker 1>the plan on schedule. Third, use clear subject lines. An

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<v Speaker 1>effective subject line let's recipients know the purpose of your email,

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<v Speaker 1>including any action you're requesting and the time frame for

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<v Speaker 1>the action. If you're sharing information or a document, the

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<v Speaker 1>subject can simply identify what you're providing. For example, calendar

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<v Speaker 1>of holidays and office closings attached. If you're asking a

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<v Speaker 1>question or requesting feedback, say so in the subject then

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<v Speaker 1>elaborate in the body of the email if needed. Your

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<v Speaker 1>subject line might read request for feedback on client proposal

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<v Speaker 1>by end of day Friday. Your recipients know what they

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<v Speaker 1>need to do and when. Clear subject lines are especially

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<v Speaker 1>helpful when recipients are scanning email on a phone, which

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<v Speaker 1>is what a lot of people are doing these days.

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<v Speaker 1>They can identify any messages that need to be processed quickly.

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<v Speaker 1>They can tell exactly what's needed and when, even before

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<v Speaker 1>opening the message. Finally, don't bury your lead in the

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<v Speaker 1>body of your email, just like in your subject line,

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<v Speaker 1>make it clear why you're emailing and what your recipient

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<v Speaker 1>needs to do. Mike, I'm writing to get your insights

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<v Speaker 1>about an issue with tomorrow's presentation. I'd appreciate your thoughts

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<v Speaker 1>by email or phone, and I'll be available all afternoon.

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<v Speaker 1>You can offer a quick outline of the questions you're

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<v Speaker 1>grappling with after this introduction, in case Mike wants more context.

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<v Speaker 1>But Mike immediately knows what you're asking for without reading

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<v Speaker 1>to the bottom of a long message. Which he might

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<v Speaker 1>not do. So if he doesn't have to read to

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom, he's more likely to give you the support

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<v Speaker 1>you want. There's been much debate about the future of email,

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<v Speaker 1>but at the moment it's still a fixture of the workplace.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you're spending a third of your time emailing,

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<v Speaker 1>you want to ensure that's time and money will spent.

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<v Speaker 1>You want to be sure you're achieving more with less distraction,

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<v Speaker 1>because that's a message that we're all glad to get.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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