The true cost of email

Email is far from free. Here’s how to reduce the cost. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to recognize the true cost of email
so you can use it more efficiently. Hire and Email
Management Program recently published a report about how people deal

(00:26):
with email. Their findings are sobering, though not surprising. According
to the report, the average employee receives a hundred eighty
emails per day and spends of work time reading and
writing emails in a forty hour work week. That's more
than thirteen hours. As the saying goes, time is money,

(00:50):
and the report estimates that for Bay Area employees like Hivres,
who are earning on average a hundred forty dollars a year,
nearly fifty tho dollars pays for their time spent emailing.
In other words, while email may seem free, no postage
or FedEx fees, no long distance costs, it's actually pretty pricey.

(01:13):
Despite pouring considerable resources into email, we may not be
getting the outcomes we want. The HIVER report indicates that
email goes unopened and only ten of emails received replies.
Email can be a tool for communicating efficiently and cost effectively,
but as these statistics suggest, it can also be a

(01:35):
black hole of workplace time and money. Even if you
get your email time down to a quarter rather than
a third of your work hours, a quarter of any
given workers salary is a decent chunk of change. So
what can you do to ensure that your use of
email is an investment not just a cost. Here are

(01:57):
a few ideas. First, before you click to compose, think
about why you're communicating and consider whether email is the
right vehicle given your purpose. Circulating an agenda for an
upcoming meeting email can work well. Need to consult with
your boss about a hiring decision, well, probably best to

(02:19):
stop by his office or pick up the phone. Second,
choose your recipients thoughtfully. More recipients is not necessarily better.
The two field should be reserved for those who need
to take action based on your email. The c C field,
which means carbon copy for those of you born after

(02:40):
night and was about generating a page that could be
just a reference, can be used for those who don't
need to actively respond to your email, but want to
remain informed. Of course, this can get complicated because sometimes
people say that they want to remain informed, and then
they don't read any emails there cced on. This means

(03:01):
that c seeing someone to get their TACIT approval is
usually not a good idea. If you ce see your
boss on your vacation coverage plan, her non response doesn't
necessarily mean she approves of your plan, or even that
she's read it. If you want or need her approval,
it's wiser to ask for it directly. You can send
her an email saying, Allison, here's my draft coverage plan.

(03:23):
Please let me know if you recommend changes. Otherwise, I'll
email my team with this plan tomorrow afternoon. Now your
boss knows that you want her to review the plan
before you circulate it, she has a chance to weigh
in on the plan privately before you've shared it with
the team, and because you've said a specific time frame
for feedback, you're able to incorporate any changes and circulate

(03:45):
the plan on schedule. Third, use clear subject lines. An
effective subject line let's recipients know the purpose of your email,
including any action you're requesting and the time frame for
the action. If you're sharing information or a document, the
subject can simply identify what you're providing. For example, calendar

(04:07):
of holidays and office closings attached. If you're asking a
question or requesting feedback, say so in the subject then
elaborate in the body of the email if needed. Your
subject line might read request for feedback on client proposal
by end of day Friday. Your recipients know what they
need to do and when. Clear subject lines are especially

(04:31):
helpful when recipients are scanning email on a phone, which
is what a lot of people are doing these days.
They can identify any messages that need to be processed quickly.
They can tell exactly what's needed and when, even before
opening the message. Finally, don't bury your lead in the
body of your email, just like in your subject line,

(04:51):
make it clear why you're emailing and what your recipient
needs to do. Mike, I'm writing to get your insights
about an issue with tomorrow's presentation. I'd appreciate your thoughts
by email or phone, and I'll be available all afternoon.
You can offer a quick outline of the questions you're
grappling with after this introduction, in case Mike wants more context.
But Mike immediately knows what you're asking for without reading

(05:15):
to the bottom of a long message. Which he might
not do. So if he doesn't have to read to
the bottom, he's more likely to give you the support
you want. There's been much debate about the future of email,
but at the moment it's still a fixture of the workplace.
And if you're spending a third of your time emailing,
you want to ensure that's time and money will spent.

(05:39):
You want to be sure you're achieving more with less distraction,
because that's a message that we're all glad to get.
In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

(06:00):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

(06:23):
is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,