How One Design Team Cut Their Email in Half (Google Workspace Case Study)

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I’m sharing the story of how one cabinet dealer discovered that reducing email by 30% had nothing to do with email software and everything to do with rethinking how information flows through their business.

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Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Welcome to Elevated.
I'm Brandy Lawson, and todaylet's chat about something
that's probably consuming waytoo much of your team's time
right now, email management, butthis isn't another inbox zero
strategy.
We are examining how one cabinetdealer discovered that reducing
email by 30% had nothing to dowith email, software, and
everything to do with rethinkinghow information flows through

(00:27):
their business.
As in many businesses, teammembers were up to their
eyeballs in internal emailsabout project updates, client
communications all scatteredacross endless threads and
designers fielding constantcalls asking, what's the status
of my project?
Well, frantically searchingthrough their inbox for answers.
The communication chaos wascreating a bottle.

(00:48):
Where only the project designercould answer client questions,
making vacations or even dentistappointments, a client
satisfaction minefield.
The solution wasn't changingtheir email system, but changing
how they use the systems theyalready had.
Let me share some context aboutemail that shapes its use.
I've been using email since1995.

(01:09):
That's 30 years.
The first form of email wascreated in 1971, which is older
than me and the modern internet.
The world has had considerabletime to adapt to email, and it's
become the default communicationmethod of business.
This familiarity is actuallyquite valuable.
You can say, I'll email you andeveryone understands exactly
what that means, but the worldhas evolved and there are much

(01:32):
better systems for sharing andmanaging information than email.
The challenge emerges wheneverything gets stockpiled in
inboxes, making it difficult tomanage time and attention
effectively when you have towade through emails to figure
out what you're supposed to bedoing or where that crucial file
went.
Email transforms from acommunication tool into a
productivity barrier anddistraction zone.

(01:53):
This cabinet dealer's situationisn't uncommon.
There's typically a heavyreliance on individual designers
to be the point of contact fortheir projects.
This creates a knowledgebottleneck if project
information lives in thedesigner's email.
Nobody else can answer clientquestions or provide updates.
The designer becomes trapped bytheir own expertise, unable to
step away without leavingclients in limbo.

(02:15):
When they examined theircommunication patterns with our
expertise, they concluded theproblem wasn't the email system.
It was that they were usingemail for functions.
It wasn't designed to handleproject coordination, file
sharing, status updates.
All of this was happening inemail threads that only one
person could fully navigate.
The solution was to use theirexisting project management

(02:36):
system for all internalcommunication.
Instead of emailing aboutproject updates, team members
logged information directly intothe project management platform.
Client communications werecaptured there as well, creating
a comprehensive project historythat any team member could
access.
Then came the ripple effects ofsystemic change.
Email volume dropped by 30% forevery team member, not because

(03:00):
they were processing emails moreefficiently, but because they
were generating fewer emails inthe first place.
Internal project coordinationmoved to where it belonged in a
system designed for projectmanagement rather than scattered
across individual inboxes andsomething even more valuable
emerged.
When clients called for updates,whoever answered the phone could
provide accurate information.

(03:21):
Because project details lived inthe central system accessible to
the entire team, the designerwas no longer the sole keeper of
project knowledge.
This transformed client servicefrom a single point of failure
into a team capability.
The file sharing transformationwas equally significant.
Design firms often send filesvia email, which creates version

(03:41):
control.
Chaos.
You end up with multipleversions of the same drawing
floating around, making itnearly impossible to know which
is the current links to files.
Ensure you are not cloggingemail with large attachments and
that everyone always sees thelatest version because the link
updates automatically.
This is where Google Workspacefeatures become particularly

(04:03):
useful.
Links to files can easily beinserted into emails, allowing
clients to reference materialswhile ensuring they're always
accessing the current version.
The scheduling integration meansmeeting invitations are included
in directly in emails with theiravailable time slots.
The send later feature allowsemails to be composed anytime.

(04:25):
But only delivered duringbusiness hours.
A small touch that improvesprofessional communication flow.
The transformation didn't happenbecause they found better email
software.
It happened because theyrecognized what email does well,
which is external communication,documenting decisions, and what
it doesn't do well.
Project coordination andinternal status updates.

(04:46):
Also not for collaborative workmanagement.
The patterns revealed hereextend beyond email management.
Many communication challengesstem from using tools for
purposes they weren't designedto serve.
Email excels at asynchronousexternal communication, but
struggles with collaborativeproject management.
Project management systems excelat tracking progress and

(05:06):
coordinating work, but may notintegrate seamlessly with client
communication workflows.
Exploring your own communicationpatterns might reveal similar
opportunities.
Consider what's actuallyhappening with your information
flow in your business.
Our project updates scatteredacross the email thread.
Do team members struggle to findcurrent file versions?
Can anyone besides the projectdesigner answer client questions

(05:29):
confidently if these patternssound familiar?
The solution might involveredirecting communication to
more appropriate channels ratherthan trying to optimize email
management, sometimes the mosteffective email strategy is
sending fewer emails by betterusing other systems.
If you want to evaluate your ownemail use, grab our
[e-mail] slashchoose to help you examine your

(05:52):
communication workflow.
Next week we'll explore draftingsoftware selection, because
having streamlined communicationonly creates value when your
design tools support efficientcreative collaboration.
Good.