We have all experienced it…an email inbox with WAY TOO MANY messages.  Maybe because we have been occupied by a project, or maybe we were lucky to be on vacation for a week…Either way, we struggle monthly/weekly/daily to keep our inbox nice and tidy, replying to messages, sending out new ones, etc.  Well, I think we should stop griping about how much email we have, and instead, understand what email is actually good for, what it isnt, and and discover a better place for all those types of emails.

If you look at Wikipedia, you will see that email was initially designed as a real-time communication tool, where both sender and receiver needed to be online in order to communicate.  Then email morphed into the “store and forward” model so that it would be more convenient, not having to be online “all the time” to get messages.  Fast forward to today to the  modern age of networks and guess what?  We ARE online all the time.  However, the store and forward model is still in place for email, and because of habits (bad ones) we have developed, email is overused, and abused.  So, with the always on network a reality in today’s world, it’s time we re-think what we think the “store and forward” email model is good for, and what platform/mechanism is best for business communications in the  real-time world.

In the business world, our email inbox is filled with the following types of messages…

- Status Updates, Meeting requests, FYI, Proposals
- Ideas, Tasks, Project Updates, Contracts
- Networking, Coffee?, Junk, Solicitations, Prospecting
- Problem Notices, Reports, Congratulation/Recognition, Documents

…and probably more!  So, no wonder we cant keep up, and we are all stressed about getting the inbox in order.  How in the world do you determine what is important?  Who to respond to first? What to delete?  Then, even if you think you have it nailed, you spend countless hours keeping it organized so that you have time to actually work!  Well, it’s time to re-think what you use email for.  It’s time to simplify and clarify the purpose of email, so that it isn’t a huge time drain and you have time to do what is important for you, and your business to be successful.

There is a better place for a vast majority of business communication.  That the status update is more beneficial when shared outside of an email platform.  That a notice about service issues is more appropriate and more effective away from the inbox.  Think about a platform where people posted status updates, shared ideas, recognized team members, provide information about projects, and indicated when they were done with a task.  Those things alone if moved out of email would reduce email volume likely by 50% or more.  However, it goes beyond just reducing email traffic.  It is at the core of fully engaged enterprise…a culture of openness and sharing, that when adopted help make your organization be more effective and efficient…and get you access to information quicker and easier than ever before.

It’s time to put email in it’s place.  Evaluate the types of messages being sent through your email system today and ask yourself a question:  Can this be done done better elsewhere? I think so, and it’s time to make it happen!

MangoSpring offers a robust communication and collaboration platform that can help you.  Check out thier open suite of real-time communication and collaboration solutions that can provide that better place for all that email.

(image credit http://www.technorati.com)