Email becoming counterproductive leading to information overload

Office workers are being overwhelmed by a deluge of unwanted data and are largely becoming less effective as a result of their companies' email practices says research.

In a poll of 1,000 workers conducted by market researcher OnePoll, 70 per cent of employees complained about being sent irrelevant emails or being copied on emails of no interest.

More than a third (38 per cent) of respondents said they now suffer from information overload at work.

Office workers now face the choice of trawling through countless irrelevant emails or ignoring them and potentially missing out on vital messages.

Tim Barker, vice president of EMEA strategy for CRM solutions company Salesforce says: ‘The habit of “blasting out” emails to a large group of people to ensure that there is no chance of leaving anyone out of a message has created a situation where email is now becoming counterproductive.’

BECOME A FILTER NINJA

Outlook and other email software lets you set up filters that show you only the messages that meet your selected criteria.

When you filter your emails by contact or by those which are direct to you the ones which are likely to deserve a faster reply too can be brought to your attention. Filters can be as customised as you like depending on the content or contact of most interest or relevance to you.

REDUCE YOUR CARBON COPY FOOTPRINT

Many of us use the cc line too liberally, copying everyone in our organization who has recently expressed an opinion on the subject we're writing about.

While there are legitimate reasons for using the cc line to keep people in the loop, abuse of the electronic "carbon copy" is a big factor behind inbox bloat.

You can dissuade persistent offenders by politely explaining to them what you need to know. But good etiquette is always best taught through example. Cut down on the cc'ing and trust that others will follow your lead.

GRAB A TECHNICAL ASSIST

Filters are okay, but my email software really ought to be able to do the hard work for me. After all, it has all the information it needs to figure out who are my most important contacts based on the frequency with which we exchange email.

That's the theory behind Gmail Priority Inbox, a feature Google introduced on August 30. This optional way of organizing your Gmail puts your important messages at the top of your inbox.

Original Sources: Computerworld.com, Salesforce.com and Smallbusiness.co.uk, Reuters.com