Email diet results in leaner organisation
CIO Tony Murabito surveys workers at his company every year about the IT systems they use. The responses usually focus on technical issues, which is why last year's comments about email shocked him. One comment, "Let's blow up the Reply-to-All key!", summarised many users' sentiments.
"There was just an overwhelming sense that there were no controls [on email] in place," Murabito says.
After seeing the comments, Murabito decided to cut the number of emails at his compay, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, by 25 percent, by training employees how to better use email.
This email problem is not unique to Cubist, says Dianna Booher, CEO of Booher Consultants and author of E-Writing: 21st Century Tools for Effective Communication. "I hear a lot of complaining and there is not a lot of people doing something about it," she says. "But I think people will have to do something, because it's blocking productivity."