Reply all emails - the worst part of the work day

Ok, let's all be honest. We have all done it at one time or another. Reply all emails to show that we are either busy, concentrating or mostly, we are right and we want everyone to know it. Caps locks, sarcasm, bold and underlining parts of the emails - all to prove a point. I can almost see the nodding heads and smiles at this point as people read it. But i don't know anyone who likes reply all as a method of communication. 200 strings of back and forth emails as people battle out to make their point clearly and waiting for the end. It's utterly pointless

There have been many books and articles written on this, which cover the mildly amusing aspects of this practice to the inner workings of the lost productivity and inefficiency. They are worth a read or a listen. This is just my take, after 20 years of having my inbox relentless ruined by pointless reply all conversations and how it relates back to the holy grail of great service (https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/what-great-service-ben-geralds/)

So why do we reply all? Well sometimes there are genuine reasons. It can be easier to share your point with many people in a single communication string. Conference calls are tough to find slots where people are free and it is just easier to do.

Moreover, for those of us who are (nearly) 40 and +/- 10 years in age, email has been our key communication technique that we have learned from our managers. From MSN & AOL messengers to BBM and to Skype and now Teams, the communication landscape has changed vastly in the workplace. Even to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, there are so many ways to communicate with each other that a reply all email has become as dated as it has annoying. Colleagues starting their workplace journey have had this array of communication richness from school onwards. My 7 and 10yr old girls are using Teams at Middle School. But ironically, a large number of workplaces just haven't gotten the memo and remain fixed with the reply all culture

It's not an exageration to say that i am ridiculous about keeping my inbox updated and tidy. Emails filed, flagged or in progress. I must spend at least 2hrs of the day on these. It's my thing and helps to keep my mind clear on what i need to do. But it is so much harder doing that with 60 reply alls going back and forth trying to score points at worst, or ineffectively communicating at best

So what can we do?

- Use Microsoft Teams - share files, use the group chats as chats, go for 1 on 1 conversations. Make sure the communications can't be misunderstood

- Pick up the phone!! So often, a email is a lazy version of a phone call

- Remind yourself of the headline - "Email should be used as a method of communication, not conversation" (Credit to Steve Kirby for that one)

- Never forget that 90% of the audience won't read the string (sadly for me i am in the 10%). Your point is washed away by ineffective communication and your boss won't think you are busy, or right. They'll likely think this is another email that should have been a call/text/teams message

- BCC your recipients. This is my favourite method. Make an email that communication method by making a reply to anyone else an effort

- Go and see the person you are emailing (when we are all allowed to do that again). It builds better relationships and saves a lot of unproductive time