Managing the Trend
Toward Increasing Use
of Electronic Messaging Tools
by Andrew Gilman, CommCore Consulting Group
(Originally published in Messaging Magazine, May/June 1999)

Overview
The use of electronic communication in the modern business environment is exploding. Cell phones and handheld devices are everywhere. For the work station environment, electronic messaging is growing at exponential rates: independent voicemail and e-mail systems, as well as the new hybrid systems combining both. The widespread acceptance of these communication vehicles offers workers significant opportunities to build stronger, interactive relationships with customers and employees—for both internal and external purposes.

This explosion in communications tools is, however, not without critical and challenging issues: privacy, etiquette, time management, and appropriateness of use. Users of these technologies must learn all the rules, cater to new communication preferences, and understand the assumptions brought into play when they adopt the use of e-mail and voicemail as business practices. In just one recent example, the U.S. v. Microsoft trial had many e-mails introduced into evidence that the senders thought had been erased. As a result, many companies today have begun to apply risk management tactics to e-mail use, periodically purging all e-mail from backup files, informing employees of newly minted policies regarding e-mail use, and monitoring all employee e-mail.

Other companies have taken a more positive proactive approach to establishing standards of use for voicemail and e-mail. Acting on the knowledge that electronic messaging is often the only way that individuals on separate continents and time zones interact, some businesses are investing in training programs for employees, teaching them the latest techniques for composing e-mail and voicemail messages that encourage a response.

In this article, we will explore general issues related to e-mail and voicemail and offer practical tips on how to better use the technologies.

The State of the Art: Electronic Interaction Grows
The modern workplace exists within a 24-hour, global society. Workers have come to expect the ability to access and transmit information at their convenience, without the old limitations imposed by time and space barriers. Voice-mail has become a standard convenience; many callers are surprised when the person they call does not have voicemail, but instead relies on the seemingly archaic live message taker. E-mail transmission is multiplying at an astonishing rate—Forrester Research (Boston) estimates that 60 million Americans now communicate electronically—double the numbers of just two years ago. With all reports concluding the rest of the world is still playing catch-up with the U.S. regarding Internet and e-mail use, the numbers will only keep ballooning.

Voicemail
First introduced in 1987, voicemail has pervaded the workplace. Both callers and those they call have accepted it as a normal part of their work routine, and evolved with the change. A variety of recent surveys (by Casio PhoneMate as reported in USA Today; by CommCore Consulting Group with the Electronic Messaging Association (EMA) and the Council of Communication Management (CCM)) have explored the impact voicemail and e-mail have had on workers. (Complete results of the CommCore/EMA/CCM survey will be reported in a future issue of @EMA.org, the newsletter of the EMA.) These studies report workers receive numerous voicemail messages on a daily basis. Workers have adapted their schedules to deal with the expectation they can be reached at any time; 40% check their voicemail messages when they are not working, many make additional use of cell phones and pagers to help them manage the incoming flow of information. And even voicemail is not enough—new technologies coming into vogue transfer calls or messages into a number of formats, tracking message recipients down almost instantaneously by e-mail, cell phone or pager, regardless of location.

E-Mail
As common as voicemail has become, e-mail use is quickly supplanting it. According to the CommCore/EMA/CCM survey, e-mail use is increasing faster than voicemail use, and looks to become the preferred method of communication. A recent Wall Street Journal article reported the number of e-mail messages sent last year in the U.S. as 4 trillion, compared to 107 billion pieces of first-class mail delivered by the Postal Service. While these numbers included recreational users, they still indicate the magnitude with which electronic messaging has invaded society.

New Technologies Bring New Opportunities—And New Fears
With the glut of electronic messaging, it is becoming increasingly necessary to start setting standards of use simply to manage the influx of information and make efficient use of the opportunities the technologies present. Anecdotal research among our clients reveals they are just starting to recognize the place electronic messaging holds in the relationship building process, and to prepare their employees to utilize the technologies to maximize their effectiveness. These new training programs are a hybrid of technical and content-oriented tips and techniques, addressing the needs of these communication vehicles and the fears and expectations that come with their use.

Working with clients to establish quality standards for the use of electronic messaging, CommCore has gathered several common reasons these communication vehicles are growing so rapidly:

• Efficient transmission of information and accurate exchange of data or ideas;
• Convenience of communication independent of two parties' separate schedules;
• Ease of use/time-efficiency of these methods as strong relationship-building tools;
• Ability to access important information while away from the office.

CommCore also noticed that whether technical or content-oriented, the new technologies offer their own set of frustrations, complaints, and fears:

• Inability to reach a live person from within a voicemail system/voicemail jail;
• Inability to retrieve an e-mail message once sent/inability to completely remove an e-mail from the system memory;
• Inability to ensure accurate interpretation of the message;
• Accidental transmission of information to the wrong party.

These fears are not ungrounded, with recent highly publicized cases incorporating e-mail as evidence including the Microsoft case and the Presidential Impeachment/Lewinsky affair.

Companies have begun to set technical guidelines to prevent crises like these from hitting them. Monitoring of employee e-mails—for content either inappropriate or confidential—is on the rise. 20% of companies read employee e-mails last year, up from 15% in 1997, according to the American Management Association. Many companies maintain separate internal and external e-mail systems to limit the possibility of mistaken (or intentional) transmission of confidential information to others; others place restrictions on the transmission or acceptance of attached files.

Using the Technology Effectively
Voice-mail and e-mail can be useful tools for communicating with busy people. These tools, when used correctly, allow users to trade information accurately and efficiently. As in any communications forum, good manners and techniques can help strengthen relationships, while poor skills—like leaving long, rambling messages on voicemail or using the Reply to All function to send information to uninterested parties—can prevent information from reaching its intended audience.

When using electronic messaging tools to build relationships, it is extremely important to consider the audience and the demands for its time. Your voicemail may be one of 15-20 messages a person listens to at one time; your e-mail may be one of hundreds in someone’s in-box. Show your audience you understand that their time and attention are valuable. Respect that by keeping your messages concise, friendly, and meaningful, and you will better your chances of a response.

Whether you are a beginner or a more experienced user of electronic messaging tools, here are some specific tips to make your voicemail and e-mails more effective:

Voicemail

• Prepare for every telephone call expecting to get voicemail. This will help you focus your message and prevent rambling. You should treat your voicemail message as a short presentation, thinking it through ahead of time, not during the recording.
• Keep your voicemail short and to the point. Don’t bore your listener or bury important information at the end.
• Speak slowly and clearly, repeating information such as your full name and number at both the beginning and end of your message. This is especially helpful for your listener when there are accents and second languages involved. It also lets your listener scan through messages quickly when time is short.
• Remember to include important details such as where you’re calling from, when you can be reached, and what you would like the listener to do after hearing your message. For example, Hello, Mike. This is Robin Smith from the Chicago office. I just met with the purchasing department and need to discuss some budget numbers with you. Please give me a call at 312-555-0000—I will be here until 7 PM Chicago time. Once again, it’s Robin Smith from the Chicago office at 312-555-0000. Thank you.
• Keep energy level high, and vary voice tone. This will make your message easier to listen to, and keep the listener’s attention.
• If you are conducting a conversation via voicemail, i.e., trading repeat voicemails without reaching someone in person, summarize the situation and what you need from them in your message. This will help move the conversation along. For example, you might include a list of information that you need to close a deal. The recipient can gather the information and for the next phone call, or even leave it on a return voicemail to you.
• If you refer to supporting information, remember to tell the listener where they can find it. For example,
  e-mail or fax. E.g. Hello Jim, this is Tony Smith from XYZ Company in New York. I’ve just met with the implementation team to review their revised schedule and equipment needs. I’d like to discuss this with you—please give me a call at 212-555-0000. In the meantime, I’m going to fax a copy of the summary report to you so you can review the changes before our conversation. Once again, this is Tony Smith at 212-555-0000. I look forward to speaking with you.

E-Mail

• Keep e-mail short and focused on one issue, and reflect this issue in the subject heading. Many people are inundated with e-mail. Focusing each e-mail on one issue allows time-crunched recipients to prioritize your e-mail and respond as necessary. Including a sharp, strong subject header can differentiate your e-mail and attract your reader to your message.
• Prepare your message. Devote the time to your message before it’s sent—both in the writing and revising stages. Don’t rush—make sure the information is accurate. Proofread your e-mail and send it with care. E-mail accidentally sent to the wrong recipient in a rush can cause embarrassment—and more serious problems.
• Keep language professional and clear. Remember that you don’t have audiovisual clues to help your reader understand the meaning of your words. While e-mail tends to be informal, be careful when using humor and informal language—especially in international notes. It often does not translate well.
• Don’t use the Reply to All function unless everyone needs to know the information. Copying people on messages unnecessarily can overload systems, annoy readers and waste everyone’s time.
• Manage your e-mail. Try to keep the number of messages in your in-box at a minimum by cleaning out e-mail in-boxes and message logs frequently. Use the filing system in your e-mail program to save needed messages to the appropriate folder. This clears space in your in-box, but saves the e-mail for future reference.
• Create a signature (sig file). Most e-mail programs allow you to create a standard sig file to include at the end of every outgoing message. This is the e-mail equivalent of letterhead, and should include your full name, company and location, phone/fax numbers, and e-mail address. This makes it easy for the recipient to see where the message is coming from, and to get back in touch with you if necessary.

Conclusion
The use of electronic communications tools will continue to grow, from all opinions. Users will explore and capitalize on the ease of use and savings of time and effort offered by these technologies. The tools are important factors and can add great value to relationship-building efforts. But even Bill Gates, seen perhaps as one of the strongest supporters of the increasing role of electronic communications in our lives, acknowledges in an interview with John Seabrook for the New Yorker:

"E-mail is a unique communication vehicle for a lot of reasons. However e-mail is not a substitute for direct interaction…".

This is the chief weakness of electronic messaging—the ease with which one can try to rely solely on the electronic methods of communication and limit their personal interaction. The CommCore/EMA/CCM survey revealed 20% of workers use e-mail specifically to avoid speaking with someone in person. And many call when they know the caller will not be there, and they can leave a message.

This is unfortunate, for while these electronic tools are excellent supplements to personal interaction, relying on them is dangerous. Voicemail and e-mail lack particular clues on how to receive the information in the message—body language, tone, etc. Their informal nature and expectation that the messages be concise can also add to misunderstandings. In addition these methods make it difficult to know if the recipient has correctly understood the message—no eye contact or nodding heads to let the sender know.

However, despite the weaknesses inherent in the methods, voicemail and e-mail systems are excellent tools to support other relationship building efforts. E-mail and voicemail should remain a part of the communications tool kit, but not supplant other vehicles, especially face-to-face communications. Standards need to be set to ensure the tools are used properly. Noting the strengths, weaknesses, features and limitations of these technologies should be chief among setting electronic communications standards.

These standards include informing users about the benefits and limitations of the technologies, proper use and corporate policies, with attention to both technical and content issues. If properly set up, maintained, and communicated, these standards can help users control the deluge of interaction and information, and manage their use of these tools effectively. This, in turn, can minimize headaches for those executives charged with maintaining, improving, and/or implementing electronic messaging solutions, while at the same time supporting the use of electronic messaging tools for increased personalized outreach to key audiences.  MM

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