The carbon copy (cc) function in mail is only used to send people a copy of the mail if:
a) the sender is not sure about the content, and hopes a cc-er will check it;
b) the sender is not authorized about a certain aspect and uses the cc to cover his butt.
With increasing pressure on a project team, you will find more cc-recipients in the mails. People don’t have the time to check the content or get all the agreements needed, so they resolve to cc.
With increasing pressure, people have less time to read their mail, so they will skip all the mails that they received by carbon copy as it is not primary addressed to them.
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I use cc for another purpose - to make sure everyone gets the same message. It's a communication method. Maybe not the slickest, but it means that at least everyone hears the right message, at the same time, from the source. Saving Changes...
Hi Elizabeth, how about reading, do you read all the cc-mails you get? Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I scan them definitely, but if it isn't addressed to me then I won't action it, unless someone is going off in the wrong direction and needs to be brought back on track. I keep my inbox under 100 emails, in case you were wondering! Saving Changes...
My problem with CC is I rather often click on the Reply button instead of Reply All. And most of the cases it’s not a big deal, since as the thread-starter mentioned rather often people being put on CC just in case. So personally, I try to avoid using CC, but prefer to put all the recipients in the To field. Saving Changes...
I receive cc emails to keep me in the loop and do same to keep other people informed. These people are not actively involved in my projects, however, they may want to know how things are progressing to aid them in their management meetings. We all receive far too many emails and my motto is to talk to people first, then confirm what was agreed in an email. Saving Changes...
Yvonne ParleEast Victoria Park, Western Australia, Australia
Hi,
I do read all work/project related e-mails that I receive whether they are addressed to me alone or I'm part of a Recipient list.
I prioiritise in this order:-
1. based on who is the Sender (I use colour code to highlight emails incoming from Sponsors for example)
2. minutes of decision making meetings (ensure actions agreed are accurate and not missed especially if I couldn't attend the meeting itself)
I certainly would agree that if widely used, then those cc'd will tend to totally disregard any emails they receive where they are on the cc list.
I use a cc for informational purposes i.e. anyone for whom the email contains a crucial message or requires an action, will be in the To field and those who need to be kept abreast of what is going on will be in the cc.
I personally try to avoid the use of a cc like some do for political game-playing (e.g. when those trying to cover themselves will copy in your boss to try to cause trouble or to escalate an issue without highlighting it to you for an opportunity to resolve it first because they want to discredit you).
I wish more people did as Yury, however, and didn't hit Reply All. I have lost count of the number of project emails where a whole team is cc'd in on a debate and your inbox is bombarded. If receiving an email with cc's in, I always review this when hitting Reply All and make a judgement on who needs to receive my response, removing those who aren't necessary. And if it really needs all those people to review, feedback or agree on something? Pick up the phone or schedule a meeting instead! Take the debate away from the emails and then just send one confirming the outcome!
Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
I tend to agree with Bas. For all of the well reasoned points made in this thread, I very rarely use ths cc functional in hardcopy mail and email. The only exception is when I am asked to which happens from time to time. And, when I cc my or someone else's boss. When I am cc'ing my boss, it is usualy CYA. But when I am cc'ing someone else's boss (which I don't like to do), it is usually a plea. Saving Changes...
Bruce LoflandSoftware Developer| SprintLenexa, Ks, United States
I use CC to keep people in the loop that do not need to take action. I find that it is worse to leave them off than to forget them.
With regard to "reply to all", there was a funny incident at work recently. Someone accidently sent an email to a group that contained a large number of people (probably thousands). Some of the recipients used "reply to all" asking why they were getting the email. This, caused others to use "reply to all" to ask to get off the distrbution list. This went on for 20 or so messages, all going to thousands of people, until some people took it upon themselves to use reply to all to say that the first message was obviously sent by mistake and they should not keep using "reply to all". This went on for 20 or so more messages, all going out to thousands of people. I just smiled.
I disagree with the theory, As a project manager I like to know what "side discussions" and decisions are being made within the project team. I ask to be cc'd in email so that I know what is happening. This is especially important in "virtual teams or geographically dispersed teams. It also gives me a heads up on potential issues and changes. Saving Changes...
