What can be done to restore the importance and quality of Email in business/project communications?
Henry HattenrathProject Consultant| Tectonic Engineering MSA LLCNew York, Ny, United States
Project communications have evolved with technology at breakneck pace. But in the process business communications have been degraded to social media type content. As a result, managers and team members to sift through endless Tweeter/Instant Message- like communications, which overwhelm inboxes and challenge recipients to read large numbers of Emails. Businesses and projects do not need to know every feeling and thought generated by Email recipients nor should recipients simply delete Emails to keep the system from clogging and locking communications. What can be done? Saving Changes...
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saurabh mahajanPMP, ITIL, PRINCE2| vodafonePune, Maharashtra, India
to restore importance : Have a communication mgmt plan and the PM should make sure that it is followed. comm mgmt plan will tell who will initiate the comm, whom it will be send, when it will be send, etc
To have quality : Team can use comm template. Template will tell what needs to be mentioned in mail like, issue/agenda being communicated, who is responsible, whats the status, whats the preventive action, etc Saving Changes...
saurabh mahajan is right and on top of that you need to make sure people will follow this plan which will requires lots of effort from your side and from the people of the team which support you on that (demands cultural behavior), otherwise it will be another plan to be forgotten in your desk. Saving Changes...
It is difficult to change the culture of your entire organization, but you can have an impact on the project team by using the strategies already suggested.
But for outside of the project team, you can teach by example. For example, if someone is using Email as an instant message and sending one sentence reply at a time, push back and insist on a brief meeting or call instead. Saving Changes...
Henry HattenrathProject Consultant| Tectonic Engineering MSA LLCNew York, Ny, United States
Thanks for the input. But I am not sure prescriptive narrative on basic communications skills should be included in the PMP. However if the Communications Plan is expanded with instructional details, it should also be carried through into the Quality Management Plan (for management oversight and continuous improvement of project team) and Human Resources Plan (for personnel skills and qualifications, and continuing education for effective communications) sections in the PMP.
For immediate instructional guidance to the Project Team, I would offer: The basic format and content of business communications, including letters and Emails that will be retained as project records, should include:
- Appropriate address and opening and closing salutation
- Subject line related to the message content
- Introduction paragraph that includes subject and action required or completed
- Specific dates for responses if requested
- Description of attachments
- Appropriate reference to prior communications and deliverables
- Closing and contact information
The overarching tenant of measuring the effectiveness of a communication is for the message generator to complete the phrase - The purpose is “_______”, so the reader will “________.”
Saving Changes...
Agree with your suggestions. Another thought is to actually make a template that includes those subheads and space between. Team members could use the template and just fill in the blanks. And if the subheads are bold and text to follow is unbold, it could help the email recipient easily see the email contents in an organized fashion. Saving Changes...
