- Because, email doesn't seem to be "going the way of the dinosaur" any time soon...
Working as part of a team is commonplace for businesses of all shapes and sizes. You’re coordinating with those you rely on to get your work done and vice versa. Just because it’s typical, though, doesn’t mean systems in place facilitate collaboration seamlessly. In many cases, the opposite is true.
So, what can you do about it? One of the best approaches is to make use of tools you already use daily, such as email. If you find ways to optimize those platforms, the rest will fall into place. Here are a few ways to turn your email into a collaboration driver.
1. Make Shared Calendars the Norm
At first glance, you may be concerned about the idea of sharing your calendar with your team. It’s vulnerable to have every second of your day visible to coworkers. The good news? You can choose how much you want or need to share.
It’s all about finding the right balance for your group. Perhaps the only time blocks shared across the team are high-priority meetings. Or maybe the focus is on recurring personal life tasks like picking up kids or doctor’s appointments. That way, your team is equipped with the knowledge they need to schedule key meetings at times that work for everyone.
The goal isn’t to police every meeting in the work day. It’s to ensure the team is aligned on what the rest of the group has going on. Knowledge of what others have going on is inherently collaborative because it allows prioritization of collaboration time. Even better, most email providers like Outlook calendar and Google calendar offer customizable sharing options. That way, you can tailor your sharing to fit your and your team’s needs.
2. Create Distribution Lists
Managing a large team or needing to get a message out to an entire department can be time consuming. You’re searching high and low for the list of names and associated email addresses to ensure everyone is included. Still, leaving someone critical off of the thread happens despite best efforts.
An easy solution? Create distribution lists for those you work closely with. These are saved groups of people that you can address emails to whenever you need them. Make one for your immediate team to have quick collaboration threads. Pull together a list of external stakeholders you talk to all the time for a streamlined messaging channel.
Spend the time creating — and maintaining — these lists so they’re always accurate, and you’ll be in good shape. The effort put into their creation is a lifesaver when you need to communicate quickly and efficiently. Once they’re in place, sending group emails for collaboration couldn’t be easier.
3. Organize Your Inbox
An email inbox can be a powerful communication tool or a seemingly bottomless pit of incomplete work. Maybe it’s a mix of both. Luckily, there are ways to optimize your inbox to make the most of the information you’re sent daily.
Start by identifying the main categories of emails you get. For many people, this will be based on what you need to do with the email’s content. Those actions are likely to be responding, reviewing, or referencing. Create folders with those same names and begin sorting your inbox.
During this process, you’ll probably identify patterns and other types of emails you get. Remember you can always add new folders and adjust your organization as you go. Work incrementally to get your inbox in good shape, and you’ll be a well-oiled machine. Encourage your team to do the same, and the efficiency gains will be evident in what the team does as a whole.
4. Automate Email Sorting
Once your inbox folders are in place, you can optimize your email organization strategy further with automation. This a set of rules you establish that allows your email provider to automatically sort your emails. Each email that you receive that fits those parameters will be moved to the associated folder.
You can have as many filter options as you want and edit them as frequently as needed. Remember, you’re establishing rules that align with your work and the content you receive. So, if sales emails clog your inbox, direct them to a sales folder. If you frequently reference a specific thread, create a unique folder for that topic alone. In short, make your inbox organization and automation work for you.
The benefits of automation are tenfold if you have an email account that multiple people need to access. If there is a sales email address, the necessary sales team members know how to find the emails they’re looking for quickly. Automation makes it simpler for email organization methods to be universal across the team.
5. Color Code Your Calendar
An email goes beyond just messages sent and documents shared. It’s also a hub of calendaring and scheduling needs. There lies your opportunity for further collaboration efforts.
Creating a color coding calendar system is easy and customizable, making it attainable for the whole team. Simply identify themes in your meetings and assign colors to each. You’ll likely want one for personal events like appointments and one color for deep work, too. With a key of colors in place, you’re ready to organize away.
This process is beneficial in a few ways, including quickly analyzing where you’re spending your time. If your entire calendar is green, which is focused on one area of your responsibilities, you may be overloading that work. For more balance, explore delegating that work to pick up something you rarely do. Have your team follow suit, and you’ll have a more collaborative, well-versed workload.
Better Emails, More Collaboration
No matter your company’s size, needs, or industry, email is a critical communication tool. When you’re using it to the best of its ability, you maximize collaboration and awareness in your team. That can make all the difference when it comes to doing your best, most collaborative work.