When you review your email, there are several categories that email typically falls into such as FYI, Task Requests and Status Updates. For each email, the sender must compose the information into writing and the receiver must read the message and then perform other tasks such as updating a task list. Google can simplify this process by having the sender enter the information into standard format when the email is composed so the reader does not have to waste time translating the information.
Here is how it would work. Suppose you want Jeff to send you a file on sales for the month. Instead of writing the email and sending it to Jeff, you would enter the request directly into Jeff’s task list with all the pertinent information such as the due date and what kind of reminders that you want to see. Now instead of reading through his email trying to figure out what you want, Jeff would see that he has a new task. He knows who created it, what is expected and what reminders that you are looking for. This saves Jeff the hassle of adding the task to his list and makes ensures that the request does not get lost in all of Jeff’s other emails.
At the same time, your request list has been updated and you see that you have an open request with Jeff. When Jeff has completed the file with the monthly sales, instead of sending an email to you that could get lost with your other emails, he would upload the file to the open task. He would then close the task and the status of your request list would get updated to show that the file has been uploaded. This would cut down on people’s email and allow people to focus on their jobs rather than reading and writing emails. Status updates could also be added to the task with a time stamp rather than by sending out emails.
From a productivity point of view, this would also allow companies to identify areas for increased process improvement. If someone gets 30 requests a day for the same information from different people then the company should consider making that information easier to obtain for the interested parties. Similarly, if one person has 100 open tasks then this would provide a good justification for increased resources.
This method would also work for calendar invitations, directions to an event and forwarded URLs. Any information that requires the receive to enter data into a standard format should be done by the sender ahead of time. This would be simple for both Microsoft and Google to implement because they not only have an email platform but also a task list and a calendar function.
By having the sender enter information into a standard format, people’s inbox would have fewer emails, information would not be lost reading and writing emails, and new tasks and task requests would be easier to track.
1 comment:
Would this be similar to a "work order"? You could send "work orders" to co-workers/employees/project partners and track to status of completion and/or escalation. There would be a built in time stamp based on when the work order was sent, when it was opened, and when it was completed. Then you would have the ability to sort the work orders by the subject line information to group like requests and review the process and performance. Sounds like a great email tool for project/work tracking!
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