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Email and Information Management: The '3D' Approach for HR Leaders to Maintain Sanity

​OK, I’ll be quick:

There’s a very simple rule of thumb that I once heard from a senior HR practitioner about how to make sure that she, as an HR Leader, could set an example and make enough time to be out there engaging with the business rather than stuck behind her desk answering emails. It’s not rocket science, but her answer was to do one of three things as soon as she saw an email in her inbox: Do it, Delegate it, or Ditch it.

Ditch it

If you’ve caught the gist of this message already, then ditch reading the rest of this article and get back to work! We’re all bombarded with emails and news, but luckily even the most important ones can often be read through quickly, digested, and then deleted. Depending on the context, you will know whether it’s appropriate to write a quick reply to confirm receipt, after which you can get rid of it. Et voilà, one less email to worry about.

Do it

A good rule of thumb can be to allocate some time during your day to go through emails and action them one by one, there and then. However with the advent of mobile email, it’s getting more common for some people to peer through emails while on their smartphones, and then later action them when they’re in front of their computers. But isn’t this a duplication? If you’re looking at your emails on a smartphone, then do so only with the intention of actioning them. Otherwise just concentrate on the real world. And. Put. The. Phone. Down.

Delegate it

Most people who have the {nolink}luxury{/nolink} of support staff will rejoice at the chance to delegate tasks. Some indeed can delegate too much, and have wonderful golf scores to prove it. But for the control freaks and perfectionists among us, this is sometimes the hardest of the 3Ds to adhere to. Be sure to use your resources wisely, and when assessing incoming emails remember that delegation is a necessity: a time-saving technique for you; a development experience for your team. So long as expectations are managed at the start and sensitive feedback is given at the end, then this will become a ‘no-brainer’ and you’ll wonder why you’ve been your own worst enemy for so long.

And now in 4D

And finally the catch: sometimes you can’t always stick to the 3Ds, and it will be necessary to go 4D and ‘Delay it’. This is particularly the case if you’re in a snappy mood and want to fire back a rude reply, or if there’s a thorny issue that you need to consider in depth before deciding what to do.

However if you’re doing this too much, then you need to stop and think what this means. If you’re constantly needing to prevent yourself writing furious emails , then perhaps there’s a personal stress management issue that you’re avoiding dealing with. And if you’re constantly taking a long time to think about things, then perhaps you’re a little too indecisive and some professional coaching might be a good idea.

So the conclusion (if indeed you’ve read this far) is to use the 3D approach as a temperature check on your own sanity levels at any one time. We can all allow ourselves some leeway on our responsiveness, particularly if we’re dealing with an overflowing inbox upon return from a vacation, or if it’s a busy week and there are a thousand and one ‘high priority’ tasks stacked up on our desks. But if you go two, three, four weeks without improvement, then it’s time to stop and think. Because something ain’t right…

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