I’ve written previously about alllllll of the benefits of inbox management over here but what type of businesses specifically should consider actively doing this?
Business with communal team inboxes
We’ve had the opportunity to manage a busy shared inbox used by eight team members as their primary point of contact with customers. This system allowed team members to categorise emails, enabling them to focus only on their assigned messages and work through them without being overwhelmed by others’ emails.
There was however a slight issue – whilst some team members might take it upon themselves to allocate out everyones emails in a single sitting, other team members would only allocate their own – meaning some of the team faced the brunt of extra work compared with their peers.
It also meant some of the team were looking at emails intended for their colleagues and at times – involving themselves in tasks or conversation around the correspondence when they didn’t need to.
As a result, feelings of resentment occasionally emerged amongst the team, with some team members choosing to ignore others’ emails, questioning why they should assist colleagues who weren’t reciprocating. The reality is that shared responsibilities don’t always function smoothly. Since we came in as neutral facilitators, we’ve been able to manage the inbox delegation without the frustrations that sometimes affected the team and boost their morale as well as their productivity!
Business with a high level of email enquiry
If your inbox serves as the primary entry point for queries and inquiries from contacts, it can be quite time-consuming to redirect emails and assist with their questions. Managing these requests efficiently requires careful organisation, as each email may need to be categorised and forwarded to the appropriate team member. This process can be overwhelming, especially when multiple inquiries come in at once, making it easy to lose track of who needs what.
Furthermore, if this inbox is managed by the business owner or another fee earner, some may find themselves spending excessive time on this task, which can lead to frustration and delays in response times. While it can take some time to learn all of the ins and outs of client queries and how to direct them, this is something we do and we’ve even done so in different languages!
Business owners of multiple businesses
If you’re a director or entrepreneur managing multiple businesses, your time is probably best spent on generating revenue and growing your ventures. As business owners, we often juggle many responsibilities, making it challenging to handle more than one business effectively. By entrusting your inbox to someone else, you can lighten that load.
Directors, managers or high billing team members looking to reduce their time spend
I’ve worked with a number of fee earners who can bill up to £400 / hr. It doesn’t make sense for someone with this earning potential to be managing their own inbox. We can take the time to categorise emails so that the most important ones are prioritised, and implement various strategies to ensure they’re handled according to each individual’s preferences.
The same applies to directors who are looking to step back from the business, whether they’re easing into retirement or redirecting their focus elsewhere. Having their emails managed effectively can provide them with peace of mind, allowing them to channel their energy into other important areas.
Get support for you and your business!
If you feel you’ve reached the point where you can no longer manage everything yourself, let’s chat about what you are struggling with and which tasks you could send my way.
Drop me an email at lauren@swannva.co.uk and we can discuss how I can help you!
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