9 ways to manage—and cut back on—corporate email overload

Swamped? Professionals say email overload is a major problem. Here’s how to manage the flood, both in your inbox and across your organization.

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When four ruffians allegedly assaulted a 17-year-old who had stood up for a girl they were harassing on a bus in Edmonton, Canada, detectives had to get up to speed quickly.

Using their iPhones or BlackBerrys in the field, Edmonton transit police and city cops were emailing location information and crime reports back and forth. Such exchanges are so vital that the communications department has stopped sending all-employee emails except in rare cases, says David Schneider, the department’s director of corporate communications.

Edmonton police are like most of us-maxed out on email, according to the survey “Email Best Practices” from Newsweaver and Ragan Communications. Eighty percent of respondents see email overload as a problem in their organization, and nearly as many (77 percent) are looking for ways to reduce the volume.

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60 percent send once a week

Amid the flood, communicators are trying to get out their own urgent messages. Nearly 60 percent of internal communicators send out official emails at least once a week, with 14 percent clicking the send button daily.

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