Study reveals email overload costs UK £38 BillionSimple tips can save over 3 hours a week
The cost to the UK economy of poor use of email is estimated today in the tens of billions. Research undertaken by Expert Messaging found that the typical office computer user could free up 41 minutes per day if they used email better. Taking into account only the salary cost of this lost time produces a figure of £38 billion, more than the GNP of Nigeria and 172 other of the world's economies.
London, UK, 1am, 05 March 2008:
This time can be reclaimed. Happy Computers and Expert Messaging have joined forces in a campaign to spread some common sense - and get the UK's email under control. Their online course takes just 60 minutes to complete and, according to those who've taken it, saves that time back threefold every week in productivity gains.
"If everyone followed the simple techniques we outline, we guarantee they save time and have less stress," says Bob Hallewell, "Email guru" and Director of Expert Messaging.
"Email overload is a big problem for nearly every organisation we talk to." says Henry Stewart, Chief Executive of Happy Ltd, "But it is solvable. Our course teaches simple easy-to-use techniques that will put you back in control."
3 Top Tips for Solving Email Overload
1) Turn off email alert. Instead set specific times to check email
After being interrupted it takes between 1 and 5 minutes to get back on task. So, if you receive 50 emails a day, having alert on means losing at least 50 minutes.
2) Don't check your email first thing
Instead note down your 3 most important tasks of the day and complete those before checking your email. If you start work at 9, try to do two hours of core work before downloading emails.
3) Use Clear, Sensible Subject Lines:
Get your colleagues to ensure the Subject makes clear exactly what is in the email and what action is required.
For two dozen more top tips, contact the report authors or click through to the course at: http://www.emailexemplar.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Figures are based on the habits of 450 UK email users analysed over 2007. This has been extrapolated based on Office of National Statistics data - the cost is based on estimating the salary cost of 41 minutes a day that can be saved by 13.48 million staff in categories that are primary computer users. The full analysis is available on request.
Background on Organisations
Expert Messaging
Expert Messaging was set up by Bob Hallewell, known as the "email guru". For the last nine years he has worked to change email cultures in hundreds of organisations, for tens of thousands of people both in the UK and abroad. This has included USA, Bermuda, Saudi Arabia, Eire, Germany, Holland, Italy, Singapore, Scandinavia, Czech Republic and France
Bob's message is simple: email is an essential business tool which we rely on more and more; "either we learn to manage it, or increasingly it will manage us".
Happy Computers