The disparity between managing email and managing MS Teams often goes unnoticed, yet companies are paying a hefty price for overlooking it.

Consider Teams as your virtual neighborhood and Outlook as the broader world encompassing your neighborhood. While you can invite external parties to your Teams neighborhood, the invitation process is selective. In contrast, Outlook operates on a “come one, come all” basis; anyone with your email address can join the party. Despite spam protection acting as a gated complex, it’s challenging to distinguish between neighbors, well-meaning visitors, and manipulative marketers seeking your attention.

In general, most communications in Teams are internal, which doesn’t diminish their importance but underscores a difference in focus compared to customer interactions, particularly in sales and customer service.

Now, envision assigning a monetary value to each email in your inbox. While some emails enhance...

There could be several reasons why lean leaders might be hesitant to upgrade email management practices. Here are a few possible factors:

1. Lack of awareness: Lean leaders may not be aware of the available options for upgrading email management practices. They may be accustomed to traditional email systems and not realize the potential benefits of adopting new tools or approaches.
   
   
2. Time and resource constraints: Implementing changes to email management practices requires time and resources. Lean leaders may be focused on other improvement initiatives or prioritizing other areas for optimization within their organizations. They might perceive email management as a lower priority or not worth the investment of time and resources.
   
   
3. Resistance to change: Change can be challenging for individuals and organizations. Lean leaders may face resistance from employees who are comfortable with existing email practices or reluctant to learn new tools and processes. Overcoming resistance to change...

A recent report by Mail Manager has found that email is still the most widely used and important communication tool in the business world. However, the lack of proper email management has a significant impact on productivity. The Email and Document Management Usage Benchmark report surveyed over 1,000 decision-makers in the UK and US and found that one in three employees spend almost a whole day each week managing their inbox, while 91% of respondents use email for client communication and 61% prefer it to other communication tools such as Slack or Skype.

Despite its importance, email also presents a major productivity drain and workplace stressor. As many as 70% of respondents believe it is one of the biggest productivity drains in the workforce, and 73% think too much time is spent trying to find emails. The study also found that email is an essential part of good record management and quality management for the majority of respondents, while 62% still keep hard copies of...