Email transparency is not a new concept in the USA. For many years, federal email transparency policies have given the public the right to read emails and documents. This includes information sent or received by local government and public agencies.
As well as putting in place a transparency policy, it is important to promote its use. Circumventing the rules can lead to greater mistrust. For example, during the US Presidential elections, it was alleged that Hilary Clinton had flouted the rules by operating a private email account and important emails could no longer be located.
But why are email transparency policies important and how can adopting a similar approach in your business help?
Improved trust and productivity
By operating an open email transparency policy, you are encouraging a culture of openness and trust. Employees frequently complain that the organisations that they work for are secretive and they don’t know what is going on in different areas of the business.
Improve employee engagement and productivity by keeping communications open. Transparency increases loyalty, engagement and collaboration, all of which work to reinforce positive behaviours.
Brief Creep
Very often there will be multiple team members working on the same matter or transaction. However, there are also occasions where individuals may take sole responsibility for a customer issue. In those scenarios, the system can break down if that individual leaves the business or goes on holiday.
A fully transparent email system means that even in these situations, other team members can quickly pick up where another has left off without the need for lengthy handovers or impacting customer service.
Sharing Knowledge
It is usual in most businesses to exchange questions and answers by email. However the beneficiaries of this information are limited to those who have been copied to the original email. In fact, this information sharing will likely be helpful to a wider audience.
A shared inbox solves this problem without having to resort to bcc’ing the entire organisation. It also creates a central repository which new and old employees can search and draw upon to improve their own working practices.