Datamail declares Sept 25th: no internal email day

DATAMAIL ENCOURAGES THE ART OF CONVERSATION WITH ITS THIRD ANNUAL ‘NO EMAIL DAY’

For the third year running Datamail - the document management company that helps major organisations such as banks, insurance companies and government organisations communicate better with their customers – is declaring September 25th ‘No Internal Email Day’ across its four sites and more than 400 staff.

The annual initiative seeks to highlight and reduce some of the misunderstandings that can and do occur as a result of short, sometimes sharp email messages and to encourage people to get together and interact on a more personal level. Other than email communications essential for the operation of business, staff members are directed to either pick up the telephone or walk to a colleague’s desk to conduct a good, old fashioned conversation. Messages requiring back up documentation will be faxed.

Datamail’s chief executive officer Wes Brown says the organisation generates several thousand internal emails around its offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch on an average day. “Many of which,” he says, “could be replaced by a quick chat and – in many cases - a more effective outcome.” The medium comprises an essential part of Datamail’s offering as an Integrated Document Management provider and Brown says that essential external emails are allowed. “However,” he says, “tone of voice is often lost or misconstrued through email and can lead to a needless deterioration in working relationships, while the natural use of facial expression, body language and voice provide far less scope for misunderstanding.”

Brown says the previous two ‘No Email’ days have been embraced by Datamail staff and have served as useful reminders of how it can be good to talk. “It’s a bit of fun that encourages people to seriously reflect on the most effective way to communicate.”

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