While electronic mail has revolutionized office work as an efficient and reliable means of communication, its drawback is inbox clutter related to high volumes of messages. A typical professional receives over 120 new messages per day and spends roughly 40% of work hours on email. Mailboxes over 5GB distract from pressing tasks and increase data breach risks.
Well-managed email ensures quick and easy information retrieval, mitigates system overloads and reduces carbon footprints. Email applications such as Outlook and Mail are not designed for long-term email retention and organization. The most secure and reliable repository is CONDOR (Concordia’s Document Repository), which is managed and supported by RMA. Best practice is to save email and attachments in appropriate electronic folders in CONDOR.
The following information is essential to email management:
The Policy on Email Management (SG-11) highlights staff responsibilities related to work email and outlines the management of email in accordance with Concordia’s Records Management program.
In addition to reading the Email Management Best Practices below, block time in your calendar to sort email and start with these five steps:
- Final Reports
- Meeting minutes
- Documents to be shared with colleagues
- Legal Opinions
- Grant applications
Keep in mind:
- Retention policies apply to all official email.
- Electronic mailboxes are not long-term retention areas for email and attachments.
