Employees no longer allowed to use e-mail for internal communication, move expected to save $2.2 million per month
A British telecommunications firm has come up with a novel — and some might argue extreme — way to combat the amount of time employees spend dealing with e-mail. It has banned all internal e-mails completely.
Customers will still be able to e-mail the company, because external e-mails will still be allowed, but the 2,500 employees at London’s Phones 4u will have to start visiting and phoning colleagues if they need to talk to them.
John Caudwell, the firm’s owner, estimates the ban will save staff three hours a day and save the company about £1 million per month (about $2.2 million Cdn) in saved time. Caudwell himself does not use e-mail.
“I saw that e-mail was insidiously invading Phones 4u so I banned it immediately,” said Caudwell. “Management and staff at headquarters and in the stores were beginning to show signs of being constrained by e-mail proliferation. The ban brought an instant, dramatic and positive effect.”
He said the quality and efficiency of communication has increased “tremendously” and that staff are getting things done quicker because they are no longer tied to their computers.
Customers will still be able to e-mail the company, because external e-mails will still be allowed, but the 2,500 employees at London’s Phones 4u will have to start visiting and phoning colleagues if they need to talk to them.
John Caudwell, the firm’s owner, estimates the ban will save staff three hours a day and save the company about £1 million per month (about $2.2 million Cdn) in saved time. Caudwell himself does not use e-mail.
“I saw that e-mail was insidiously invading Phones 4u so I banned it immediately,” said Caudwell. “Management and staff at headquarters and in the stores were beginning to show signs of being constrained by e-mail proliferation. The ban brought an instant, dramatic and positive effect.”
He said the quality and efficiency of communication has increased “tremendously” and that staff are getting things done quicker because they are no longer tied to their computers.
