Many companies struggle with employee engagement.Gallup research reveals that 24% of employees worldwide are actively disengaged.
The same Gallup research indicates that engaged teamshave 24% to 59% less turnover, 10% higher customer ratings, 21% greater profitability, 17% higher productivity, 28% less shrinkage, 70% fewer safety incidents, and 41% less absenteeism.
One of the keys to improving employee engagement is improving communication.An easy way to jumpstart improved communication is to encourage the "Three-Email Rule."
I once inherited an organization with an engagement score of 47 - less than 50 % of employees were engaged or actively engaged!I challenged my leadership team to implement the "Three-Email Rule" - after which any communication should be face-to-face.
The rule is simple.If you can't complete an email conversation within three emails, then it should shift to a more personal platform. It might go something like:
Edward: Hi Sarah. Just a reminder that we are planning a dry-run test this weekend in preparation for data cutover. Are all environments configured and ready?
Sarah: Hi Edward. Yes - we completed the work earlier this week and are good to go.
Edward: Thanks Sarah. I appreciate your help.
Now let's suppose that Sarah responded differently. Suppose her answer had instead been "Hi Edward. I think there's been a misunderstanding. We didn't realize those environments were needed by this weekend." Clearly Edward now hasa problem on his hands, and most likely it won't be resolved withonly oneadditional email response. And while it might feel good to reprimand Sarah and team in writing, that's besthandled differently.
Instead, the "Three-Email Rule" encourages Edward to reply with something like "Okay Sarah. It looks like we need to discuss what happened and the best path forward. I'll head over in just a minute to discuss." Rather than both parties engaging in a tedious back-and-forth, it's best that they discuss this issue in person (or at least by phone if not co-located).
This might seem overly simple, but you'dbe amazed at how many simple emails turn into a version of "War and Peace." When that happens, no one wins as the back-and-forth distracts employees from their priorities. I'll concede thatoccasional situations may require more than three emails. But I think you'll find that this logicworks well for the majority of email traffic.
As for the "rule" - I neverlooked over anyone's shoulder to enforce it. By continually reinforcing the message,my leadership team soon began quoting it as they saw theeffect it helped produce. In just two years, that 47% engagement number improved by over 34%.
