Management by E-Mail

This week, we take a look at some federal managers' reactions to last week's column on the benefits and drawbacks of e-mail communication.

"Communication with subordinates through e-mail is perfectly acceptable for project- and mission-related information and direction," says one manager. "It provides a record of direction given and expectations. However, it should be followed up with a brief discussion later, whenever possible. A manager should ensure that he speaks to each of his subordinates, at a minimum, once a day. E-mail should be used to enhance communication with employees, not replace face-to-face contact and conversation.

"On the other hand, no personnel comments or discussions should be made through e-mail, unless it is to confirm a previous conversation, and then it should still be identified as 'Confidential.' We always need to safeguard the employee's right to privacy and expressing serious concerns in an e-mail has the liability of not always being kept confidential."

Another manager concurs, saying that "E-mail is a good tool for getting information to employees quickly and concisely. This is especially true if one supervises employees whose job duties make them difficult to track down at any particular time. For example, while it is always nice to give a personal thank you to a subordinate, e-mail allows you to issue timely and frequent thank yous and kudos to employees -- something that often slips if you don't take action as soon as you think of it.

"I also use email to communicate administrative information (e.g., training schedules) and technical updates (e.g., changes in documentation requirements). However, especially in regards to the latter, if the information is important to job performance, it is important to supplement the e-mail by covering the change orally, possibly at a subsequent meeting.

"On the other hand, I would never use e-mail to review an employee's job performance or announce receipt of an award or promotion. The emotional aspect of these issues makes face-to-face contact a must."

A management analyst says leaders should be aware that "receiving edicts and constant demands for attention to e-mail presents quite a burden to employees who are trying to get work done. Managers who use a combination of team/staff meetings, personal e-mails, personal phone calls, and personal meetings with employees are usually most informed and best able to meet employee and mission needs. It's all about balance."

The last word goes to a federal executive, who notes that "it might be worthwhile to distinguish between management and leadership. I suppose that management by e-mail is appropriate in some cases, but leadership is rarely possible by e-mail. There are many issues from a human factors perspective having to do with the inadequacy of e-mail to allow for a rich contextual understanding of a topic."

Next week: How many rating levels does the perfect performance evaluation system have?