When email was invented in 1971, it was heralded at the new tool that was going to streamline communication and make our working days more efficient. If used properly, it still can, however more often than not people suffer from email overload. Apart from wasting time, this causes employees to potentially lose focus on a task at hand and neglect important work.

In this article, I include some simple but effective tips on how to manage emails to ensure the workplace can become more productive. As an employer, it is important lead by example when putting these practices and policies into place.


HOW TO REDUCE INCOMING EMAILS

The first step in managing emails is to reduce the number of unnecessary emails that one receives every day.


Turn off Social Media Notifications

It seems like a great idea to know when people have responded to a tweet or when someone has connected on LinkedIn, however the same notifications are ready and waiting when the account holder logs in to the relevant site. It’s all too easy to get distracted when a notification pops up, and usually a few minutes of checking what the comment is, turns into 20 minutes surfing the site to see what else is going on. Turn off all email notifications for social media sites in the account settings to reduce time wasted in the future.


Mass Unsubscribe from Unnecessary Newsletters

Most spam is prevented from hitting an inbox due to filters put in place by email providers, however over time, people sign up to more and more newsletters and coupon deals which land in inboxes on a daily basis. This happens a lot in the workplace as members of staff who are on computers all day every day, like to be updated on what’s happening in their industry.

All newsletters and coupon emails have an unsubscribe option on their emails; however a great tool for unsubscribing from unwanted emails in one go is www.unroll.me. I used this a few weeks ago and couldn’t believe that I had 72 subscription emails, most of which I was able to delete. A good suggestion would be to ask staff to do this with their work email address to see just how many emails they get that they don’t need to receive. Hopefully once these emails aren’t clogging up an inbox each morning, the more important emails will stand out.


Write Emails that Don’t Create more Emails

A major problem with emails in the workplace is those that take a few responses to get a date in the diary or a final answer. Train staff to be more efficient with their emails when organising meetings by avoiding open ended questions and instead offering times/dates that are optional, therefore they can agree on a time and carry on with tasks at hand. For example:

Use a Non-Response Default Action

The majority of times emails are sent it is to let staff members or co-workers know of something happening within the workplace; however they don’t always need a reply. When writing an email with a question included, set up the question as follows: “I’m going to schedule a meeting with Client X in the boardroom for Thursday at 2pm. If I don’t hear back from you by end of play today, I’ll assume that’s fine.” This means that if no one has an issue they won’t feel the need to reply, resulting in less emails being circulated.


PROCESS EMAIL QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY 

Once incoming email has been minimized, the next step is process the email one receives both quickly and efficiently. 


Turn Off Notifications and Check Email at Defined Times Each Day

Focus can easily be broken when an email pings up on a computer or phone, and checking emails constantly can become addictive. Ensure notifications are turned off and set 2-3 specific times during the day to check emails. Let people know to phone if they need an urgent matter dealt with instantly. When the time comes to checking emails, take 30 minutes and ensure all focus is on this task at hand.


Reply, Delete, Action and Archive

During email sessions, get into the habit of performing one of the following four actions to ensure all emails are dealt with effectively. 

• Reply: Respond to an email if it will take no more than two minutes. If the email doesn’t require a reply, but necessitates an action, add the action to a to-do list and archive the email.
  
• Delete: If an email doesn’t immediately make you feel you should reply to it, then it is not that important. If this is the case then delete or archive it. 
  
• Action: Some emails require more thought and time before answering and therefore should be filed into another folder to flag up as something to come back to. 
  
• Archive: Many emails are simply for informational purposes. If it doesn’t require a response or action then it should be archived so it can be found at a later date if need be.
  

Answer Briefly

To save time for both the sender and recipient of the email, it is best to keep responses brief. Email should be a balance between politeness and succinctness, however if an email does need more time and thought put into it, simply flag it to reply at a later stage with a more in depth responses.


Use Out of Office

When staff members are out of the office, whether it is for a day or for a few weeks, a brilliant tool to use is Out of Office. Text can be edited to ensure an automatic response to received email whilst letting the sender know they are not being ignored. Ensure that the response includes an alternative contact in case the matter is urgent.






The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

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The gender pay gap is a complex issue that is an ongoing concern across the EU. It is caused by a number of interconnected issues and exists due to wider gender inequalities in society.

The gender pay gap is generally based on the average difference between male and female’s gross hourly earnings, and recent studies have found that women in the EU earn on average 16.4% less per hour then men. Although the gender pay gap varies across Europe, there is still a 14.4% difference in male and female pay in Ireland, one that employers need to try and eradicate to ensure they are not in breach of the Equality Act 2010.


WHAT ARE THE MAIN CAUSES OF THE GENDER PAY GAP?


Discrimination in the Workplace

This occurs when males and females are not paid the same wages where they are contracted as having the same role in the workplace and therefore carry out the same work. This is often noted as ‘direct discrimination’ as it’s clear that women are treated less favourably than men. Another factor could be due to a prewritten policy or practice that result in unequal treatment between genders. Whichever the case, this type of discrimination is prohibited under EU law.


Different Jobs, Different Sectors

It’s a well-known fact that certain sectors employ, on average, more gender than the other. For example, in the healthcare sector, females make up 80% of all employees, whereas in the construction industry, most employees would be male. Sectors tend to have lesser salaries where more women are employed than those dominated by men.
 

Workplace Practices and Pay Systems

The term ‘glass ceiling’ is often used when discussing female limitations with reaching the highest paid positions, and this generally comes down to company practices and policies, whether it be through access to training or career development. There are also different approaches in rewarding employees, such as bonuses, allowances etc. which can affect pay between male and females in the workplace.


Women are Under-Represented in Politics and in the Economy

Within the EU, men make up two thirds of scientists and engineers, and even in sectors with a higher percentage of female workers, senior and top level positions are still under-represented by women. In a survey completed in 2013, women made up 17.8% of board members in public listed companies across the EU, however with the new gender quotas coming into play, there is expectation that this statistic will increase in the coming years.


Balancing Work and Family Responsibilities

When it comes to work/life balance, generally a woman will give up part of her working life to take care of family responsibilities, which in turn means job progression and the opportunity to receive higher pay is negatively affected. As a result, male partners tend to work longer hours and seek opportunities for higher paid jobs which further widen the gender pay gap.

 
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP?


Supplying Quality Jobs

In recent years, there has been an increase in women expecting more of a career/family life balance as well as females feeling they don’t need to forego a successful career to have a family, and vice versa. If companies wish to attract top talent, they need to consider both male and female candidates, irrespective of their domestic lives.


Good for Business, Workers and the Economy

Employers should use female employee skills by presenting policies on work/life balance and training and career development. Generally businesses that incorporate equality strategies into the workplace create a positive working environment, leading to improved productivity, employee satisfaction and loyalty.


Avoiding Litigation and Complaints

Companies who do not ensure equal pay for work of an equal value leave themselves open to potential discrimination claims being filed due to unfair work practices. An employee is entitled to equal pay on the following nine grounds: gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race or being a member of the Traveller community.

An order for equal pay and up to three years arrears in pay could be ordered if a member of staff brings a pay discrimination claim before the Equality Tribunal, therefore if policies are in place from day one, time and money spent on dealing with complaints and subsequent litigation is prevented.


HOW DOES YOUR WORKPLACE MEASURE UP?

Employers should carry out an equal pay audit to ensure that gender discrimination in the workplace is eliminated and that they are not in breach of the Equality Act 2010.

1. Are there more women than men in subordinate positions? 
2. Are there more men than women in managerial positions? 
3. If the company has a job evaluation scheme, is it more than five years old? 
   
4. Do men and women have equal access to bonus, overtime, pension other plus payments? 
   
5. Are part-time workers paid fairly when compared on an hourly basis? 
   

Once an equal pay audit is carried out, it is imperative for employers to act on the results and ensure that any gender pay discrimination is eliminated, where appropriate, within the business, through updating company policies and strategies.



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

Maintaining team harmony in the workplace is becoming a critical skill in today’s interconnected world, and the challenge of achieving this can never be underestimated. Whether it’s a multinational company or a local business, as long as humans are running the business, not robots, there are going to be relationship problems running throughout the company.

Each individual involved in a team has a different way of doing one thing, which can create teamwork issues for a number of different aspects. Most people don’t appreciate that employee cooperation involves more than just working together to ‘get the job done’, but more importantly should focus on achieving results through each employee’s contributions. A team that comes together to work efficiently can make a huge difference to a company’s success.

So how does a manager establish and sustain team harmony in the workplace, especially if team dynamics are constantly changing? As team life continues to minimize due to industry and market changes, how can leaders ensure team solidity, as well as adapt to the varying personality dynamics that inevitably occur when old team members leave and new ones join?


Understand Team Dynamics and Individual Motivations

More often than not, a leader tries to alter how the team functions; however for everyone else on the team, such efforts can often come across as a power trip or a decision of who’s in charge and in control. In this case, there’s little concern in trying to recognise why things are being approached in the manner they are, as the focus is more on having one’s way.

As a manager and team leader, the emphasis should be on listening and observing what team members have to say and to recognise what they hope to accomplish from the task. It’s important to learn what makes them feel like they are contributing, and how to make them focused on the company’s needs instead of concentrating on their own goals.


Regardless of titles, roles, or expertise each member brings to the team, the fact is that every individual is a member of the same team, and those in charge need to ensure they are not using their authority to try and control the process. Rather, the goal should be to empower everyone to be full contributors and participants.


Demonstrate Trust and Respect through Words and Actions

One common false perception of leadership is the belief that the leader has to be the smartest person on the team. Generally this is why employees struggle with change, as those in control tend to devote little time on understanding potential apprehensions of other team members, choosing instead to use their authority to drive decisions from the top down.

Whilst it’s true that people in leadership positions carry the responsibility for outcomes of the team’s decisions, leaders still need to bring members into the discussion and consider what each person on the team can contribute to the task at hand - how their insights, experience and knowledge can form and support decisions made by the team as a whole. It’s a detail that leaders need to communicate by treating each member with the same level of trust and respect, irrespective of what individual roles might be outside the team.


To be a Good Leader one must be a Good Follower

A significant factor in successfully managing an ever-changing team dynamic is accepting the fact that managers need to be good followers in order to be effective leaders.

Providing team members with the opportunity to lead acts as a reminder both to leaders and their employees that it’s not about who is in charge, or who has served on the team the longest, rather, it’s about what they all want to collectively accomplish as a team and community.


Show Pride in a Sense of Belonging

A sense of belonging is shown through how an organisation works together and the importance it places on working as a team, the importance of sticking to commitments and supporting other team members. Many companies promote the sense of belonging through their values and policies. Whichever policies the business decide on, they must represent the culture of the individual company and so, what works for one company does not necessarily work for another.


Promote the Company’s Attitude to Risk Taking

For an organization to succeed, it needs to know where it stands in terms of innovation and risk. Is it conventional, or does it like to be at the forefront of modernisation? Whilst a company may say they encourage risk-taking and innovation, the real test comes when something goes wrong – does the management team stay supportive?


Encourage Open Communication

One of the most effective ways to adopt good relations within the workplace is to encourage discussion and effective communication, both amongst colleagues and also between staff and management. Inspiring the workforce to voice ideas and views as well as suggesting improvements is a great way of achieving this. Giving employees clearly defined objectives and getting feedback on performance, either as a team or in one to one sessions is vital. It’s also important to review results whether the team has or has not done well together, to ensure everyone can improve on previous tasks.


Establish a Good Work/Life Balance

Employees often become unmotivated if employers are only interested in making as much profit as possible without giving any regard to the needs of their staff. Whilst it is perfectly acceptable to expect employees to give 100% when they’re on company time, it is also important to identify that they have a life outside the workplace too, and so creating a ‘family friendly’ environment is a positive approach.

Introducing schemes such as flexible working practices, compassionate leave or childcare facilities such as crèches etc. will make for good relations between staff and management and will show that the company has their employees’ best interests at heart.


Ensure Constant Training and Development

No matter how much someone enjoys their current role, the majority of employees will ultimately aspire to move up the career ladder. To keep valued members of staff on board, it is imperative that a company provides them with the right platform to develop. Options include training in house or offering employees the opportunity to take leave from work to study. Paying for external education, if a career progression involves further study or training, is also beneficial to retaining top employees.


Share Vision and Values

Employees need to be given a sense of purpose as to why they come to work and contribute to the company each day. Goals constantly motivate, however a shared goal needs to be matched with clear roles, by positioning the right employees at the right time and at the right place. When each team member has clear roles and responsibilities, and is aware of other team member tasks, the risk of overlap or gap of work can be reduced significantly. Goals will also create challenge, and a team that has dealt with a trying situation and come out successful together will typically have a stronger relationship. 



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

Whether it’s recognised or not, every business has an employer brand. From a conventional marketing point of view, a brand is what differentiates a product or service from another. The name of the business, design and reputation all form a brand’s image and the public understanding of what the company offers. In a similar way, an employer brand is the look, feel, and reputation of an employer and generally influences what current and prospective employees use to assess whether or not the company is an attractive place to work.

When LinkedIn published its top 100 most in demand employers in 2014, it was no surprise to see well-known companies such as Google, Apple and Unilever placed in the top three. When people describe Google’s branding and products and services, they may often use words such as “inventive”, “stimulating” and “global”, and the same could be said for the company culture and people’s perceptions on what it might be like to work for the company.


FOUR REASONS WHY COMPANIES SHOULD FOCUS ON EMPLOYER BRANDING

Building a work culture like Google or Apple is generally not possible for many companies. However, when assessing an employer brand, there are a number of factors every employer should consider:


Consumer Brand – Consumer brand and employer brand are nearly always connected, with one potentially having a positive, or negative, effect on the other. Top candidates always want to work for top companies and ensuring best suited applicant is hired, helps companies do more within the budget they have. Companies who don’t necessarily operate in the consumer market, still need to leverage their employer brand within the business-to-business sector.


Reputation in the Community – Corporate social responsibility is an important part of community engagement strategy within a company and is a phrase regularly used when businesses define their values. While it is essential to define the strategy, it is even more significant for companies to go beyond this and actually turn words into actions, as prospective candidates like to work for a company that care about the community. As well as this, positive stories about internal branding and corporate social responsibility can help to foster a good overall impression of your product or service amongst the general public.


Current Employees and Alumni – Ensuring current and past employees speak positively about a company is fundamental for a business. As previously discussed, there are a variety of factors that affect job satisfaction, and so understanding what motivates employees is essential. Sustaining a strong and successful workplace environment will not only attract the best employees, it will also assist in retaining them, which in turn will reduce employee turnover and improve a company’s bottom line. When an employee does decide to leave a company, ensuring they leave in a way that is positive and respectful is important too, as word of mouth is a powerful thing.


Potential Candidate Relations – Often the recruitment process is a prospective employee’s first introduction to a business and can set the tone for the employment relationship. In a previous article I discussed the importance of having a detailed job description, and this plays a big factor in employer branding also. Communication throughout the employment process is critical in building trust, and when a candidate is selected, having an honest discussion about the role is another way to further the relationship.


FOUR STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING A BETTER AND STRONGER BRAND

Maura McElhone, a content writer for Dublin based recruitment marketing specialists Clinch, has come up with some really interesting pointers for building a better and stronger brand. We've abbreviated the piece here but you can read their full article here.

Realise the Difference between Employer Brand and Consumer Brand

Companies must differentiate between a consumer brand which is the reputation a business has as a maker and distributor of a product or service, and an employer brand, the reputation they have as an employer. SMEs have a disadvantage compared to more established companies when it comes to hiring, as well known corporations can rely on brand awareness to generate interest in their jobs, and so smaller businesses need to depend on a strong employer brand to level the playing field.


Assign Ownership of the Employer Brand

Due to its role in recruitment, employer branding tends to be seen as a job for the HR and marketing departments. Whilst this is true in the utilisation of the strategy, employer branding actually falls to every employee in the company. From the Managing Director to an intern, the actions and attitudes of each individual define and communicate the company employer brand, and so it is the role of the employer to educate and emphasise the importance of the employer brand to the team.


Talk to Employees

Since the quality and consistency of an employer brand depends largely on employees being engaged, it is essential to ensure managers know how employees feel towards the company at all times. Speaking to employees, distributing employee surveys and conducting exit interviews give insight into attitudes towards the company. All of this will offer an insight into the real state of the workplace when it comes to employee engagement, and as a consequence, will inform and allow the organisation to take measures to improve and strengthen their employer brand.


Make Employer Branding an Ongoing Activity

Employer branding shouldn't only start when the hiring process begins and it definitely should not end once a candidate has been selected. Communicating, observing and refining an employer brand is a full-time job, the importance of which should not be underestimated. If a company does not knowingly form their employer brand image, they risk the possibility of the public forming their own conclusions, whether they are good or bad. In the war for talent, it is imperative for businesses to outshine their rivals and brand their company as the place to work.



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.