Email management is an essential skill for any assistant and it’s one of the main reasons that clients often book you for your services. Here’s why email management is so important and why your clients rely on you to keep their inboxes organised and under control:
Email is a crucial form of communication
In today’s fast-paced business world, email is often the primary method of communication between colleagues, clients, and partners. As an assistant, you play a key role in managing your boss’s email inbox and ensuring that important messages are not missed or overlooked.
Email can be overwhelming
With so much information flowing in and out of our inboxes on a daily basis, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. As an assistant, you are responsible for filtering out the noise and prioritising the most important messages, which can help your boss stay focused and productive.
Email management saves time
Effective email management can save a lot of time, both for your boss and for you. By organising emails into folders and setting up filters, you can ensure that important messages are easy to find and that your boss doesn’t waste time sifting through unimportant emails.
Email management enhances professionalism
A cluttered, disorganised inbox can give the impression of disorganisation and lack of professionalism. By keeping your boss’s inbox tidy and organised, you can help them maintain a professional image and make a positive impression on clients and colleagues.
So, how can you improve your email management skills and become an invaluable asset to your boss? Here are a few tips:
- Use folders and labels: In Outlook, you can create folders to organise your emails into categories. For example, you might create a folder for client emails, another for internal communications, and another for invoices. This will help you and your boss find emails more quickly and stay organised.
- Set up rules: Outlook’s “Rules” feature allows you to automatically sort incoming emails based on specific criteria. For example, you might set up a rule to automatically move all emails from a specific sender into a designated folder or to flag emails with certain keywords.
- Use the “To-Do” list: Outlook’s “To-Do” list is a great way to keep track of tasks and deadlines related to emails. You can create tasks, set due dates and priorities, and even assign tasks to other people.
- Archive emails: When you or your boss no longer need to keep an email in your inbox, consider archiving it. This will help keep your inbox tidy and prevent it from getting cluttered with old or unnecessary messages.
By following these tips and using the tools available in Outlook, you can become an expert in email management and make a big difference in your boss’s workday. Remember, the key is to stay organised and stay on top of your tasks. With a little bit of practice and discipline, you can become an invaluable asset to your boss and make a positive impact on their business.
Ready to discover the secrets to effective email management? Take a look at our Outlook training here Essential Outlook for The Savvy Assistant
