AIBU to think she should just send an email?

[vvviola]

I'm dealing with quite a few staffing problems at work, and honestly this is minor compared to them, but I think this might be the straw that broke the camels back.

I have one particular staff member who just cannot seem to just reply to an email.

Example:

Me (by email): Hi Jane, is that document cover blue or brown?

Jane (by email): It's blue with brown writing

Jane (by phone literally 3 seconds after email arrives in my inbox): just wanted to let you know I emailed you to tell you the report cover is blue with brown writing.

If I ignore the phone, she'll come in to my office, often come around behind my desk (I have an L-shaped desk: long part is between me and the door, short part is to my right with computer etc on it), to tell me the exact thing she told me in the email.

It is utterly infuriating! I have taken to forwarding my phone to voicemail every time I send an email to avoid the calls - but then forget to take it off again.

(And, unfortunately due to all the other stuff going on with my team, and this person, just telling her isn't going to be possible, at least in the near future).

Any suggestions to stop my head exploding?

[The5DayChicken]

Not a genius by any means...organisation and performance among management were big parts of my previous role. I'm a big fan of quick wins .

About the desk thing, a gentle reminder that as management, you frequently work with sensitive information should do the trick. Maybe just state "sorry X, I've got sensitive info open on my screen, do you mind staying that side of the desk please" with a friendly smile on your face next time she goes to do it. Hopefully it'll make her more aware of it in the future.

[vvviola]

Chicken you are a genius! There are some IT training issues on the list for discussion (no major problems, but there's training available, and she would like/could use a refresher) - so I can fold it in with that discussion maybe.

Reviews are still a while away, but it will give me a chance to have a fresh look at my way of doing things, and see can I influence some changes, and if not, I can deal with it then.

Now I just have to deal with the coming behind my desk thing and we'll all be happy (she's a fabulous worker, I think the world of her, so sorting out the niggles will make everyone happy)

[The5DayChicken]

Nothing is too small for performance reviews...just refer to it as a 'quick win'.

All depends on how you frame it for her. At the very least, she's wasting time by confirming by phone that you've got her email. Tell her to turn on read receipts. You can set yours to either allow them to be sent automatically or if you prefer to know who's asking for them, you can set it up so it asks you if it can send one.

At the other end of the scale, she might be completely uncomfortable with email in general and you can tackle that by working with her to determine appropriate methods of communication and getting her some general IT training.

[vvviola]

Hmmm Chicken, I hadn't thought of putting it as part of performance reviews etc as it seems so petty (hence my ranting on here to let off steam), but I'll have to think whether it is symptomatic of bigger issues.

I'll also have a rethink of how I work to see if I'm still happy it's the most efficient way for everyone, not just me (although I'm still not going into their office with every question )

[wowfudge]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I have a chair in front of my desk and when someone comes to see me I kind of point them towards the chair and they sit down if it isn't a very short query or conversation. I find standing up when pushier people approach creates more of a barrier and they just won't come as close.

Ask IT for a screen shield if you are concerned about privacy - they do work.

[The5DayChicken]

Based on the scenario you've given, yes, I'd do it differently personally. But I concede that I'd need to actually live a week at your workplace to say for definite.

But it remains that this particular person obviously isn't comfortable with email. So as her manager (you are her manager aren't you? I read that right?) you can either be responsive and avoid wasted time in the future by just ringing her in the first place and allowing her to ring you back with the info, or you can highlight it as a development opportunity for her (streamlining the way she works) and help her become comfortable with it.

[vvviola]

Nope, no IM. It has been disabled. (Possibly for audit/tracking conversation reasons? I'm not sure, I'd been away from the company for a few years with mat leave etc and it was disabled while I was away)

[Raasay]

Viola don't you have an instant message system in your office?

We'd use an instant message for this kind of thing, which has the advantage that they know you've seen the response.

[vvviola]

Doesn't depend really. OP says she'd be getting up every few minutes if she spoke to them face to face. This implies that each question is too urgent to wait on a list for her to have a whip around later to get the answers all at once.

Not really. It's more like: while working on Report A I need information from person W, X, Y and Z. I need the information at some stage during the day, they will need time to put it together. Then I move on to Report B. For that I need information from person X and Z.

None of it is urgent, in the sense of immediate. But it gets done over the course of the day - and the rest of the team have no problem with the way I work. (There have been things I did initially that they didn't like, and we discussed and changed it around).

But I can accept that some people don't like email and would handle this differently. I just wanted to let off some steam.

[gymbummy]

I used to have a colleague who used to phone me to tell me he'd sent me an email: "Hello, Gymbunny? I've sent you an email." Me: "Yes, I know, I've replied to your email". Him "What was the response" Me: "Just let me open the reply and I'll read it to you" Him "Ok".

Not answering my phone didn't help, he'd leave a rambling voice mail asking me to return his call.

I have no solution BTW, just sympathising! (Actually I did solve the problem by leaving and working for myself but I feel that is quite drastic...)

[vvviola]

Mintyy I was using that because I couldn't think of anything at that moment that wasn't an actual request from my work, which would be a bit identifying.

It's more like "can you give me the percentage of people in France who have a mortgage, and the percentage who rent, over the past 3 years". I could go in and ask or phone (and I do phone on other issues), but the stuff I email is stuff we are encouraged to email, and would be more of a waste of time to ask for in person, for her and me.

It's hard to describe the dynamic in the office without getting into specifics, which I obviously don't want to do. We're a pretty sociable office, there is plenty of personal interaction, and I am a very approachable manager (intentionally so, as one of the more senior managers has a reputation of not being approachable, so I tend to be a bit of a conduit to him - I don't hav any problems with him).

I have no problems with the other members of the team - I email if needed, they reply by email if appropriate, and phone or drop in if they need clarification. What they don't do is phone me to tell me the content of their email when I have barely had a chance to see that the email has come in.

I can see how it might come across that I'm avoiding personal interaction. I'm really not. Or at least not intentionally. But perhaps my irritation with this person is making me crankier about everything she is doing right now. I'll have to think about that.

[The5DayChicken]

Doesn't depend really. OP says she'd be getting up every few minutes if she spoke to them face to face. This implies that each question is too urgent to wait on a list for her to have a whip around later to get the answers all at once.

If they are indeed that urgent, email is an inappropriate form of communication.

OP is also sitting down to do a task without all the information she needs.

And after quite some time of the person she's emailing doing this, OP still hasn't gotten the hint that it'll be quicker for her to ring this person as she's going to end up on the phone anyway.

[chickenfuckingpox]

some people dont like email they dont trust it to get the message to the person just ring her if i was you

[Mintyy]

Argh, I absolutely wouldn't be able to stand being emailed about quick questions like this. Use the phone if you cba to get up. Imagine what you would have done 15 years ago when people in offices didn't email all the frigging time.

And why would you have to ask her if the report cover is blue or brown? don't understand.

[totallybewildered]

chicken, I agree totally.

[The5DayChicken]

I did Euphemia. But the 'reasons' strike me as excuses for poor organisation, communication and management skills.

[totallybewildered]

Euphemia, chicken is right though, the OP is making excuses to avoid personal interaction, but I think she's deluding herself.

[whois]

You email was pointless. I'd have phones and only emailed if no answer from the phone.

[totallybewildered]

I think you are being very unreasonable. People go stir crazy tied down to a desk assaulted by emails. it isn't good time management at all, it is very unproductive. personal interactions are very much more time efficient, natural healthy, and get people physically moving around a bit.

I left a job once because it didn't have enough movement associated with it, same room all day.... it isn't healthy, or productive.

[The5DayChicken]

Why on earth are you all emailing if you're so close to each other?? In my old place of work we were actively encouraged to get our arses off our chairs and go to check these things in person. Not only does it keep people more active than they otherwise would be when office based but actual face to face interaction is surely preferable?

[ememem84]

this sort of thing winds me up. I send someone an email. They respond. then if i haven't responded within about 5 seconds call me to find out if i got the email they sent. INFURIATING! I was getting to it. i deal with more than one thing...

AAAH!

maybe i need to chill out a bit

however, I have started sending auto response notifications to the main offenders - if you use outlook 2010 (or whatever latest version is) you can set up to send auto forwards to certain people after every email received from them.

mine just read (for clarification these are only for internal people, and we're a small office ) "Thanks for your email - It's in the queue - I'll come back to you with any questions"

external people i can do nothing about - so just have to live with it. sigh

[iwouldgoouttonight]

My boss in my old job was like that. After every email he sent he'd phone me to say exactly the same thing he'd emailed about. Thankfully he was based in a different part of the country so he couldn't just pop in, but just the follow up phone calls were infuriating.

It'd then take me ages to get back into what I was doing before he rang because he'd made me think about loads of different things. I started not answering the phone and in the end I left the job (not just because of this but it didn't help).

Can you say you're working on something where you really need to concentrate so can't have any interruptions? People in my current job often go off to a quiet room to work if they want quiet, nobody minds.

[Sleepsoftly]

(And, unfortunately due to all the other stuff going on with my team, and this person, just telling her isn't going to be possible, at least in the near future)

Then there are some poor communication values going on that are literally 'knocking on the door'. If you cant say anything face to face then you don't deserve the luxury of being able to deliver in another form. Not saying they are your problems, because they will always fester from the top down.