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 It could be your co-worker, a friend, or even a family member, but you know at least one person who feels the need to CC people in every email they send. Sometimes you don't even know what the email is concerning, but for some reason, the sender felt that you needed to know.
I know 100's of these people.
Now don't get me wrong. There are times when CCing people is appropriate and even necessary. I have no problem with those situations. What I can't stand are those people who feel as though they can't send an email unless they CC someone.
I will explain why this carbon copying nonsense bugs me, the different types of carbon copying fiends, and practical ways to deal with all of them.
1. CCing everyone to keep people "informed"
This is probably the most common form of CCing and usually the most innocent. You CC a group of people on one email to save the time and effort of emailing everyone individually. No big deal.
This form of CCing gets out of control when one person on the CC list decides to hit the infamous "Reply to All" button. They then send an email, which requires a response. Since they emailed everyone, whoever answers their email also hits "Reply to All". It just keeps going from there.
The worst is when two people reply to the same email at the same time. Now there are two different versions of the email flying around. Suddenly, you have lost control of your original email and you are now at the mercy of people who should never be allowed to own a "Reply to All" button.
There are several ways of dealing with this when you need the emails to stop. If there are several people in the CC'd list who are capable of replying to the most recent email sent, simply hit "Reply to All" and say, "I will take care of the situation" or "I'll get an answer and get back to the group." Hopefully, the ball will be left in your court.
Or if you're really gutsy, you can do what my director does which reply to everyone and say "Stop!" (This is not recommended to those who are new to a company.)
The other scenario is when someone replies to all to ask a question that only you are capable of answering. An example just happened today. After 15 emails went back and forth amongst 10 different people, I decided to stop the emails by saying, "I'll set-up a meeting for us to discuss this issue." Thinking that was the end of it, someone replied to all and said, "Please invite me to the meeting." I almost replied to him to find out why he felt the need to email everyone. Was he afraid that I wouldn't invite him? I don't know.
Anyway, I replied to him, and only him, saying I would invite him. No need to follow his example and email the group to let them know that I would invite him to the meeting. Now his "Reply to All" button is rendered useless and that was at least one less email for ten different people.
2. People "covering their ass"
At one job I was working, I had written about 1500 pages of documentation for an application we were going to develop. I did this in about two months, so there were bound to be typos even with people reviewing the documents.
Someone from the QA (Quality Assurance) department started reviewing the documents so he could familiarize himself with the future product. When he would finish reading over one, he would type an email containing every single mistake he found. The mistakes included functionality problems with the app, spelling errors, formatting issues, inconsistencies, etc. He would then send the list to the head of development, the project manager, the CIO, the head of QA, my boss, and me. Some of these people wouldn't even be seeing the document in question.
Although easily annoyed, I am toughed skinned. I took steps to make the appropriate corrections. I then sent him, and only him, an email saying everything was taken care of. "Why didn't I let everyone else know that the proper corrections were made?" you ask. Why should I follow his example? Just to vindicate myself to five different people who most likely wouldn't even read these documents in the first place? By replying to him alone, I saved five people at least one email and set an example of how to use the "Reply to All" button only when necessary.
Well, the emails from the QA guy didn't stop and he kept CCing everyone. After about five of these emails pointing out all the mistakes, I was beyond annoyed. At the time, I had never met the guy, so I went to his office to introduce myself. After the initial meeting, I asked why he emails everyone in the world about the mistakes in the document. After talking in circles for a few minutes, he eventually said, "I'm just trying to cover my ass."
From there, I made a deal with him to just send me the lists and I would take care of them. He would then keep his sent emails on file just in case I left any out.
I think he felt his ass was sufficiently covered.
3. CCing as an expression of power
I know this has happened to you. In hopes to make you do your job quicker, someone CCs your boss when sending you an email. To me, this says, "I know you're getting this email, but so is your boss. Do your job or he will have to straighten you out!"
So what can you do? This is a situation where your hands may be tied. If your boss knows what's going on, you might be able to get away with just replying to the person. If your boss doesn't know what's going on, he may feel he has to get involved. Either way, your best bet is to try and prevent emails like this before they are sent. People who CC other people's bosses typically reveal themselves in the early stages of a project. Determine who they are and do what you can to make sure they are "satisfied".
Another sample of the CC field being used for power is when an email discussion gets heated. I was emailing back and forth with a developer one day and I made a comment about him not paying attention close enough to his work. He then sent me a page long email detailing his "ten years of experience" and how I was the one who wasn't paying attention. I'm okay with comments like that. What I wasn't okay with was him CCing the head of development. Why did he need to suddenly be involved the discussion? Am I now supposed to tell him too that the guy needs to pay closer attention to his work?
Anyway, I picked up the phone and called the flustered developer to smooth things over. This stopped the ensuing argument and ended the email chain.
Confusing email = Wasted money
What people don't realize is that the average email takes about one minute of a person's time. If one confusing email is sent to twenty different people, twenty minutes have been wasted. If each of these people are getting paid $80/hr, that one email just wasted $15. If 19 emails are sent trying to clear up the confusion, 380 bucks has been wasted. It adds up.
The phone is really the best weapon used when dealing with the ultimate problem caused by misusing the CC field: confusion. Many people forget the phone exists as they try to make life easier through email.
Don't wait until 19 emails have been sent. End the email chain as soon as you can. Email one person instead of everyone in the world. Make a phone call. Put an end to the wasted time, confusion, and headaches that are coming your way.
Related link:
A Cry for Email Standards
Client Tip #3: Save ALL correspondence
E-mail abuses cost UK firms millions |
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