OK, we admit this may not be the catchiest
of titles for an article, but how many times have we all thought or
heard, "Help! I am only one
person!"?
Picture
this: you oversee a bustling community.
Your responsibilities include managing
a moderation staff, ensuring that all content associated with
your community is cutting-edge and engaging, generating new and
improved ideas for your community (or the site as a whole),
hiring and training new moderators, scheduling chat shifts and
responding to member feedback, to name but a few. On top
of it all, each and every day you are greeted with massive amounts
of e-mail...someone wants something, a moderator has a problem,
a member does not like a post in a particular forum, or one member
had a falling out with another. Issues, requests, problems; there
just isn't enough of you to go
around. Your head is buzzing, your "To Do"s are
multiplying and you feel like you are juggling too many tasks.
Plates to keep spinning. Fires to
fight.
It makes you want to pull your hair
out, doesn't it? And
yet it is so easy to fall into the trap of "if it's
in my inbox, I have to respond ASAP." The truth of the
matter is you don't have to respond the minute that piece of e-mail
hits. In fact, if you do then you may
simply create more work for yourself.
We believe
in being responsive, but the simple truth is, if you respond right
away, people get into the habit of expecting you to
always respond right away. The minute you falter, and respond
in 20 minutes rather than 10 someone thinks something is wrong. Why add the
extra stress to yourself?
A good rule
of thumb is to try and respond within 24 hours from the time the
e-mail was received. If it is an e-mail that is going to require
research or a great deal of preparation, it is OK to send the person
a quick response letting them know that you appreciate them sending
an e-mail and will reply very soon. (IMPORTANT TIP: Never offer a
timeline that is unrealistic and NEVER express to them that you are
too busy to deal with their issues or the questions. Not only will
this drive a wedge between yourself
and the sender, but
it will serve to potentially damage the community you have
worked so hard to build.)
For
example...
"Thank you
so much for your e-mail. I really appreciate you sending it to me. I
am currently researching your query and will be happy to provide you
with a more detailed response shortly.
In the meantime, should you have any
further questions, please do not hesitate to let me
know."
In other instances you may already consider
that the e-mail you have received does not allow you to fully
provide an answer. You need more details or further information in
order to be able to respond. Use this to buy yourself some time if
needed:
"Thank you so much for contacting me. In
order to fully understand and be able to respond as comprehensively
as I would like, I would really appreciate it if you could provide
some more
information..."
In all cases, if you send a quick response
to indicate that you have received the e-mail, do follow-up. If you
do make assurances that you will do something, be sure to see that
through. Above all, keep communicating, even if your communication
is simply a "Just to let you know, I hadn't forgotten about.."
style of e-mail.
As long as
you keep people in the loop, letting them know that you have not
disregarded their mail, they are perfectly fine waiting for a
response. So...cut yourself some slack, and do not
let that itchy e-mail finger get the best of you. If it's not going
to kill someone, it can wait a few hours. Finally, prioritise and don't be afraid to
take your time, within reason. Ultimately, it's in the best
interests of everyone that you do.
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