E-mail preferred to in-person meetings - Business & Finance - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Dec, 2003

In today's fast-paced corporate world, who has time to convene in person when you can hit "send"? A clear majority of executives polled by Accountemps, a Menlo Park, Calif., temporary staffing service of accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals, found 92% of respondents say managers often send an e-mail message rather than meet one-on-one.

"For busy managers, e-mail is the next best thing to meeting in person," observes Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies. While this form of communication is efficient, however, Messmer cautions against using it exclusively "Face-to-face meetings reduce the potential for miscommunication, allowing individuals to share ideas and feedback with the benefit of vocal inflections, facial expressions, and body language."

Messmer advises managers to choose the medium best suited for the message. "If the topic will involve debate or requires reaching a group consensus, arrange a meeting or conference call to address the matter. For one-way communication or inquiries requiring little discussion, e-mail may be the most effective and timely vehicle."