Why effective email management is crucial in AEC projects

Emails play an important role as the dominant correspondence method in AEC projects. Failure to organise emails means communication is fragmented, making it difficult for team members to locate crucial project-related information and keep track with project progress. Therefore, it is vital for every AEC firm to have effective email management practices for seamless communication, speedy retrieval of project data, and improved productivity.

Unorganised emails create siloed communications

Email is valuable project information. Whether it’s issued drawings, scope changes or legal disputes, the overall context of a project is captured within email correspondences between stakeholders. However, the multitude of emails exchanged across numerous individuals involved in a project means information siloes will organically grow overtime. It is not uncommon for AEC professionals to spend hours labelling, filtering, and responding to emails everyday.

A siloed inbox not only hinders productivity but also obstructs communication. Among thousands of project related emails, it is very easy to lose track of crucial information, such as important decisions, meeting notices, or changes to files. In the era of hybrid working where project teams are dispersed, maintaining seamless communication critical to delivering quality projects. This further emphasises the importance of effective email management.

Delayed information retrieval can impact project performance

Information visibility is vital for any AEC project, whether it is ongoing or has completed and been archived for years. To stay on track with project timelines, team members need quick and easy access to any project-related information stored within emails whenever required. In addition, project teams must also be able to quickly retrieve emails from past projects for future disputes or development. Information access and visibility is even more important for AEC firms who juggle between multiple projects at once and need to fulfil clients’ requirements as soon as possible.

“Some of our customers reported that whenever they have a new member joining a project, they would have to relay pre-existing information that they do not always keep on top of their minds. It is stressful and laborious to spend hours, or even days, searching for a specific project-related email in trails of communication, which puts everything on hold.” ­– Allan Chaplin, Associate Director of Atvero, explained how delay in email discovery can impact productivity.

Effective email management can add immediate project value

Although AEC professionals often make the best effort to keep their emails well-sorted, when busy hours or tight deadlines approach, this organisation process is usually neglected. To keep users’ inboxes organised without taking away their valuable time, Atvero allows bulk selection of received project-related emails for filling into designated projects. Email filing can also activate as emails are sent, promoting team members to file emails as they go. Consistently learning users’ filing behaviour, Atvero will prompt and predict where emails will be filed when they are sent or received, making it more labour-saving and time-efficient to manage emails.

It is also highly convenient to access crucial information in emails and attachments with Atvero. Atvero files emails into Outlook Groups, allowing them to be accessed through the normal Outlook client. This allows project teams to rapidly search and filter project-related emails based on senders, recipients, subjects, email contents, or attachment contents.

Alternatively, project team members can also use Outlook folder trees that mirror projects to easily organise project emails by dragging and dropping into folders.

James Roach, Director of Roach Matthews, stated how Atvero has helped his business manage project-related emails effectively: “Email filing is one of the functionalities that we found most useful in Atvero. Having folders, groups, and contacts controlled in emails means we can add new people into existing projects and they would easily see all associated information, making it simple to manage their inboxes accordingly.”

Conclusion

By maintaining effective email organisation, project teams can improve communication between members, increase productivity to keep up with project progress, and deliver work with better quality. With Atvero’s email management capabilities, we look to help AEC professionals reduce time spent on laborious administrative work, so that they can focus more on billable tasks.