Six ways to control mail

Training: Invest time in showing users features to prioritise messages through folders, plus signatures and other tools.

Policy: Have a clearly documented and distributed policy on email usage and retention. This should be regularly restated and must be enforced.

Services: Investigate the use of third-party service providers that specialise in email management and security to help take the burden off IT administrators.

Protect: Ensure your company is up to date on regulatory compliance and legal issues that affect email management.

Tools: Use email management software to understand how your system is working and investigate content management systems for broader control.

Gain buy-in: Senior managers can help to prevent a culture of email addiction, and promote efficient working practices that are more productive.