My boss doesn't like emails

My line manager has set me a target to not send emails saying they prefer a face-to-face conversation. I don't have a problem talking to them but is it wrong for me to send emails? Is there not supposed to be a record of what's been said? Am I in the wrong?

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by RLSIO23

Many people prefer face-to-face conversations, and they can certainly be more productive that a protracted e-mail exchange. However, I agree that it is extremely useful to have a written record too. That's particularly important for conclusions / actions.

So have your face-to-face meetings, but then send a very brief (one or two sentences if possible) e-mail afterwards along the lines of, "Just to confirm what we just agreed - task B is now higher priority that task A, and we're aiming for completion on Tuesday". You're not expecting a reply - you're just putting on record the outcome of the conversation.

Reply 2

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

Yes, there is always an element of covering your own back if you are asked to do something a bit iffy, or you think might be raised in the future, ("why did you do XYZ?"). So I agree, just brief one liners as an audit trail in some cases.