There is a growing trend in business to use messaging platforms like Microsoft Teams and Slack more and more to not only reduce the amount of mail in our inbox, but also get more immediate responses from people, and while I’m a enthusiastic advocate of M365 including Teams, I’m not convinced this shift is a good one.
Using email first is a solution that allows the user to have control over time and notifications as opposed to any kind of messaging platform where read notifications are automatic and near instant replies are expected. People can see the emails when they come in and be able to prioritize and respond as appropriate instead of letting the squeaky wheel get the grease as it were. Additionally, replies to email can be more thought out as the reply is drafted as opposed to shooting off an IM the instant a message comes in.
Messaging has it’s place. It certainly is an important tool for collaboration and communication. But some messaging platforms would have you abandon the inbox entirely and only work from their platform for file sharing, communication, and everything else. It’s important to be able to have control the flow of our work, to be able to prioritize appropriately and manage the flow of our work as opposed to being reactionary and having to respond immediately to every message that comes in as soon as it arrives.