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ILTA White Paper E-Mail Life Cycle 14 Taming the Unruly Inbox: Practical E-Mail Management Solutions andreW J. sanagustin fOster pepper pllc I n order to be an industry leader, to be compliant and "safe," it is crucial to harness the vast amount of e-mail that circulates in and out of your organization. The need to tame unruly e-mail inboxes by electronic means has driven the evolution of the records management field. There is no doubt that e-mail is a critical component of an organization's records. Where do we begin in establishing and applying sound practices to the challenge of taming the e-mail beast? Obtaining management and end user buy-in and compliance are the keys to success when introducing new technology or new processes to an organization. PEOPLE fIRsT/PROCEss sECOnd Truly effective business solutions are those that best fit your culture. The initial step is to decide if something new is genuinely warranted. Perhaps your existing e-mail system works best for your firm, and you only need to implement subtle changes for it to be more effective. Or, you could find that you need to invest in more comprehensive e-mail management tools. Analyze your firm's culture, its mindset and its people before you analyze the process. Get people on board by making them stakeholders. Get their feedback, and let them be a part of the decision-making process. Talk with departments, practice-group leaders and anyone with influence. Ask these leaders to support your new e-mail management plan and to help elicit a positive response from others. Recruit your records manager to help better illustrate the need for more in-depth e-mail management. Discuss the need for retention, preservation, classification, organization and compliance with generally accepted records management principles and practices. You'll gain greater participation when everyone can see what's in it for each of them.