STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2000--

Heavy Communicators Manage an Average of 363 Messages Daily; Often Serve as Technology Mentors in the Workplace

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today released additional findings from its fourth annual study on workplace messaging practices -- "Messaging for Innovation: Building the Innovation Infrastructure Through Messaging Practices." The research reveals unique characteristics of high-volume messagers across all job categories and shows that these individuals are taking on a new and increasingly valuable role in an organization's knowledge economy.

Participating in more projects and engaging in more than twice the number of distinct work groups or teams, high-volume messagers continuously help others maximize their messaging tools, building important relationships with co-workers and enhancing their own social capital in the workplace.

"High-volume messagers are the most-connected individuals in the workplace, managing approximately 20 projects a week across 10 work teams," said Meredith Fischer, co-author of the study and vice president, Pitney Bowes Inc. "In an economy in which knowledge is currency, these information gatekeepers are a true commodity."

• High-volume messagers are workers in the top 20 percent of message volume. They teach communications technologies and maintain the social networks -- both their own and those of the knowledge workers with whom they partner -- that are critical to the development of the messaging infrastructure that underpins innovation. As the technology knowledge keepers, high-volume messagers also are most likely to teach co-workers and colleagues important technology features, underscoring the importance of "peer-to-peer" learning in the workplace.

• High-volume messagers are the employees who in their project management or administrative support roles are most likely to screen and segment communications for the team or manage calendars and schedules for others and keep others informed of important issues and situations.

• As teachers of technology, high-volume messagers contribute to maintaining the social network in the workplace.

"This study shows how high-volume communicators mold a company's messaging practice and infrastructure by using tools to plan tasks and enhance thinking for themselves and others," said Fischer. "High-volume messagers stimulate innovation by promoting messaging activities within their organizations, while helping others to adopt and learn the messaging tools that best suit their individual and work team needs. Companies should recognize that high-volume messagers possess the significant social capital that in turn helps to drive the shared thinking that is the basis of innovation."

Work Habits and Communications Strategies of High-Volume Messagers

The top 20 percent of workers surveyed manage an average of 363 messages (44 percent more) per day, as compared to 204 messages for the average worker, with high incoming volume in e-mail, postal mail, fax, pager and USPS Express Mail. Receiving approximately 40 more messages per day than they send out, 94 percent of high-volume messagers filter and prioritize their messages in order to manage their high-volume of communications and workflow. As a direct result of the large message volume, high-volume messagers both regularly help others and seek out the help of others to learn technology features and manage their message flow, enhancing social capital in the workplace. In contrast, low volume messagers are less likely to promote the idea of shared thinking and are less likely to add to an innovative work environment.

90 percent of high-volume messagers are technology mentors while only two-thirds of low volume messagers show others how to use office technology.

• Approximately 75 percent of low-volume messagers never seek out others to help manage their communications, compared to approximately 50 percent of high-volume messagers who continually seek others out for help.

About the Study

"Messaging for Innovation: Building the Innovation Infrastructure Through Messaging Practices" builds on four years of trend data compiled and examined by Pitney Bowes. This is the first and only study of its kind to examine the complete desktop messaging environment of knowledge workers -- how they use messaging tools to impact their productivity and organizational value. The fourth in a series of studies on Managing Communication in the 21st Century Workplace, the 2000 study was commissioned in partnership with The Institute for the Future -- an independent, nonprofit research firm -- and drew on ethnographic interviews or observational interviews, as well as extensive telephone surveys. The research was conducted between January and March 2000 and consisted of interviews with workers at all organizational levels in small, medium, large and Fortune 1000 companies in Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and United States.

For more than 30 years, the Institute for the Future, based in Silicon Valley, California, has forecasted critical technological, demographic and business trends to help clients plan successfully for their future, including government groups, nonprofit organizations and major corporations throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4.4 billion global provider of informed mail and messaging management. It serves 118 countries through dealer and direct operations. For more information about the company, visit www.pitneybowes.com.

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