Report on who has opened an email.

[rpain]

Hi,

 

We'd like to know whether an email from the Head has been opened. We have run this command:

 

Set-OrganizationConfig -ReadTrackingEnabled $true

 

...but are only cloud based. I'm starting to think that this is only relevant in a hybrid situation. I was following the guide here but realise it's 4 years old:

 

 

https://practical365.com/exchange-server/tracking-read-email-messages-exchange-server/#:~:text=You%20can%20check%20whether%20read,with%20the%20Get%2DOrganizationConfig%20cmdlet.&text=If%20read%20tracking%20isn%27t,future%2C%20turn%20it%20on%20now.

 

 

Is it possible to find this information on an email if we don't have Exchange in either a local or hybrid set up?

 

Thanks,

Richard

[DrBeaker]

Out of interest whats the reason behind this, do you mind me asking?

 

Reading an email isn't the same as absorbing and comprehending the information within the email though?

 

Sometimes I have to go back and read the emails a couple of times to comprehend it.

[rpain]

The Head gets the impression that people don’t read his emails and his latest one was important. I suggested using read receipt requests but he thought it a waste of time. I did explain that some people (me included) read then mark some emails as unread again as a prompt for following up. I told him it was going to be really fiddly and he said it could wait for another day. With my number of support tickets at the moment it’s not going to be soon.

 

I think he only wants to be able to say something along the lines of ‘I can see a third of people haven’t read the email yet’.

[DrBeaker]

The Head gets the impression that people don’t read his emails and his latest one was important.

 

Funny I get the exact opposite! How freaky!

 

But it could be that does suggest more serious morale-type problems within the org though, if he thinks people aren't reading his emails surely?

 

I did explain that some people (me included) read then mark some emails as unread again as a prompt for following up.

 

Funny as I do exactly that. I can easily be sent 100-300x emails a day. No idea how I'm supposed to read them all and take them in.

 

 

Could they not do a summary in the staff meeting etc?

[jmak]

I was taught that I should deal with an email as soon as I open it, i.e. don't open it until you have time to deal with it and if you don't need to do anything, either delete it or file it appropriately.

 

Obviously this lesson was given by someone who only had to teach other people about time management and didn't have to do any actual work...

 

On a more serious note, why not set a flag, possibly with a complete by time? It doesn't take any longer than marking something as unread and it's clear to you which ones are actually new.

 

I'd be interested to see what can be done from exchange side; I always set my email clients to deny requests to send a read receipt.

 

If people aren't reading emails from the Head, they're sending too much dross. Even with piles of emails, if one comes from the head of the organisation, I'd always expect to read it pretty quickly - although I might let someone else deliver that message...

[chaplic]

Tracking access of individual emails being read is an E5 license. And an utterly daft idea, too, but I suspect we all know this.

 

If he really, really wants to do this, buy a third party corporate comms tool that'll come with pixel-tracking of who reads the email.