Firm bans e-mail to boost production

The reasoning behind the total e-mail ban at Newcastle-under-Lyme, U.K.-based Phones 4U is to improve productivity by reducing the time employees spend on e-mail--which Caudwell estimates will save the company £1 million ($1.6 million) a month.

The ban will apply to Phones 4U's 2,500+ staff, who Caudwell believes will find themselves with an extra three hours a day on their hands. He said he introduced no e-mail policy after seeing staff becoming chained to their computers, rather than talking to colleagues or customers in person.

Caudwell said in a statement: "I saw that e-mail was insidiously invading Phones 4U so I banned it immediately. Management and staff at HQ and in the stores were beginning to show signs of being constrained by e-mail proliferation... Phones 4U staff have been told to get off the keyboards, get face-to-face or on to the phone to colleagues. The quality and efficiency of communication have been increased tremendously in one fell swoop; things are getting done, people aren't tied to their PCs."