I agree with some of the other comments already expressed. In particular, trying to force people doesn't work.

You need to show them that using the new "system" will same them time and effort.

One thing often missed out is that you need to train people to use it, particularly new people joing the company.

As to finding a suitable "system", I have never found a suitable one that works for manual filing. Sometimes I want to search for emails by one or some of :

• Who sent it
• Who it was sent to
• Title
• Date
• Text in the message
• Project

A simple hierarchical system (e.g. Outlook) can't manage a simple search for all of these. You really need a natural language package that will take a copy of the email, categorise it and stick it into a Database with a suitable search tool on the front.

There are of course companies that will sell you a very expensive package to do this for you...
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Brovnik