E-mail Response Time

When you send someone an e-mail, what do you consider a reasonable period of time to wait for a response? What do you consider a realistic time to wait for the e-mail to be acknowledged?

In today's digital and electronic world, many people have become overly dependent on communicating via e-mail, even in some cases, to the near exclusion of other forms of communication. This e-mail dependency is to some degree understood, because it is easier to state an opinion when there is no one else there to respond immediately. However, if the matter is significant, and if it is not, why bother with the e-mail in the first place, the longer someone takes to respond, the less amenable the original party is to "friendly" discourse.

When I have trained leaders in my Leadership Training programs, executives during Management Training, and sales representatives during Marketing and Sales Training programs, I emphasize the need to respond immediate. In fact, some of the most successful organizations mandate that their "people" carry Blackberry devices, or other Personal Data devices (PDAs), in order to almost immediately receive e-mail communication, and therefore to respond immediately.

In real estate, statistics show that realtors who do not carry personal data devices take an average of 24 to 48 hours to respond to a request, while those using the PDAs properly, should respond within about twenty minutes. Think about it- if you were "shopping" for a real estate agent, who would you feel more comfortable working with, and more responsive to your needs, the agent who almost immediately responded or the one than took a couple of days?

As someone who has been working in consulting in multiple industries for the past three decades, the period since these devices have been available have significantly impacted how I deal with my own clients. When I receive an e-mail (and I have e-mail from ten different e-mails forwarded to my Blackberry), I respond immediately. If I have the information at my fingertips at that moment, I fully answer the question, inquiry or request immediately. If I need to get additional information, or if the necessary information is in a different location that where I am, at the time, I still respond, letting the requester know that I will get them a detailed answer, and give them a time to expect that information. If I cannot get it to them by that time, I let them know right away, either by e-mail, or by picking up the telephone.

Since some e-mail is overlooked, some is simply not responded to, some is forgotten about, and some ends up in the "junk" or "spam" folder, it is both polite and proper business technique to respond to all incoming e-mail on a priority basis. Remember that everyone always thinks that what they are working on is the top priority!