Inbox Etiquette 101: Here’s The Proper Response Time For Work Correspondences   – Essence

While aimlessly scrolling on TikTok, I ran across a video of once struggling reality star-turned-self made multimillionaire Bethany Frankel speaking about encounter she had with a successful businessman. Frankel mentioned messaging him, and that he got back right to her right away, which prompted her to point out that most accomplished people she knew had short response times.

Her observation was on point.

The booked and busy tend to get back to people more quickly which may sound counterintuitive, but hear me out. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google told VentureBeat

“Respond quickly: There are people who can be relied upon to respond promptly to emails, and those who can’t. Strive to be one of the former. Most of the best — and busiest — people we know act quickly on their emails, not just to us or to a select few senders, but to everyone.”

With that, exactly how fast is fast enough when replying to work messages?

The best response time

Per Inc, one business day is reasonable enough for a work email response, but there is a caveat. Per a survey conducted by one of the outlet’s contributors, one should consider the sender and context.

“First question should be, does the email require a response at all?” said one participant. “And do I want to respond? If not, the answer is never. Second question is, is there an implicit deadline? Then try to meet it.”

Other experts found that responses should come a bit quicker, particularly if you’re in the customer or client-facing industry.

“Generally, a response time of 2-4 hours is appropriate for high priority,” says Zachary Caputo, a LinkedIn user who’s listed as a Sr. Technical Program Manager. “Generally, a response time of 4-8 hours is appropriate for medium priority. – For anything else, you should aim to respond to your emails and communications within 1-2 business days.”

With that, consider that even short messages matter when aiming to improve your response times.

“Being responsive sets up a positive communications feedback loop whereby your team and colleagues will be more likely to include you in important discussions and decisions, and being responsive to everyone reinforces the flat, meritocratic culture you are trying to establish,” Schmidt tells VentureBeat.

For instance, sending a quick note confirming receipt and later review can be better than silence. Or, if the email requires some time to process a more thoughtful response, sending your colleague or client a quick text or Slack message stating I got your email—will respond to it a bit later, can go a long way.