Understanding that many industries across the globe are facing a major labour shortage, I
decided to conduct my first poll on LinkedIn, as it pertains to professional email etiquette;
specifically, when a response is expected. I asked the following question:
“Have your expectations changed because of the pandemic, and global labour shortage?”
Here are the results of the survey, based on 56 responses:
When sending or receiving an email to/from a customer, with a call to action, what is your
expected timeline for a first response?
- Within 1 business day? 66%
- Within 2 business days? 29%
- Over 2 business days? 5%
A couple of comments I received based on the results stated,
“If you get your email to me before 2pm I expect to respond same day. If it’s after that probably
still same day but no later than mid morning the following day.”
“I like to look at it (a day) as within 24 hours. More complex responses can take closer to the
longer end of that time frame. Researched responses may occasionally be outside of it.”
Both of those comments show that many individuals still have a high level of accountability,
when it comes to responding to emails. My personal expectation of myself is to respond to all
correspondence, whether it is an email or phone call is a maximum of 24 hours, but I try to
respond to all clients the same day, even if I do not have the answers they are looking for. I
send an acknowledgment email stating that I have read the request and will try and respond
with the answers they are looking for as soon as I have them.
Source: LinkedIn
