I posted two polls on LinkedIn recently and asked what a reasonable response time should be when an employee reaches out with a question, idea or viewpoint. The general consensus is within 24 hours. (Even if it’s just to say “I got this email. Let me get back to you by end of this week.”) The reality is that a lot of leaders take several days to respond or don’t respond at all. I certainly experienced this non-responsiveness during my tenure in the corporate world.

Usually, companies have a policy (even if it’s an unwritten policy) that sets a communication expectation for external clients to be the “sunset rule” – respond that day by end of business day. If you can’t provide an answer at that time, provide a clear expectation of when you will be responding again (“I’ll let you know an update by end of day tomorrow.”). Under-promise and over-deliver. This is proper customer service. Why would we treat our employees (internal clients) differently than we treat our external clients/customers? We should be serving them just as equally, if not better. When we treat our employees well, they treat our customers well. A reminder to be responsive.