What is your 'email response timeframe' policy

Hi All,

I guess an open question as I am not too sure on what the bookends to this are out there. Recently, at the LPMA NZ18 conference, Sarah Martin from Melbourne Property Managers mentioned her team have a 4 hour response KPI if the email was received by 3pm, or before 10am the next day if it was received after this.

We have always had a 24 hour rule, but I would love to know what everyone out there is doing, or thinks is the right approach. @terrihandy love to know what you recommend to business’s?

Cheers,

AG

Hi Ash

I love the 4 hour rule that Sarah has in place and I encourage businesses to implement this as a minimum standard wherever possible.

We live in a world where we expect to be able to have our questions answered pretty much immediately so I feel the 24 hour time frame may not necessarily sit well with many of our clients these days. I know I can be pretty impatient myself when waiting for a response.

Sometimes, a simple acknowledgement of the email is often all that is required, with a time frame around when the issue will be resolved or question answered. Or, perhaps suggesting a time to speak over the phone if it is a complicated matter will help speed up the process - stop the back and forth.

If a team is really under pressure and receiving a huge amount of emails, 4 hours might be a little tough to start off with, but it is a great goal to work towards.

Blocking out time in your calendar to respond to emails at set times during the day can really help with keeping the turnaround time down and my biggest tip - turn off the notifications so you don’t get distracted while completing other tasks.

How does everyone else handle their email turnaround?

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Thanks Terri.

I get it, and defiantly a great rule to work towards. I have seen a lot of offices have an auto reply that talks about them needing to be out and about as PM’s, to call if it is urgent otherwise they will respond in 24 hours. In a sense, training the clients to phone them, or to wait. It elevates the need for them being in the office as a slave to the emails… What are your thoughts on this?

I guess its a question, do we edecuate the market on what we can reasonably deliver, or do we work a system to meet the clients expencations ?

Its our very own Rob Parsons scenario! :slight_smile:

Hi Ash

Personally, I am not a fan of auto-reply messages being used on a regular basis, particularly with a message such as the one you have described. It is almost jarring to receive one and they are usually very impersonal.

I would rather see client expectations discussed at the beginning of the relationship and then we work to meet them (within reason).

A simple survey or Client Needs Analysis can help determine what is important to a new owner and what their preferences are. You can do this with current clients as well.

When on-boarding a new tenant, this is another opportunity to discuss expectations around time frames, etc.

As to being a slave to emails - the more proactive we become, the less we find ourselves trapped in our inbox.

Can you tell I have very strong ideas about this subject? :thinking:

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Haha! Indeed, but I love that.

Yes, the Client Needs Analysis is the missing link here I think… That idea of building a tailored service to your clients is something PM companies talk about, but rarely do.

Any chance you have an example you can share? Could you post it into the LPMA Members section? I would love to carry this conversation on as I think that with with my own business even, we need to be adapting this thinking across the business more.

Thank you for your honest feedback!

AG

Here you go :slight_smile:

Love a good guarantee @sarah. Keeps the team accountable :grinning:

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