Clear and consistent response times help us maintain professionalism, manage client relationships, and keep projects moving smoothly. At Forge Marketing, we set expectations for how quickly team members should respond across different communication channels.

1. Internal Communication

• Slack/Teams Messages
  • Acknowledge within 2 hours during working hours.
  • If a quick answer isn’t possible, reply with a placeholder (e.g., “Got it, I’ll update by EOD”).
• Emails (Internal)
  • Respond within 1 business day.
  • Use subject lines to clearly indicate urgency (e.g., “URGENT — Client XYZ Campaign Brief”).

2. Client Communication

• Emails (Client-Facing)
  • Acknowledge within 4 business hours.
  • Provide a full response or estimated timeline for completion.
• Client Calls / Meetings
  • Follow up with notes and action items within 24 hours.
  • Confirm next steps to avoid ambiguity.

3. IT & HR Support

• IT Support Tickets
  • Initial acknowledgment within 4 hours.
  • Resolution time depends on issue severity (documented in IT SLAs).
• HR Queries
  • Response within 2 business days for general inquiries.
  • Urgent issues (e.g., payroll errors) addressed immediately.

4. Project Management Tool Updates

• Task Comments / Mentions
  • Acknowledge within 1 business day.
  • Update status promptly when progress changes.

Best Practices

• If you’re unavailable (holiday, sick leave, travel), set an Out of Office reply and notify your manager.
• Always manage client expectations realistically — don’t overpromise.
• Use clear indicators of urgency:
  • “ASAP” — same day
  • “By EOD” — before the end of business today
  • “This week” — within 5 business days