Why Being Responsive Matters

The Blogchatter Half-Marathon has ten commandments, of which the third is:

Thou Shalt Be Responsive

What is Responsiveness?

Have you wondered why some people stay on your mind and others don’t? I know that one of the reasons I really like someone in a work-situation is because they respond to me. Responsiveness matters.

You may have urgently needed some information and who do you ask this from? Someone who is responsive, who can reply to you. They may not always have the answers, but they make the effort to respond; to ask me what I want and tell me whether they can help me or not.

I appreciate that.

You may be hiring and when you get resumes if you do not respond quickly enough, well, you may not have a candidate anymore.

The reverse can also happen. If you want a job and don’t apply on time, you don’t have the job, now do you? Or if you don’t reply to a job offer, it’s gone! Poof! This is why responsiveness matters.

Who Are the Folks Who Should Be Responsive?

Anyone can gain by being responsive. You could be a CEO, and Engineer, a student, or designer or a freelancer.

As a freelancer its double important to be responsive. One of the skillsets you need to have is to respond quickly to a job offer, accessing your client’s needs, and remapping ideas that don’t suit. You need this in order to get clients, keep them and get them to come back for more. Yes, your expertise is not enough to keep your business growing. You need people skills and communication to make your business a success.

How Can You Be More Responsive?

Always respond to texts at appropriate times.

Answer mail and emails promptly. Do not sit on a mail, respond immediately. Even if you don’t have the information the friend/customer/client is looking for, they appreciate the response.

Answer your phone within reasonable hours. If not, remember to call back when you can. Nothing irritates me more than having to call someone back because they are too busy. My time is my money too.

My Time is My Money Too

If you need to give a report for school, college, work. Be punctual. Make sure it is ready when you have promised it. If it won’t be ready, then tell the persons involved that you can’t meet the deadline. Everyone appreciates honesty.

When a colleague asks me for a favor, I make sure to respond promptly whether I can or not. It helps them to know that they can rely on me, that I can be trusted. Vice versa, I remember the folks who respond to me, and remember them when something good happens – like an opportunity.

When someone is responsive you feel trusted, important, and that they are organized.

Conclusion:

Responsiveness is associated with reliability. This is one of the reasons why responsiveness matters. I respond to calls, texts, emails, and verbal requests in reasonable time and show that I respect the recipient. I respond to texts almost immediately; I answer an email within a few hours and call back anyone who has called me as soon as I can. I show people that they matter and I am never too busy for them. It has helped me get new clients. I remember the freelancers who respond and I pass on opportunities I can’t handle to them!

We live in an inter-connected world, there’s no excuses for not being responsive.

This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon.