Our inboxes are full of emails that we should have responded to days or even weeks ago. But in everyday professional life, it is now common for an event to intervene, whether it is a task to be accomplished urgently or a meeting called at the last minute. In such a case, an email that you have just received can quickly go by the wayside.
You can also deliberately delay your response, because you know full well that the recipient will not like it. After a while, it becomes inconvenient to send a response. One might then ask, would it not be better to simply pretend that the email never arrived or that it was placed in the spam filter? The answer is clear: in no case. Apologizing sincerely and kindly for your late response will generally generate understanding, which is essential to establishing a climate of trust with your colleagues, customers and business partners.
Communication is an asset
Whatever your reasons for not responding to an email, the best solution is always to face this unpleasant situation and send a late response rather than ignoring the sender. In professional communication in particular, it is good practice to respond to requests as well as simple messages, even when you cannot be of any help or when no reaction is necessary. By sending a cordial response, you express your respect for your interlocutor and you show the importance you attach to good collaboration. You thus increase the consideration of your colleagues or customers for you, which may prove useful later when you need help.
Advice
If you regularly forget to respond to emails, you can avoid these omissions by using the organization and reminder features of your email program.
For example, you can use color coding to sort your emails requiring a response based on subject and urgency. You can set up an alert for particularly important messages. Naturally, you can also deactivate it with one click, but this reminder functionality will allow you to never forget any emails after a certain period of time.
But let’s return to our initial situation. You discover that your inbox contains emails that you have not responded to and you want to formulate a response that will be favorably received by the recipient. Depending on the subject of the email, there are different ways to show that you value your interlocutor and that the delay is not a personal affront. If you are unsure of the best way to phrase your answer, you can take inspiration from following examples.
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Situation A: cordial news requests
This type of email often comes from long-time business partners and colleagues in other departments. For example, they may have heard that your team has won a prestigious project and want to congratulate you and get more information. Like these emails do not require a response or at least no immediate responsethey are most often forgotten. However, these emails are essential for establishing good working relationships. They indicate that you do not contact your interlocutor only when you need something, but also that you enjoy communicating in general. This is precisely what your email should express:
“ Dear XYZ,
Please excuse my late response. After winning the call for tenders, we had to get down to business directly with the implementation of the project in order to meet fairly strict deadlines. These last few weeks, unfortunately, I haven’t had time to take care of anything else. However, I was delighted to receive your congratulations.
I read online today that you are now going to take over the entire North American business. I also congratulate you on this new stage in your career. Do you already know how this change will be implemented from a structural point of view? Despite everything, I hope that you will remain our contact and will be able to chat with you very soon over lunch.
Best regards »
Situation B: request for help
When someone asks for your help and you cannot do so due to lack of time or too much work, you must, after apologizing for your late response, show that you are willing to help. To do this, clearly indicate to the sender, ideally through constructive proposals, that you have thought about their request and that you are ready to help them:
“ Dear XYZ,
I apologize for this late response. I am truly sorry that I was not able to respond sooner to your request regarding contacts suitable for your project idea. With two of my colleagues absent, I had to take care of running the office alone in recent weeks and I was overloaded.
Fortunately, my colleagues are back and I have time to devote to other tasks again. I have attached a list including the email addresses of possible contacts. If you wish, I can notify the people concerned of your contact. If there is any other way I can help you, please let me know.
With my sincere greetings »
Situation C: difficult response/refusal
Even if you are the most helpful person in the world, sooner or later you will be faced with professional situations in which you will not be able to help even if you want to. Communicating difficult decisions is a challenge that we often put off, but put yourself in the person’s shoes: even if their hopes are dashed, a refusal is better than no response at all. In this case, try to communicate as transparently as possible and propose alternative solutions.
“ Dear XYZ,
First of all, I would like to apologize for this late response. We were happy to learn that you were interested in collaborating with us on your dissertation. Your problem seems very interesting and your academic results lead us to believe that you could be suitable for our company.
Unfortunately, the department in question is already supervising two students in their dissertations and therefore does not have sufficient capacity to reasonably assist you in your work. If you are willing to modify the issue somewhat and focus on the social aspects rather than the economic aspects, we could welcome you to the XYZ department.
Let me know if this might interest you.
Best regards »
Situation D: general model
For emails that do not fit into any of the previous categories, you can use the following general template and adapt it to the situation:
“ Dear XYZ,
As I looked through my inbox today, I noticed that I haven’t gotten back to you. I’m really sorry about this. I wanted to discuss your request with my colleagues, but professional emergencies got in the way.
Attached, you will first find my personal evaluation. I will immediately seek the opinions of my colleagues and will send you further details in the coming days.
Please excuse my late response again. I sincerely hope that this delay has not caused you any inconvenience.
With my sincere greetings »
In summary: things to do or avoid in case of a late response
As you can see from the examples, the most important thing is to formulate a clear and convincing apology for your late response. Try to explain the situation by stating the facts, limiting yourself to your own situation. Blaming someone else gives the impression of a lack of professionalism and loyaltyeven if what you say is true. Consider that the tone of your email will have a decisive influence on the credibility of your apology.
Below is a summary of how to best respond when you respond to an email with a noticeable delay.
| TO DO | TO AVOID |
|---|---|
| Communicate cordially and openly | React to requests with impatience and irritation |
| Apologize in the first sentence | Not mentioning the delay |
| Indicate the professional reasons for the delay | Blaming colleagues or superiors |
| Call for understanding, explain the situation in a neutral way | Justify yourself by giving private details |
| Show that you are willing to help | Continue to ignore the sender’s request without providing any assistance |
| Propose solutions (alternatives) |
Please read the legal notices in force on this article.
