What To Do When You Email or Text Your Boss, and They Fail to Respond
It can be pretty confusing when you contact your boss and they fail to respond, and often you are left wondering what to do next. Do you text them again? What do you say in the next email? How do you not come across as rude or nagging when trying to reach out to your boss?
When you contact your boss for the first time either via text or an email, and they do not respond, it is always good to send a follow-up message because maybe they did not see the initial communication from you, or they simply forgot to respond to you due to other work. However, when you send a follow up and they still do not respond, do not, and I repeat, do not send them another email or text. This is because seeing too many emails from the same person in a short span of time can be seen as annoying and rude, and may unfortunately not lead to the desired results.
The best thing to do in this case is to chill, while at the same time trying to find out from the boss’s secretary or fellow employees if there could be something that is holding up your boss. This may help you to understand why they are not responding to you at the moment. In addition, if your case can be taken by someone else in the office other than your boss, this is the time to reach out to them, and ensure that in your communication you point out that you had already tried to reach out to the boss but until now you are yet to get a response from them. If your case is not as urgent or can wait until you meet with the boss, just hold your horses until then. And even then do tell them of how you had tried to contact them about the issue at hand, and if possible you can share with them how far you have reached in solving the problem while awaiting their input.
Furthermore, after not receiving any feedback, it is always good to check what it is that you wrote in your email or text. Is it supposed to be common knowledge? Did you use the right address? Can the information you are looking for already been found somewhere else? Have you done your research regarding the issue you are writing to them about? If yes, have you demonstrated that in your email or text?
Often, bosses get exhausted replying to the same thing to several people especially if it is something that had already been discussed earlier with everyone. They also hate half-baked questions that is if whatever you wanted from them was their thoughts or opinion. Moreover, they do not react well to queries that can be taken care of by someone else in the company or organization.
Finally, is your boss on a vacation or going through a rough period such as personal loss of a loved one? Also ask yourself if your boss has given you the go-ahead to reach out to him through informal channels such as texts? I am saying this because sometimes we find ourselves disturbing them unnecessarily while they are on their leave, and furthermore some do not appreciate communication outside the provided official platforms. If your boss always uses emails to communicate with you, kindly do not text him even if you have their phone number. You will not only come across as unprofessional and disrespectful of their boundaries, which would do you more harm than good.
Pro tip: If you call your boss and they do not pick up on the first ring, unless it is an emergency, do not be tempted to leave them more than one or two missed calls. Instead, send them a short text briefly describing why you were calling and either ask them to call you back, or to notify you when they would be available to talk to you.
I hope you find this article helpful, and practical enough when you find yourself in a similar situation.
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