Measuring executive inbox response latency with delegated triage

Three different waits

An inbox has at least three waits: arrival to triage, triage to a decision, and decision to a sent response. A single response-time metric blends them and points at the wrong fix.

Triage is often fast when the assistant is working. The decision wait depends on the principal's availability and the quality of the brief attached to the message.

Define a substantive response

An automated acknowledgment is not a response, and neither is a reaction emoji. A substantive response moves the request forward: a decision, a delegated owner, a scheduled call, or a clear decline.

Record the response type alongside the time. Without the type, a fast auto-reply looks like good service and a slow but complete answer looks like failure.

Handle censoring and batching

Messages still waiting at the reporting cutoff have no response time. Excluding them flatters the result exactly when the queue is worst. Report open items and their age.

Batching decisions into a daily review changes the distribution. Note the review cadence and the cutoff time so the metric is comparable across weeks.

Report by category

Split the data by request type: scheduling, approvals, customer issues, internal updates, and board or investor matters. A single median hides the category that is actually blocking work.

Report counts, medians, and the oldest open item. Pair the numbers with two examples so the principal can see the kind of message that waits.

Limitations

Email timestamps do not capture conversations that move to chat or a call. The method describes the inbox, not all communication.

It also cannot judge whether a fast response was a good one. Speed and quality have to be reviewed together.

Sources

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, O*NET OnLine.
Business Formation Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau.
Nonfarm Business Sector: Labor Productivity, Federal Reserve Economic Data.
Productivity Statistics, OECD Data Explorer.
World Development Indicators, World Bank DataBank.
ILOSTAT Labour Statistics, International Labour Organization.
2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report, Microsoft and LinkedIn.
The economic potential of generative AI, McKinsey Global Institute.
Creating helpful, reliable, people first content, Google Search Central.
Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, Google Search Central.
Dear Manager, You Are Holding Too Many Meetings, Harvard Business Review.

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