Practical working guide
How to measure lead response time in business hours
Measure lead response time from receipt to the first useful human response, using a declared calendar and time zone. Report automatic acknowledgements separately. Keep unanswered enquiries visible, because calculating only answered cases can make a slow queue look healthy.
Define the clock before calculating
| Rule | Example definition |
|---|---|
| Start | Server receipt time, retained after reassignment |
| Finish | A person answers the question or requests the missing detail |
| Calendar | Monday–Friday, 09:00–17:00, stated local zone; holidays excluded |
| Queue scope | Valid enquiries received in the period; spam shown separately |
Worked calculation: Friday to Monday
Fictional example: an enquiry arrives Friday at 16:40 and receives a useful reply Monday at 09:20. With the calendar above and no holiday, business response time is 20 + 20 = 40 minutes. Elapsed time is 64 hours 40 minutes. Show which measure you use; they answer different questions. A Friday 16:41 automated receipt does not end the human-response clock. Do not subtract delays merely because the enquiry changed owner.
Publish a queue-aware report
Use columns for enquiry ID, received time, first useful reply, business minutes, current age and exclusion reason. Report the received count, answered count, unanswered count, median for answered cases and oldest unanswered age. Reconcile these counts before comparing weeks. Set your own response target from staffing and customer needs; this worksheet does not establish a universal sales benchmark.