In an age of constant connectivity, being “out” is no longer an excuse for being unreachable, no matter who’s asking—including clients, managers, or direct reports with questions and requests for resources. But of course there are limits to the kinds of response times that can be expected of employees who aren’t in the office. And non-exempt employees need to be paid for the time they spend working while off the clock, which means this time has to be measured and recorded in a realistic way.

In order to make the most of communication technology while keeping expectations consistent, and in order to keep employees from burning out or labeling each other as weaklings or too-eager-to-please, managers can take simple steps to institute a response time policy that can be standardized across companies and teams. Don’t let expected response times become an unspoken rule that employees are supposed to understand and follow without clear guidance.

Here are a few elements of a functional response time policy:

1. An established response time should clarify the hours that employees will need to maintain while off the clock. Do you want non-working employees to respond to urgent emails within one hour? Within 48 hours? Or within an established number of hours after they return to the office?

2. Your response time policy should be built upon existing policies regarding the use of personal devices. Do you already expect your employees to use their own devices for work related communications? Will you expect employees to be available via their own personal devices on your response time schedule once you have one in place?

3. Your response time policy should let employees who are traveling on company business know how often to check in. Every two hours? Once a day? In either case, be clear.

4. Your response time policy should standardize expectations for non-availability as well as availability. When employees are on vacation, it’s often a good idea to discourage connectivity of any kind except in case of emergencies. Workaholism can be a serious threat to company productivity, and discouraging connectivity while off the clock can help solve this problem; Employees shouldn’t fear for their jobs if they choose not to stay connected to the office day and night. But of course, you’ll need to determine what qualifies as an emergency.

For more on how to regulate and standardize expectations of availability, and for help establishing a response time policy that works for your company, reach out to the Texas staffing pros at Expert.