A great out of office message can improve your business relationships, boost appointments and keep everything in check while you’re resting. The only trick is knowing how to write it. So what’s an out of office message and why do I need one? How to improve your out of office message Tip #1: Cover the essentials Tip #2: Redirect clients to your colleagues Tip #3: Be personal Tip #4: Promote your content Tip #5: Go for something light-hearted Tip #6: Know your limits Tip #7: Keep it spartan Conclusions
I had a colleague that managed to set up a rule for an OOO that would only get sent if you cc’d or bcc’d him, which basically said that all those cc mails would get automatically put in a separate folder and he may or may not ever read them – may the odds be ever in your favor basically.
.
But despite these (fantastic) suggestions, the number one rule for choosing your out of office is that it reflects who you are as a person. Don’t change for anyone, especially not your auto-responder.
I am the LW! It’s interesting, having Alison type out the OOO reply comes across less condescending than how it did in video. I’m sure it works for their office but it also says a lot, potentially, about their culture that she’d need to write something out like that in the first place! Usually “I’m OOO from X to X, please contact X for (reason)” should suffice.
I work for a hospital, in a role unrelated to patient care. My first out of the office message was just my name and department. After a series of increasingly plaintive messages one evening, I added, “If you are calling about patient care, you have the wrong number.”
Go ahead to iPhone Settings > Control Center > and include Do Not Disturb While Driving. Now you are ready to manually switch your phone to vacation mode from the control center.
Our office VM sends an audio file to our email. I love it, because I can apply all the filing and prioritization functions of my email inbox to the voice messages. It’s the only way I ever check my VM. I don’t even remember how to listen to messages on my phone.
I think I started following that Tiktok account after this video and, if I recall correctly, the OOO writer is an SVP who is trying to reset a company culture that has very little work/life balance. I always liked it, but that background info made me love it that much more.
It doesn’t say you have to grovel to get what you need. It says you have to ask again when they are in the office to get what you need, which is perfectly reasonable.
I’d side-eye if an OOO for a couple of days off said that, unless someone was in an unusually time-sensitive role. But if someone’s out for long enough that there’s an alternate contact provided, that’s long enough for them not to be wading through missed emails when they get back.
Hello, All our stores will be closed until the end of the week for [Christmas]. We will respond to all your inquiries once we are back on [date]. Merry Christmas! Regards [Name/signature]
But your out-of-office message is as much for you as it is for the people receiving it, especially during the pandemic. “Boundaries have taken a big hit right now,” Ritter says. There’s a lot of pressure associated with missing something at work, and that stress has been heightened without the typical separation between office and home and with the added fear caused by an uncertain economy. An OOO message is a chance to set expectations, “to give yourself some breathing room and to ensure other people aren’t thinking negatively about you,” Ritter says, and it’s crucial for your mental health.
I agree, especially coming from a SVP. It’s not just a funny OOO message then. It’s a subtle reminder that if someone that high feels they can step back away for a few days without things falling apart without them, chances are the same could be said about you. Leading by example indeed and in a way that gets their point across to probably lots of people that may not have noticed otherwise.
8. "Hi, you've reached [your name]. I'm unable to come to the phone right now. But if you leave your name, number, and a short message, I'll be sure to call back."
If you need immediate assistance during my absence, please contact (Contacts Name) at (Contacts Email Address). Otherwise, I will respond to your emails as soon as possible upon my return.
I know you’re just blowing off steam, but the problem is that you’re working 65 hour weeks, not that they get proper time off! If labour laws were fair everywhere we could all have a proper uninterrupted rest.
4. Sample Email Reply for Vacations with Phone Number. [Your Greeting] Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office, and I do not have email access.