I actually think that’s a really helpful out of office message? I appreciate how clear it is about who to contact in which circumstance (so you’re not having to do the awkward dance of trying to track down the right people while not inconveniencing the wrong ones), while maintaining a friendly-but-firm boundary around the vacationing person’s time (since none of the options include things like “here’s my cell phone number!”).
I forgot I did that and it was pointed out by a recruiter who was trying to reach me to schedule a phone screen. Whoops, haha.
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I didn’t actually put that in my maternity leave out-of-office, but it is what I did when I got back.
When we have people go on maternity leave we normally arrange with them for mail to be forwarded directly to the person covering their leave, (but I’m in the UK so normally they will be out for 6-12 months)
This person decided that setting their out-of-office message was a prime time to settle an ongoing office argument about which Die Hard film is the best, complete with an integrated poll to add a little festive cheer to the auto-reply.
We have some field staff who have out of office replies set up for when they do fieldwork. On one hand it’s nice I guess, but on the other hand, they aren’t dealing with urgent matters only they can handle (they don’t manage projects or deal with clients), so it seems a bit unnecessary? No one has been disciplined for not responding to an email the same day. But maybe I’m just a crabby Gen-Xer, and a client can stand to wait a few hours or until the next day to get an answer from me.
“No! I'm adamant that when you're out of the office and away from work, you should be out of the office,” Sullivan says. “We all need time to rest and recover, and to be human beings instead of workers. Anything that needs to be handled at work can be done by someone else, or can wait until your return.”
But I will be taking periodic breaks from eating, binge-watching, and probably from cooking, too, to check my email [once per day/every evening/occasionally] while I’m away.
2. Include a GIF to make your auto-response more fun. Everyone can appreciate the excitement of pushing work aside to go on vacation. Bring this to life by linking to a GIF in your vacation responder message. Here’s an example out of office reply: Shoot, you just missed me.
At the top of your calendar, click the first date you’ll be out of the office. Click Out of office. Select the dates that you’ll be out of the office. Optional: Update the time range and edit your decline message. Click Save.
That’s why I instituted group email addresses/boxes for this use (I had to fight with IT to have one created in the early days). Yes, everyone has their individual email in addition to the group mailbox.
When Outlook is set up to send automatic replies, you’ll see a message under the ribbon with this information. Select Turn off to disable automatic out-of-office replies. If you want to modify the dates for your automatic reply or the message sent, use the steps above to modify your settings.
Three years ago, my daughter and I went on a 3 week tour of Europe. Below is my OOO. I had a lot of emails – ‘I was told to email you to get your OOO.’ I am out of the office, July 18th – August 6th. I do not plan to read any emails during that time. No need to despair, though! Assistant and Intern (5654, she’ll be answering my phone and checking voicemail) will be around to help. If your request for laminating or a folder delivery is urgent, there’s no use letting it sit idly in my inbox. Please call a volunteer at the ** and they will gladly help you.
If an equally epic OOO message is the only thing missing from your upcoming epic adventure, check out this quirky one: Hello there, It’s that time of the year. The time where I save up all my annual leaves and spend it on one epic adventure. Where am I? Tibet, the roof of the world. I will be halfway up Mount Everest. And I too wondered if I will get any wifi up there 🤔 I think they do. If you have any questions about your account, you may get in touch with my very capable and friendly colleagues at [email]. As with all journeys, however magical, my trip will have to end. I will be back to the grind on [date]. Tujay-chay,
Before we leave you to your own devices, we have some sample messages featuring different ways you can automate text replies to serve your business.
THANK YOU!!!!!! As a small business owner, I have struggled with any out of office time, weekends, and after hours. Clients seem to text more often than email these days, and there hasn’t been a way to inform them with “out of office reply”. This article helps me tremendously! Also, there should be more built into our phones for texting like email: read, mark as unread, and prioritize contacts of different rows or colors indicating favorites, contacts, and non-contacts (pesky customers who bombard you afterhours).
5.) Chers clients, notre bureau sera fermé du 24 décembre au 2 janvier. Vous pouvez nous contacter comme d’habitude le lundi 5 janvier. Nous vous souhaitons à vous et votre famille un joyeux noël et une nouvelle année réussie…