I know a lot of people who never vacation for more than a few days because the email backlog becomes incredibly stressful upon their return; this is one way to meaningfully combat that which is somewhat in the employee’s control.
It’s important to get the tone and content right because it can make or break your reputation as a company.
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My colleagues have this weird habit of not using out of office messages, but instead, sending all staff or all manager emails before they go on vacation letting everyone know they’re going to be gone for x amount of time. It’s really odd. I do not do this.
Oh hey, it’s Christmas, what are you doing emailing me? I’m extremely busy watching Home Alone, Die Hard, and the 1994 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Christmas Special on repeat until the new year. I might stop for food and toilet breaks, I also might now. Regardless of my general health and hygience over the silly season, I’ll be back in office on January 2nd. Catch ya then, don’t forget to buy a pepperoni pizza for Splinter.
Website: https://futureofworking.com/25-best-office-closed-for-holiday-message-templates/
My favorite one that I’ve heard is from TV. “You’ve reached {name}. I can’t answer. Don’t waste my time.”
I’m a huge fan of the scheduling. I give myself up until 8am the day I return, since that way I’m covered if someone is emailing me early in the morning and will know why it might take me a bit to get back to them as I sort through the backlog for triage even though I’m back in the office that day.
If you’re experiencing a higher text volume than normal, be sure to have a volume auto-text on hand to help buffer the traffic. Thanks for your message! We’re experiencing a higher volume of texts than usual. You can expect a reply within 12 hours.
Our offices are closed until [date]. If it’s something you need urgent assistance with, contact [Name] on [phone number] or [Email] Hello! Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office. We have closed for [holiday name]. I will be returning on [date]. If you require immediate assistance, you may reach me at – [mobile number]. Thanks!
o [name] good morning! All our support agents are busy right now. Your estimated queue time is 6 mins. Thank you for reaching out to us. Hey [name] Very good morning to you! I am sorry that you need to wait for [time] as all our support executives are busy. We appreciate your patience. Thank you!4. Out of office automated reply messages
Luckily for you, my colleague *Name* generously offered to cover for me. You can reach him/her at *email*.
I think humor is fine (the hard-to-misunderstand kind), but definitely less than 100 words of it. “I’m out of the office returning Thursday June 10th. Please contact (shared mailbox email address) for support or call (person name) if the matter is urgent.”
303-735-6245Voicemail system number: 5-6245 (5-MAIL) on-campus or 303-735-6245 off-campus. At the Main menu, press “4” for Setup Options, then press “1” for Greetings. Voicemail plays your current greeting. You can press # to skip hearing it. Follow the prompts to select the greeting that you want to change, then to make changes.
The best way to spread Holiday cheer, is screaming “Out of the Office” for all to hear…
The autoresponder messages give information like how long the person you are reaching is unavailable and who else is the person in the absence and from when will the person be back available. Make sure the message is not too lengthy and is set up easily and conveniently understood by the email users. Try to manage your absence in such a way that the client doesn’t get affected and uninformed.
My boss had this problem (outdated message), but it wasn’t his fault. No matter how many times he changed it, it kept reverting to the original message and dates. Even IT couldn’t figure it out.
“Hello, I am out of the office from [date] to [date] for a family vacation. I have limited access to phone and will try to reply to you upon my return. If you need any urgent information, please contact [person] at [phone number]. Happy holidays!”