“Hi, Thank you for contacting me. I’m currently out of the office for a conference and will not be available until [date]. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
That would drive me mad. I’m okay with in meetings all day but if you’re just going home at a normal time that’s ridiculous!
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At the discretion of the president and with the subsequent approval of the vice presidents and deans of each division or college, an early dismissal may be authorized on the working day prior to a university holiday allowing staff members to leave campus at 2 p.m. — provided it is acceptable to their supervisor, all time-critical work is completed and no urgent business is anticipated.
I’ve started using one that’s short/sweet but still has a little bit of JAZZ. I can’t take credit for it – I saw it on Twitter a few years ago. It’s been received well both inside and outside of my organization. Here it is. If it speaks to you, please yoink it and use it as you wish:
Most of what I’m describing (as well as boyd) boils down to examples of clear, honest, communication. While it sounds simple, such openness is extremely rare in the workplace. It is rare because, especially with time off, this type of communication requires the sender to be vulnerable, to cede control, and/or to be assertive and frank about one’s needs.
We have one key administrative assistant who works part time and I always forget — I appreciate that she sets an OOO every day because her department is very deadline driven and it helps me to remember that if I need something from them, I need to connect with her in the morning. We also have some staff who work the school year calendar and others who are year round; the OOO is so helpful in the summers!
While this sounds kind of onerous, I don’t think it’s actually a bad idea to say “I don’t have this info but I’ll get back to you when I find out” if it’s going to take a while.
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Hollywood star turned gin distiller Ryan Reynolds showed last summer how the OOO can become a marketing tool. “Thank you for your email and interest in Aviation American Gin! I’m away from my desk at the moment but will respond the moment they give me a desk,” began his first attempt. A few months later, along came another: “This is only my 2nd OUT OF OFFICE REPLY. From what I’m told, it should be short, sweet and NEVER overly personal or emotional.” After TV host Jimmy Fallon asked him to read one out on The Tonight Show, the resulting influx – around 20,000 emails in a single day – to [email protected] melted the small brand’s servers. Fortunately, it also reportedly piqued the interest of retailers and restaurants, keen to start carrying the tipple.
The funny and charming email template below keeps the confidence of your colleagues with a list of things anyone who works in an office is thankful for. Of course, feel free to customize this list according to the quirks of your own workplace. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reveal them.
Although out of office emails are usually used when a person’s on holiday, they can also be used in a number of other circumstances.
Once I come back on *date*, I will get back to you. Maybe I can even tell you about my adventures.
To thank you for a wonderful year of hard work, the company is holding a virtual holiday party via Zoom on Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at 8pm EST. Please dress in your best ugly sweater, so everyone gets into a festive mood. We hope that our valuable team members from around the world will clear out some time in their busy schedules to come celebrate with us.
An out of office email is an automatic response you can set up to be sent when someone tries to get in touch with you whilst you’re away from the office.
Website: https://www.exclaimer.com/email-signature-handbook/10142-out-of-office-templates
'The very fact you were content to type out your query long hand and settle back to wait for a reply suggests you can wait' (Credit: Getty Images)