Ugh, I wouldn’t mind changing daily if I could have a couple of prepared responses for normal circumstances (i.e.: “I’ve left for the day, but I’ll be back in the office tomorrow morning to return your call”) to select from, but having to create a new message for Tuesday night when the info for Monday night is the same? Rage inducing. Email is asynchronous, you KNOW you’re not going to get an instant reply and sometimes you email knowing fully well that it won’t be seen until the next morning/week/whatever. Why on earth mandate an auto-reply for that?
My old job was like that! It was so, so annoying. I understood requiring us to update our voicemails if we were out of the office that day, but it was just a waste of a few minutes every single morning.
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Thank you for your email, I’m currently out of the office and celebrating the holidays until [insert date]. For immediate assistance, please contact [insert name] at [insert email] and one of Santa’s helpers will assist you!
But this absence of basic travel cybersecurity is a problem. Email is the number one threat vector for socially engineered attacks. An automatic reply message not only sends the information to designated contacts, but it also bounces back to people who send phishing emails. Threat actors use any details found in OOO messages to craft targeted social engineering messages. Well-targeted messages build trust that threat actors take advantage of.
I’m tempted to make out a “SUPER DUPER HELPFUL COWORKER” certificate to hand to them.
9. Auto Reply Example with Alternative Contact Phone and Email. [Your Greeting] Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, I am out of the office until (Return Date).
Thanks for your message! I’m currently buried in snow and will get back to you once I’ve defrosted on January 2nd.
Happy holidays! [Your Name] Whether you prefer to stick with something simple or have a little fun with your holiday out-of-office message, it’s important that you always make sure to at least include the basics: your return date and an alternative contact people can reach out to …
Bon voyage! You’re going on your holidays and you’re completely leaving the office behind. This is the perfect auto-response if you won’t be checking your emails the entire trip.
An easy win here is to be specific about your out-of-office dates, or to be upbeat about why you are out of office.
Wow, it’s a bloody snooze fest over here! Just kidding, this option is the most appropriate for 95% of business out-of-office responses. It’s simple, no-nonsense, and tells people all they need to know.
Website: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/formal-letter-closing-examples-2062307
My department still doesn’t allow us to send OOO auto-replies to external recipients because of one incident years ago (a customer tried to contact a sales rep about an urgent order, got the rep’s auto-reply, and in their ensuing panic, somehow got escalated all the way up to the company president). Any external emails we get are auto-forwarded to a centralized mailbox and (ostensibly) handled by another rep while we are out. It bothers me to know that my external contacts won’t get a reponse from me while I’m out and may think I’m just ignoring them.
I’ll be back in front of my computer on [date] and will respond to your message then. If you require immediate assistance, please feel free to send an email to [Contact Name] at [contact email] so that they can help you out.
Last month, President Thorsett announced that the university is extending all employees’ paid winter break by one week to decrease density on campus and to recognize your extraordinary efforts this fall. Our campus closure will begin starting next week on Dec. 14. Work will resume — whether you are working remotely or on campus — Monday, Jan. 4.
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A clear, thoughtful out of office message saves the caller from troubles and inconvenience caused by your unavailability as they know what they should do next. Such a system avoids the negative impact that could come from the inability to respond to calls and messages. Your clients would likely try and contact you again and again, getting frustrated and losing trust in your business.