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Here’s my OOO nightmare: when I was a graduate intern a few years ago, there was a volunteer with severe, marginally treated mental health concerns. Her behavior toward me was inappropriate to the point that my school assisted me with a safety plan. I obviously blocked her on everything I could think of. Unfortunately while I was on winter break she emailed my agency address from an account no one knew about, got my OOO message, assumed it meant I was open to communicating again, and proceeded to have a monthlong meltdown in my inbox when I didn’t respond. To this day I am grateful for my city’s utter lack of public transit, which prevented her from trying to find my home and family.
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While you’re writing and activating your out-of-office message, sidestep these pitfalls:
Being out-of-office on maternity leave can range from less than 12 weeks to 6 months or more, this is entirely dependent on where you work or live. Considering the time you'll be out of the office, you need to direct people that send in emails to the employee who would be handling your tasks while you're away. Hello, Thank you for your email. Please note that I will be away on maternity leave from June 18 to January 11. During this period, my accounts will be handled by our assistant sales manager, John Doe. You can reach him at [email protected] or call him on 123-456-7890. Regards, Juliet Tailor Sales Manager 6. Temporary Out-of-Office Email on Medical Leave
Entrepreneurs and salespeople probably laugh at the prospect of being "out of office" — or, at the very least, unavailable to their clients 24/7. But the thing is, no one can be in the office 100% of the time. Even if your "office" is as portable as your laptop.
Naturally, you want to help your clients and other business associates to contact you in the best and easiest way possible. For that to happen, you should provide out of office messages when you are not available.
An Out of office Message is the autoresponder feature within your email settings that allows you to automatically send a response when an email is sent to a specific email address. Typically, businesses will use the autoresponder feature to confirm receipt of an email and to acknowledge and thank customers for an order that may have been placed.
Before you put your coworker’s email address on your out-of-office message, get their approval and discuss a plan for handling requests and passing responsibilities back when you return.
While a holiday is a great chance to disconnect and relax, you have a lot to take care of before taking a break. One of these things is setting up an auto-response system that sends out automated messages to everybody trying to call and message you when you are on leave. A thoughtful out of office message lets people know you cannot respond because you are on a holiday.
Hello, and thanks for your email! If you’re getting this message, it means I’m taking my annual two-week creative sabbatical—working on personal projects that inspire me, so that I can return to work full of fresh ideas for my clients, like you! I’ll respond to your note once I return to the office on [DATE]. In the meantime, here’s a question: What inspires you? Do that, today.
It’s very likely that you’ll set up an auto-reply message while you’re at a conference or any other business event. What’s more, some of your prospects will be there as well, so you should use an opportunity like that to meet them in person and strengthen that relationship.
As an employer one of our policies is to Call in absent days not text them in. This hasn’t worked well as employees ( especially young employees) will still text in those types of messages. It would be wonderful to have a feature in the iPhone that allows for instant text response that can be set up for certain contacts( employees). Something similar to an out of office message in email…” I am not receiving text, please call … … …. and speak to me directly”
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Many businesses are using automated messages for retaining their customers and setting good examples for other businesses to follow. Using the auto reply messages rightly helps the business from taking impromptu decisions.
I’ve honestly considered changing my OOO message/voicemail to “You’ve reached Lisa. I’m overwhelmed right now, so I’ll get back to you eventually.”
A retired small town newspaper guy once told me about the first time the publisher went on vacation and left him in charge (this would have been in the 80s). The publisher told him “Don’t call me unless the building burns down, and even then, don’t call me until the fire is out.” Good example of management setting vacation expectations.
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