I dunno, this is one of those areas I feel like people overanalyze. Like, yes, there are definitely some away messages that make me raise an eyebrow and I really don’t want anyone’s medical history. I’m not a huge fan of the one from the LW cause it’s a bit cutesy and takes too long to get to the point — I prefer short and sweet. But some people also just…struggle with how to put together an away message and copy what their boss does. Or they’re like me — I need a message that works for clients as well, so mine needs to be a little more formal, even if my office isn’t.
You don’t have to stop using OOO messages. Instead, they need to be used wisely. It’s okay to suggest an alternate contact while you are unavailable or add a date when you will be back in action. Just skip the details about why you set up the out of office message. No one needs to know that your son is getting married in Paris. Remove any personal details in that message, including personal cell phone numbers or an alternate email where you can temporarily be reached.
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Here's a million-dollar question: how do you get people to do what you want them to? That's where Calls-to-Action (CTAs) come in.
One of my reports ***NEVER*** sets their out of office. I have gotten pushback with, “Oh I just check my email while I’m out and forward if it’s important,” (NOT THEIR PLACE, PLUS THEY ARE HOURLY AND LEGALLY SHOULD NOT DO THAT). I have tried to remind which, I think ONCE over the last 6-7 years has worked. I should NOT have to remind someone of this. The one time they actually did it was a NIGHTMARE. Instead of Googling how to do it, they expected me to tell them how.
Option 1: Wait it out. Ask yourself, “Is this urgent and important?” If it isn’t, take a beat and give me a chance to respond after I dig myself out of my inbox later this week. You and I will be better off with this expectation set now.
I might be your coworker. I don’t get a lot of calls so it slips my mind constantly. Email I just set up a timer and it’s so much easier that way.
Set your out of office messages and determine who monitors division and department messages.
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For those of you arguing that entrepreneurs and salespeople must always be available, I present to you Exhibit A. While this is specific to Yesware (and you should check out their other OOO examples), it's easy enough to tweak to fit your industry.
One-third of employees share information about business travel, including pictures, on social media, Tessian found. Many will also have advance leave notification in email signatures or add details about their time off in their OOO responses, such as when they plan to return to work or the details of the conference they are attending. This might appear safe because this isn’t personal travel. After all, it is a work trip, and an out of office message is no big deal.
When it comes to professionalism, keeping things short and to the point is a good idea. What’s more, if you write a short auto-reply email, you don’t spend too much of the limited time you have left before your vacation.
Education Details: Data-driven insights to navigate the COVID-19 crisis and plan for 2021. Pick one of the five professional holiday out of office message templates so you don’t have to worry about having to constantly check your inbox while you’re on a vacation. Planning on …
A thing my employer does is when someone leaves, they just shutoff the email. So someone goes to the trouble of writing an out of office explaining that they have retired or accepted a job somewhere else and where someone can go for help and IT just nukes the email address 24 hours after the person leaves. Then whomever was contacting them has no idea where to turn next. It is a terrible policy.
Website: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360033863991-Sharing-and-controlling-access-to-a-voicemail-inbox
It definitely sounds like something my boss would write and I laughed at it. In our work, everyone thinks that they’re a special emergency all the time. Stopping to think “if I don’t have this in the next two days what will the actual consequences be” is a thing that should happen more but doesn’t.
Get the time and date right for when the automatic emails start - you could choose the the moment that you actually leave the office, or some cheeky people choose an hour or two before they leave, saying that they are busy handing over or wrapping up to deal with customers or other colleagues. They are still able to check the emails they do get anyway, to reply properly to if they want to.
I’ll be back in front of my computer on [date] and will respond to your message at that time. If you need immediate assistance, please send an email to [contact name] at [contact email]. For Those Who Intend to Chill in a Galaxy Far Far Away (Where There Is No Internet)