We’re the official home of the Virgin Group and Branson family. Get the latest from Richard Branson and the Virgin companies. GMA is your source for useful news and inspiration on how to live your best life. Your community and guide to relationship advice, the latest in celebrity news, culture, style, travel, home, finances, shopping deals, career and more.
Businesses can create offline messages in REVE Chat to keep their customers informed about their business hours and guide them towards getting a faster response.
.
Out of office emails should be short, succinct, and to the point – and should never include more information than is needed.
The example above (which comes from NY Times) may not take advantage of some of the tips we mentioned, but it’s great because it’s so short. Due to its absent-minded straightforwardness, such a message can be perceived as a real, non-automated reply — as if you were so busy that you only carved out a few seconds to type these five words.
4. 4 The Tech Break. Hello, ‘Tis the season when a lot of people get to take a break from work. I’m on one such break, and that means I get to avoid email. And Slack.
With the Holiday season right around the corner, your office’s voicemail greeting should quickly inform callers of any potential changes in hours, days or availability.
You don’t have to inform people why you are out of the office, adds Gugino Panté. “Because of privacy or safety issues, you may not want to state that you are on vacation or at a conference,” she says. “Simply stating that you are out of the office should be sufficient enough.”
Are you the office prankster? Are you also taking some time off to relax during lockdown? Everyone loves a cheeky out of office response. We’re big fans of the example below. You’ll have your whole office in hysterics.
4. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. 5. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I …
Depending on what provider you use for your text marketing software, the step-by-step instructions for setting up an away message varies. You can find ours here.
I once emailed a colleague in our main office and got an OOO reply that said just: “I am currently out of the office. Please press 0 to reach the operator for assistance”
The recipient may have filtering turned on that would reject the automatic reply;
But some of us just aren’t as lucky. Or if we’re traveling during the winter and heading up north — well, we’re going to run into some snow, aren’t we?
Erin Ollila is a content strategist and writer who believes in the power of words and how a message can inform — and even transform — its intended audience. Reach out to her on Instagram at @ErinOllila, or visit her website erinollila.com.
Physical security is just as important as managing your technology when you are gone for the holidays. Take these key steps to ensure that your office is indeed locked up tight. Make sure no keys are left sitting out where they are easy to see or access. Check with security to make sure that they have keys to get in the building. Check security systems and cameras to be sure that they are fully functional. Make sure that the security system is sending a notification to someone who is actually in town for the holidays, not a manager who is going to be across the country! Lock up desks and filing cabinets, especially those that contain sensitive information. Place all keys in a safe location. Check doors and windows to be sure that they are locked. Review your incident response plan. Do you have a plan for how to respond when everyone is out of the office? This can include everything from a hacker going after your data to a physical emergency at the office.
(Aside: at my job, when you open a new browser window, a random picture of employee pets pops up. It changes every time. I could just refresh all day long.)
Dude, my brain is not friends with my ears. It’s not psychological, my brain’s just less reliable than Siri at transcribing your voicemail. No one wants me calling them back explaining that I don’t handle the otter scriptorium inks when really they wanted a chocolate teapot.