It's August, so it's the time of the year when many workers' holidays come around and the time of year when setting up an out of office automatic reply is vital to ensuring you can enjoy your summer break in peace.
And although my colleague had mixed feelings about her own parents joining that population in Florida, she couldn’t be too upset when her dad suggested flying down from Boston for a Red Sox spring training game.
.
Thank you for your email. I’m currently out of the office, returning on [return date].
Co.DesignTechWork LifeNewsImpactPodcastsVideoRecommenderInnovation FestivalSubscribeNewslettersMagazine
Categories Categories Select Category Accounting Automotive Brand Business Goals Business Skills Business Success Communication Construction Customer Service Data Design eCommerce Efficiency Employees Environment Event Planning Featured Posts Finance Health and Safety Infographic Insurance Internet Legal Logistics Management Manufacturing Marketing Medical Mindset Motivation Outsourcing Productivity Property Relationships Sales Security SEO Social Media Software Start-up Technology Training Websites Workplace
Out of office emails should be short, succinct, and to the point – and should never include more information than is needed.
Dear Customer, Our office will be closed from [date] until [date] and close again for December and January to welcome the New Year. We wish you the warmest holiday. Regards, [Company name]
Doesn’t work when phone is off or out of range, does it? I’m a small business owner but I am often driving in out of range areas and will be traveling for a week with no signal most of the time. Considering leaving my phone plugged in at home just so it can send the auto replies. Still no fix though for the hours spent outside sms land every week.
If you need immediate assistance with [project or department], please contact [name and contact information]. For assistance with [project or department], please contact [name and contact information].
Unfortunately, I will not be able/ delayed in answering your e-mail till 23rd Nov.
If you need assistance before my return please contact (name of colleague covering for you, with contact details).
Be aware of your tone. Keep it clean and simple. Sullivan says: “Even if you work in a casual office environment, the people emailing you may not. It's fine to have a light tone in your communications, especially when you're in an email conversation with someone directly, but your OOO is more of a blast message—including a cat meme or silly quote could backfire if your OOO goes to, say, a new client prospect or the sales director at a company you've been trying to engage.”
I’m betting Ace means part-time staff working their regular schedules. So if you work regularly work 30 hrs a week, I don’t need your OOO for the other 10 hrs (assuming a 40 hr week), but if you’re on vacation for multiple days or a full week, then yes, use an OOO message.
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.
My boss requires us to put a nightly OOO message up, and I HATE it. I pushed back on it for months at first, because people know and understand that the reason no one is responding at 8pm is because the business is closed (or at least, they should understand that…). It wasn’t worth the fight, my boss thinks it’s so important, so I caved and just turn on the message every night. I think it makes us look immature and like we don’t understand business norms, but it’s not the hill I’m willing to die on.
Leave some lights on for safety, but turn off any unnecessary ones before leaving. Test that all main doors are locked, as well as any server or file rooms holding sensitive equipment or information.
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.