Because I used to get phone calls that defaulted to, “I need the director”, I had my out of office mail set to:
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It makes a positive difference when you create auto reply messages that adhere to the basic elements of personalized messages followed with greetings.
The more information you include in your outgoing message about the colleagues who can assist in your absence, the less likely you are to interfere with ongoing projects. This will help ensure you enjoy that well-earned vacation.
This is what I’ve seen most often in my career. Problem is, the contact is almost always the admin. I’m the admin. Everyone’s idea of assistance is different. Often, I didn’t have the knowledge about the issue in order to be of any assistance. I wound up spending more time running around looking for answers than actually working on what was on my own plate. It’s exhausting. Otherwise known as “please don’t call us for unicorn problems when we handle llamas. Literally, we can’t do anything for unicorn problems.”
Eh, my team’s instruction to put them up if they’re going to be away from email/voicemail for more than an hour (standard lunch break). I have a ton of staff, and we’re in a business where a high degree of responsiveness, especially during the business day, is expected and few of my staff have mobile email. We’re also a larger organization with mixed project teams, and not everyone knows who’s PT/FT or on nonstandard hours.
Whatever style you may adopt, it’s still useful to know that some of the general rules apply to all instances: Stay consistent with the preferred communication style, particularly if you go for more creative options Double check for grammar and typos, as your template will be sent to many addresses Do not overdo it in terms of using unconventional style, particularly if you are not sure that it will fall on right ears with some of your customers Wrap-up
Don't be afraid to use a pop cultural reference that the audience would recognize. Instead of bemoaning your absence, they'll have something fun and familiar to laugh at.
Businesses that send autoresponder messages need to ensure that they provide alternative contact options. The automated email responses or text messages should clearly mention what way customers can reach out to the business.
I don’t use the OOO. If you’re supposed to be able to reach me by email, I have already proactively notified you of my absence. If you’re not supposed to be able to reach me by email, your email is already in the junk folder and I think it’s cruel to offer you false hope I’m going to read it upon my return from the rare PTO I take.
So what makes a good automated response that will give you the reassurance you need to keep your work email under control so that you can truly enjoy your holiday?
As a person who hates voicemail, I applaud this. Send me an email. Give me a paper trail.
The call handling menus will operate according to the opening and closing hours of your business as well as the hours specified in any holidays or exceptions you have added to your schedule. You can create multiple schedules, so make sure the one you choose or create has the correct time zone and holidays listed before you proceed.
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The weather has changed, so I have decided to book myself a little break in the sunshine.
I have no idea! He was pretty quirky, but in a harmless way. Like, he didn’t expect other people to spend that kind of time on their VM greetings, and he took our good-natured ribbing about his unusual habits in stride.