So you've said your farewells and it's time to pack up your desk before getting escorted out. While you're there, you might as well create an out of office message to any hapless person that missed out on the news of your leaving.
Digital Marketing Inbound Marketing Growth-Driven Web Design Web Design Email Marketing Pay Per Click Advertising Content Marketing Search Engine Optimization Social Media Brand Strategy Website Hosting Get a Digital Marketing Speaker Get a Google Speaker/Trainer
.
An out of office message could become an opportunity to connect with your client on a more personal level. Consider sharing something about yourself that they might not have known about while working with you.
We have one key administrative assistant who works part time and I always forget — I appreciate that she sets an OOO every day because her department is very deadline driven and it helps me to remember that if I need something from them, I need to connect with her in the morning. We also have some staff who work the school year calendar and others who are year round; the OOO is so helpful in the summers!
2. 2 The Fruitcake. Greetings, Did you know that emails during the holidays are a lot like fruitcakes? Nobody really wants them, but a lot of people end up receiving them, anyhow.
That’s why I instituted group email addresses/boxes for this use (I had to fight with IT to have one created in the early days). Yes, everyone has their individual email in addition to the group mailbox.
But nope, we’ve created a world where “I have a dentist appointment and won’t be in until 10 today” is cause for alarm.
Thank you for your email. I am out of the office on annual leave/in meetings with very limited access to email until [Date]. If your query is urgent please contact [Team Shared Mailbox], otherwise I will respond on my return.
After I tweeted this example, dozens of people sent me examples of OOO messages they’d set or particularly good examples they’d seen in the wild. One example from a boss (via a TikTok) who offers emailers a decision tree of sorts. “Option 1.) Wait it out. Ask yourself, ‘is this urgent and important?’ If not, take a beat…you and I will be better off with this expectation set now,” the email begins. This one stands out because it’s extremely detailed, manages expectations and also offers who to contact in different situations. It models good behavior of taking time off, but also gives the original sender a variety of option. Most importantly, the responder forces the original sender to assess whether this is actually an urgent request.
I mean, this is what I pretty much did upon returning from my maternity leaves but I would never put it into an email! My maternity leave OOO was the vague “I am on extended leave and am not anticipated to return until X. Please contact Joe or Fergus in my absence.” X being a vague time-frame based on my due date and the length of my leave. No one is waiting 3+ months for an answer so I did get to delete most of the 500 emails I got during my most recent leave! I did once have someone internal tell me I should say maternity leave rather than leave, but really, what does it matter? I’m gone for a few months and no one outside of the company really NEEDS to know why.
Are you creating a voicemail greeting for your entire company or team? These business voicemail greetings will do the trick.
Professionally, I just try to be as boring as humanly possible, except in comments embedded in code.
Career Advice Aptitude Vs. Attitude Which Is Important To Find Your Dream Job
Don’t let my absence keep you from missing out on the latest updates. Follow us on *Facebook / *Twitter/ *LinkedIn / *Instagram. You will love our GIFs on Twitter, trust me.
I also think you should give this email tactic a try – especially when you return from an extended break or vacation.
Yeah, announcing you were going to delete emails unread and expecting the sender to resend when you return would NEVER fly in my office. I’d get executive complaints about that, especially if it went to a client or outside party – if a client can’t reach you, they will reach out to someone else who may not work at your organization and you lose business. I feel like this delete-it-all philosophy would only work for an entirely internal role where timelines are more relaxed, and even then, I feel it’s a bit unprofessional to foist your own catch-up work onto others, especially if they’ve been backfilling for you while you were OOO.
Businesses today are fully aware of the value of a great customer experience for their success. This is the reason...