As more people are vaccinated and free to live a more normal life again, vacation plans, trip pictures and conference hashtags will flood social media sites. Phone calls and emails to colleagues will be met with out of office (OOO) messages. You might feel happy for that person, or maybe a little jealous that they are getting away. You should also feel concerned for their security well-being.
I will be out of the office celebrating Canada Day (July 1), World UFO Day (July 2nd), Tom Cruise’s Birthday (July 3rd) and July 4th (July 4th.) It’s also National Picnic Month so let’s just reconnect in August, shall we?
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Having a professional automated message when you are busy enough to answer customer queries right away can set the right tone for your business and inform customers when they can expect to receive the response.
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Hello, All our stores will be closed until the end of the week for [Christmas]. We will respond to all your inquiries once we are back on [date]. Merry Christmas! Regards [Name/signature]
I just say out of the office. It helps that I have a room that, among other things, functions as an office, but I don’t think that would change my reply. Whether its a real or metaphorical office, you’re still not at work, so it counts.
Mary founded Instructional Solutions in 1998, and is an internationally recognized business writing trainer and executive writing coach with two decades of experience helping thousands of individuals and businesses master the strategic skill of business writing. She excels at designing customized business writing training programs to maximize productivity, advance business objectives, and convey complex information. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Rhode Island, an M.A. in English Literature from Boston College, and a C.A.G.S. in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of New Hampshire.
Our office will be closed for our Thanksgiving Holiday on [date]. The office will reopen on [date].
The exact dates you will be away.The reason for your absence. This is not obligatory, but bear it in mind. The thing is, people might still attempt to get in touch with you if you’re on a business trip or at a conference. They are less likely to try to contact you if they know you’re on vacation.The people who can assist a client while you’re away. Provide names, phone numbers, and email addresses so that colleagues and clients can keep in touch in case they need urgent help. It makes you look trustworthy in the eyes of the recipient and strengthens your working relationship with them.
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
Here’s my pet peeve: OOOs that specifically state the person “won’t have access to email.” It contributes to this pervasive idea that an employee who might technically be ABLE to check her work email while OOO better have a damn good reason why she won’t be doing so. Which calls back to the reason someone’s OOO is no one else’s business. Whether you’re OOO because you’re on your honeymoon, having your gall bladder removed, or robbing a bank, OOO should automatically imply unavailability for work stuff. Full stop.
Automatic replies are sent once to each sender. At the top of the page, select Settings > View all Outlook settings > Automatic replies. To turn on automatic replies, select the Turn on automatic replies toggle. Select the Send replies only during a time period check box, and then enter a start and end time.
Hello, Thanks for reaching out to me. Unfortunately, I’m out of the office from [DATE] to [DATE] with limited / no access to email. If your query can wait, I’ll be responding to the emails I missed when I return on [DATE]. If not, contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE] and he/she will take care of you.
Figured it out: only works when set in driving mode, and driving mode works if you are actually driving or not 🙂 Until then, this will work until they come up with a better solution. Thank you!!
Try this out with your colleagues or share it with colleagues/clients headed off on a vacation to send them off in style:
Me too. I don’t say why I’m going to be out when I take time off either, unless it’s a vacation I’m really excited about and just talk about naturally.
PS: We love our downtime and here at HAR, we're big believers everyone needs a vacay from work. Yes, even you—the social media junkies, the workaholics, the entrepreneurial diehards who accidentally (or "accidentally") take their smartphone into the shower.