Both your customers and your employees need to know how long your business will be shut down for the holidays. Provide notice well in advance. Depending on the types of services you offer, you may need to start notifying customers as early as a month out. It would be best if you were to provide these important notifications at least two weeks before the holiday shutdown. Employees should also be reminded regularly that the company will not be open during those important days.
I hate when senders ignore the instructions in my OOO message. Usually, my message is something simple like: “I am out [Dates], returning to the office [Date]. Please contact Jane (jane’s email address) in my absence. General [department] questions may be sent to [general dept email address].” To me that says if you are sending me anything then I won’t see it until I return. If you have something you need to be resolved right away, you can contact Jane or send it to our department inbox (where it should be going anyway).
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I often see people put public holiday notices in their email signatures a week or two in advance, especially where there are multiple affected dates in a row. We are a very date-dependent field, though.
For example, if you don’t clearly state the dates you’ll be gone, your office coworkers and clients might send you multiple emails, clogging your inbox and making it difficult for you to catch up when you're back. And if you don’t include the name and contact information in your outgoing message for the coworkers who can help in your absence, your well-earned vacation time might get in the way of ongoing projects at the company.
7. Out of office lead generation and content promotion templates. As with email signatures, out of office messages can be used for lead generation purposes and promoting new content.
But, what exactly should you say in that automated message of yours? Whether you’re looking for something straight-laced and formal or over-the-top festive, here are six different templates you can use for an out-of-office message that’s perfectly suited to you, your company, and this merry time of year.
For any requests you might have, feel free to reach out our [Title] [Name] at [email / phone].
Let’s be real, the majority of the thousands of emails you return to after being O.O.O. will be spam and salesy marketing drivel – any legitimately important emails will probably get lost! Unless you’re Barack Obama, just send it when they’re back.
The dialogue “You may remember me from..” by Troy McClure is uncannily iconic for all Simpsons fans. It has also evolved into an autoresponder saga. By the time the reader realizes that they are going to wait a while, they would have already had the fun of reading this hilarious convo. Have a look at this funny out of office reply and see if your associates would love to hear it:
11. "Hi, you've reached [company]. Unfortunately, we're currently unavailable. But we want to talk to you — so please leave your name and number, as well as your reason for calling, and someone will call back ASAP."
I guess it’s relatively minor, but I once emailed a local government official with a question about building permits (just as a citizen, not work-related) at about 10am on a Monday and got an out-of-office reply stating she’d be back “Monday” with no date. So I had no idea whether she was already back and hadn’t turned off the message yet, in which case, not urgent, I’ll wait, or was out for a week, in which case, I’d like to ask someone else. Not a big inconvenience, but it was so illogical not to give a date that it really drove me crazy
I want to be clear that I don’t think OOO responders are the solution to the larger problems of worker inequality or the broad American cultural attitudes that celebrate and encourage overwork. That would be silly. The big remedies for what ails modern work will likely require workers organizing and employers recognizing and granting protections. Large companies will have to stop prioritizing shareholder at the expense of their workers. I’m aware how unlikely this feels in practice and how a thoughtful auto reply email feels like applying a band-aid on a gunshot wound. I get it.
After all, a professional voicemail recording boosts your credibility, makes you seem more competent, and encourages whoever's listening to it to continue the relationship.
Both of these tools are designed to help you go from Email Explorer to Email Extractor – and get you from guessing to going when it comes to dealing with your email inbox.
Hello! Thank you for your message. I am currently out of the office, with no email access. I will be returning on [date]. If you need immediate assistance before then, you may reach me at my mobile – [mobile number]. Thanks!
Much obliged to you for your email but our office will remain closed due to upcoming holidays. Unfortunately, due to this, we will not be able to send you an answer until 12-01-20XX. In case of emergency, you can send your queries to Ms. Medley at [website], she will answer all your queries. All delays are hereby regretted.
Merry Christmas.Happy Hanukkah.Joyous Kwanzaa.Yuletide Greetings.Happy holidays.Joyeux Noël.Feliz Navidad.Seasons Greetings.