Not every vacation you take is going to leave you completely unreachable. For those days when you’re out of the office but are still checking and responding to email or phone calls, make sure your message explicitly states that people will still be able to reach you, and how:
If the thought of me sight-seeing in Lisbon is making you feel a little blue here is a cat GIF to cheer you up.
.
Here are some of the common questions and answers about holiday messages to employees.
While not QUITE as annoying as “Have a great day!” there are several people/departments who use an auto reply for the most frequently asked questions or information for their department…something along the line of an IT auto response that says: “To submit an IT request or check for an updated status on a request, please visit request.business.com”
The appropriate tone depends on the holiday. If you’re closing for Christmas or New Year’s, it’s safe to assume your customers expect you to be festive and maybe even humorous. Conversely, if you’re closed for Veterans’ day, your email should strike a more serious chord. Use our templates and double-check your tone before you hit send.
I have a coworker who has an “always-on” autoreply stating that she “is busy with client meetings during the day” and therefore only checks emails at 9am and 3pm. I understand wanting to set the expectation that people won’t get an immediate response, but it really baffles me. If you are still able to respond within 24 hours, why does anyone need this information? To me it feels like some weird self-help tip or power move that they read somewhere that serves no actual function.
I don’t think it’s condescending, but I do find it annoying. I have a coworker who sometimes writes emails in this tone of voice, and it’s honestly way too much.
7.) Benvenuti all’ufficio legale John Doe. Ci scusiamo, ma al momento non possiamo rispondere personalmente alla vostra chiamata, perché state chiamando durante le nostre vacanze annuali. Non esitate a inviarci una e-mail a: [email protected] – Vi contatteremo al più presto possibile al nostro ritorno. Per casi urgenti, vi preghiamo di contattare i nostri responsabili d’ufficio. Potete trovarli sul nostro sito web: www.lawoffice-johndoe.de. Grazie per la vostra chiamata – Arrivederci.
I have a message saying I don’t listen to voice mail, because I only see that a message has been left after several days. No idea why the lag, it’s been the same despite going through two phones and two operators. There are always other ways to contact me. Last time I got voicemail it was the police, the officer was calling from a landline so he couldn’t text. Luckily it wasn’t urgent (he needed a witness statement, but I hadn’t witnessed anything of interest to the court).
I agree. I think this one is way too long and comes off as trying to be too cute.
Lead generation emails are the best when it comes to driving sales and promoting your content. Here’s an example template to inspire you:
Written by Braden Becker @BradenBecker
Amen. I have a co-worker who’s out of office message is always “spending time with my kiddos.” I don’t care. Just tell me who to contact and/or when you’ll be back.
Braden also recommends using HubSpot's out-of-office email generator to create your OOO message.
Going back to how some people can’t ever switch off, this person went above and beyond for their auto-email with a humorous graph that very accurately shows the highs and lows of stress levels before, during and after time away.
(Email Signature) 3. Memorial Day Closed Email. Our office will be closed on Monday, May 31st in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, June 1st at 8:00 a.m. Our sincere gratitude to those brave men and woman who have served our country and paid the ultimate sacrifice. Best regards, (Email Signature) Overview: Your Memorial Day
There are some types of work or office cultures where I think this makes sense. Sometimes enough people use OOO messages for work travel, conferences, and similar that getting the OOO doesn’t really mean you won’t get a response until the date specified. It can help to clarify.