Here's a million-dollar question: how do you get people to do what you want them to? That's where Calls-to-Action (CTAs) come in.
Hi, I am currently out of the office. I know I’m supposed to say that I’ll have limited access to email and won’t be able to respond until I return, but that’s not true. My phone will be with me and I can respond if I need to. However, I promised my family I would try to relax.
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I worked with a guy years ago who would update his voicemail greeting literally every time he left the office. So the bare minimum would be that he’d record a new message when he arrived in the office in the morning. Then, when leaving for lunch he’d record a new greeting listing the time he would be back in the office, then he’d record a new message when he got back from lunch, then a new one at the end of the day saying he would be back in the morning. That’s not even counting the times he was out of the office on work business. It was deranged, especially since he had the type of job where he would normally be in and out of the office often.
Website: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-close-the-office-for-the-holidays-2533737
In case of pressing issues that need urgent attention, feel free to reach out to [CO-WORKER NAME]. Give them a call on [PHONE NUMBER] or send a message to [CO-WORKER EMAIL].
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.
Examples of a generic thank you message for a wide range of situations: Thank you so much for your thoughtful Christmas gift. I really appreciated it! Hope you have a great new year! Thank you for thinking of me. That was so kind of you. Thank you for the Christmas gift. You helped make my holidays special. Thank you so much for the Christmas gift.
My personal voicemail says that I prefer emails or texts when possible, and please leave a voicemail only as a last resort but either of the other two options will have a much faster response rate. I think I’ve gotten two voicemails in the last year.
This holiday out-of-office email is definitely on theme, if not a little passive aggressive. If you’re getting emails during the holidays, why not treat everything you receive that season like the present it is, and send a thank you note?
Or, announcing a trip on social media could result in email or social media offers too good to be true. It could open the door to spoofed travel details from an airline or hotel from thieves looking for credentials. Because so many employees use the same credentials for business and pleasure, this can put the organization at risk of an attack.
Use the time away with no employees working to restart equipment such as computers, laptops, etc. Restarts are necessary to keep updates installed and the machines running smoothly.
No matter what you’re using your SMS autoresponder for, there are a few pieces of best practice you should keep in mind when crafting an automated text message.
I once left a kind of breezy, fun out of office message for “people inside my organization” that said the literal truth: “I am out of office this week at a mountain resort where I have paid many hundreds of dollars for someone to take my electronics away from me. I’ll get back to you Monday,” and a very normal and professional OOO for “people outside my organization.” Needless to say I returned to a message from a senior (but not, I stress, my boss or even on my team) colleague calling me out on it. People surely can make things their business.
Q. If there’s a snowstorm during winter break, will sidewalks and parking lots be cleared?
If I got an OoO just to tell me to have a good day, I would find that person and throw water on their computer. They’re obviously not qualified to operate one.
5. It’s not all about Christmas, Cyber Monday, or Black Friday. When referring to the holidays, you might be thinking about Thanksgiving, Christmas, or maybe Hanukkah.
You’ll find everything you need to set up an out of office message at the very bottom of the ‘General’ tab there.