She’s been with our org for 32 years, haha. And our departmental email policy for the last at least eight of them has been “check your email at least twice a day.” Definitely no expectations of a 15 minute turnaround.
I still will get urgent messages from coworkers with multiple follow-ups during my OOO period. Then an angry call or email when I return that the response time was too long. When I check with Jane about the status she says she was never contacted about the issue. I always push back “Why didn’t you contact Jane?” but I think a lot of people in my organization like to shift blame when they are behind on their deadlines. If it was really so urgent, why did you wait a week just to get an answer from me?
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I deal with this all day. I feel like some property management companies make their managers announce when they’re going to use the bathroom via auto-reply.
There’s a term that we like to use around here called “snowbirds,” which is used to describe those who once resided in the northern part of the U.S., only to flee to warmer parts of the country during the winter.
Huh. This is a rare column from you that I disagree with almost entirely. I guess to start with what I think you get right, there's no need to apologize for being out of office, and no one should feel obligated to deal with anything other than a legitimate emergency (which are, in most fields, truly rare) while on vacation or while taking time off.
Different companies have different holiday policies. If you're going to be out of office during the holidays, state it in your email. Hello, Thank you for your email! Season's greetings. I can't to your email now as the office is closed for the holidays. I will not be checking my email from December 22 through January 4. If there's an emergency, please contact me at 123-456-7890. Otherwise, I'll respond to your email as soon as possible when I return. Thank you, Jim Parker. 8. Temporary Out-of-Office Email for Attending a Conference If you're going to a business conference, state it out in your out of office email. This type of email is also a great way to show your contacts that you're growing and advancing your job. Hello, Thank you for reaching out! I am out of office attending the National Association of Sale Manager’s conference in Houston, Texas. I'll be checking my emails occasionally, in case of an emergency, please contact my team member, John Doe at [email protected] or 123-456-7890 Regards, Dorian Emmanuel. 9. Out-of-Office with a Promotion
While the above is almost certainly a dramatisation, getting your out-of-office message right over the holiday period is arguably as important as all other facets of business. Cashflow? Investments? Who needs ’em when you’ve got an auto-response that’ll make people chortle!
Maybe you’re still available on email, but your location means there might be a little bit of an issue with time differences. This response is clever and a little bit geeky!
Website: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/holiday-out-of-office-messages
I worked somewhere that required we use them when we left for the day or if we were in meetings all day. It was rather annoying to do every single day. Now I am not at a place that requires it thankfully. I will often put one up if I leave early or if I am arriving late. Also if I am actually out of the office I will also put one up.
An old boss had a pet peeve about this so I became very conscious of making sure that I listed out who to contact on what day… before the group email. So it looked something like this:
12. "Hi, you've reached [company]. We're available by phone from [hour] to [hour] [time zone] Monday through Friday [optional: and from hour to hour on the weekends]. You can also contact us by going to our website, [URL], and live-chatting or emailing us. If you'd like us to call you back, please leave your name and number after the tone."
John Whatsisname has retired. Please contact [insert name and email] for enquiries relating to [subjects], or myself at [email] for personal matters. Thank you to my colleagues and clients for your support over the years.
My voicemail is set up to forward to my email. I did this years ago, way before the Late Unpleasantness. And it’s perfect for working remotely. (I have trained my students to use email. My colleagues hate voicemail too, so we use email and gchat. Or walk down the hall when we’re live and in person)
We have our top 10 list of out of office replies—and because we like to max out on fun times, we have an Out of Office Mad Libs activity you can try. Use it for yourself, pass away a slow afternoon with colleagues, or share it with clients headed out of town who would also enjoy it. Out of offices are here to help, after all.
Our auto-replies to outside people are two or three paragraphs long though, which feels ridiculous but is actually necessary.
Website: https://www.exclaimer.com/email-signature-handbook/10091-top-10-christmas-email-signature-tips