Also known as "autoresponder emails," out-of-office messages run the gamut. From funny, to clever, to snarky, this message can both show your personality and let senders know that, well, you’re out of office.
Yup, that’s what I meant. Hearing or reading”Happy Halloween!!” in June is annoying.
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Having easy access to your work even when you away from the office doesn’t mean you don’t take time to disconnect and relax for a while. You deserve to take a break, muting all the mailboxes and switching off your work phone for a couple of days or weeks. However, there is a lot you should put in place before going away from your office, in the true sense.
Once the person reaching out to you realizes you’re gone, they may panic if they have a legitimate need for immediate support. The best way to avoid this is to let your callers (and emailers) know how to find the appropriate help.
The one I’ve always wished I was brave enough to write was the one I once got which simply said:
I’ve seen similar things with OOO messages where people would update them practically daily. “I’ll be away from my desk from 9-2 with intermittent emails and then on a call from 3:-3:45” and ….dude. We don’t need that much detail every day.
TEMPLATE #1. (Office closed for holiday notice: Memo to all employees) Dear All, Please note that our office will be closed on (day), (date) because of the (mention reason). The office will then open as usual on the next working day. This is for your kind information. Do spread this info among other colleagues.
As your email will not be forwarded, please contact in the meantime my colleague, Mary, 0912345678, [email protected].
For urgent matters please reach out using my mobile number +111 1111. For technical related issues please contact [email protected]
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 give my folks scripts because, otherwise, I end up with long winding OOOs that talk about why they’re out but not what the writer/caller should do to get help (staff is 1/3 entry-level with varying degrees of professional office familiarity). I do not have the time to micromanage to this level, though – if I see an off-spec OOO, I send the how-to guide and remind them that they need to tell people who to call while they’re out or to mention the specific dates, but most of them have good judgment enough not to be totally inappropriate to the point I need IT to intervene.
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.
If you’re traveling to a remote, mountainous area, why not jab some fun at your lack of WiFi in your autoresponder? Plus, that makes it less likely that people will expect an immediate response or continue to email you after the first try.
I think that it depends on whether or not that OoO was going to people in the company, who new your personsality and would appreciate the humour/personal touches, or to everyone, always. If I got the from OoO from a quirky co-worker, fine. It I got it from an outside contact that I have had little contact with? Unprofessional and a bit off-putting.
7.) Herzlich willkommen bei der Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Mustermann. Leider können wir Ihren Anruf derzeit nicht persönlich entgegen nehmen, da Sie während unserer Betriebsferien anrufen. Gerne können Sie uns eine E-Mail senden an [email protected] - Wir werden uns dann nach unserer Rückkehr umgehend bei Ihnen melden. In dringenden Fällen wenden Sie sich bitte an unsere Kanzleivertretung. Diese finden Sie auf unserer Homepage unter www.kanzlei-mustermann.de . Vielen Dank für Ihren Anruf. Auf Wiederhören!
“I am out of the office until X date. Your email has been deleted unread. If it is still important, please resend it after my return.”