Here are some do's and don’ts for crafting an effective outgoing message, along with some out-of-office message examples: The exact dates of your time off — If you are simply reactivating the message you used during your last time away, make sure you change the dates, and double-check to ensure they’re right. The reason for your absence — Colleagues might still attempt to get in touch with you if they think you’ll be checking in. They’ll be less likely to try to contact you if they know you’re taking personal or vacation time. The people who can help while you’re out — Provide their names, phone numbers and email addresses. If you handle multiple areas, specify each person’s area of expertise so colleagues and clients know exactly where to go for assistance. What to avoid in automatic replies
The best solution, in my experience, is for the person covering your work to cc’ you on responses to the forwarded request. Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain* June 3, 2021 at 11:27 am
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Hello, Happy holidays! Thank you for your email; we are currently closed for the Easter holidays. It won’t be possible to respond to our email as I have limited access to the internet. But once I am back I will respond as quickly as usual. Kind Regards,
Oh my gosh, this is funny! It does sound kinda like, “some things are more important than work, JAN.”
Setting up an effective out-of-office autoresponder may seem to be a simple task. However, there is nothing worse than receiving an automated response that is not clear or useful. You want your “out of office” message to provide useful information and clarify why you are not available now. You certainly want to avoid any confusion or frustration.
Thank you for your email. I am currently on furlough indefinitely and will not be checking email during this time. Please reach out to my colleague, Darius Robinson, a project manager at the museum who can answer any questions or help you find the right contact while I’m out. He can be reached at [email protected].
Like, relax. If the dates are outdated, you can probably safely assume I’ve returned already and that I’m spending my time getting back to people instead of worrying about my very clear out-of-office message. If you’re really concerned, you can contact the backup person whose information I provided IN THE MESSAGE to confirm or just, you know, text me.
Thank you for calling [Company Name]. If you know your party’s extension, please dial it at any time. To reach our company directory, press 1. For more information about [Company Name], press 2. If you are an existing customer, please press 3. For billing questions, press 4. To repeat menu options, press 9. For all other inquiries, press 0. 3. Language Options
If you’re anything like I am, you probably fall into team two. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to get creative. But if you plan ahead, you might be able to craft some hilarity.
If you’re leaving a company for good, use your favourite book or film to make someone smile – like ‘Master gave Dobby a sock… Dobby is a free elf’ or ‘Hasta la vista, baby’... but this type of message really depends on the kind of impression you want to leave them with and who the message will go out to. Don’t forget, you might need them for references! Traditional offices no longer cater for modern business needs and provide a very limited service offering. In consequence, businesses have slowly been making the transition to more flexible working arrangements, such as employees working remotely part-time or benefitting from flexi-hours. We... 7 ways to make someone’s day at work while social distancing
If it’s not that infinite loop of autoreply hell, you get the “I will not be reading or responding to any email sent during this time. Please resend your request after August 1st.” dismissal.
I found the video funny and would actually laugh at the sense of humor in that out of office message.
I think it’s brilliant. Anyone emailing an animal shelter should appreciate a cute animal pic.
Including even a passing reference stating that your customer’s email is important to you shows your appreciation for the message that you are currently unable to respond to.
Since holidays occur throughout the year, there is no one ideal time to send a message. For the winter holidays, we recommending sending your well wishes early in December. In general, if you can send your message before people get busy with the holiday, then it will have a larger impact.
It’s wise to check they aren’t though. A colleague once had an out of office from an academic that simply said ‘on fieldwork’. Just those two words.
And that's it. Easy peasy, right? We know there are tons of genius out of office messages we missed, so if you've got a favorite don't forget to share it with us in the comments below!