I guess it’s relatively minor, but I once emailed a local government official with a question about building permits (just as a citizen, not work-related) at about 10am on a Monday and got an out-of-office reply stating she’d be back “Monday” with no date. So I had no idea whether she was already back and hadn’t turned off the message yet, in which case, not urgent, I’ll wait, or was out for a week, in which case, I’d like to ask someone else. Not a big inconvenience, but it was so illogical not to give a date that it really drove me crazy
Our office will be closed from [date] to [date] for the coming National Day holiday. We will resume our operations on [date]. Any inconvenience caused is much regretted.
.
Website: http://www.effective-business-letters.com/Letter-Informing-about-Holiday-Closure.html
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?
Website: https://www.ringcentral.com/us/en/blog/setting-up-vacation-and-holiday-call-rules/
When I’m out for a day or longer, I like to schedule my out of office message to run all the way up until the start time of my day when I return, since we have people who start emailing three hours or earlier before I even get to my desk. If it’s a Monday and I’ve been out for two weeks and they’re emailing me at 6:30am my time, I want people to know that I’ve been out and will be wading through my inbox and might not answer them right away at 10:01 their time like I typically would.
Unfortunately, I can’t answer your email (even though my office is three feet away). I’ll get back to you once I’m back from my long-awaited trip to the fridge. Bought tickets on TripAdvisor and everything.
Not an out of office, but I had a sign I used to put on my closed door whenever I was head down on something and didn’t want to be disturbed:
Workplace ExperienceBusiness EmailsCustomer Service EmailsWorkplace EmailsHR E-mailsPeople ExperienceOperationsBasic Guidelines & TipsProfessional E-mail Responses
So, professionals are expected to use out-of-office email autoresponders whenever they will be out of reach for a fairly long time.
Physical security is just as important as managing your technology when you are gone for the holidays. Take these key steps to ensure that your office is indeed locked up tight. Make sure no keys are left sitting out where they are easy to see or access. Check with security to make sure that they have keys to get in the building. Check security systems and cameras to be sure that they are fully functional. Make sure that the security system is sending a notification to someone who is actually in town for the holidays, not a manager who is going to be across the country! Lock up desks and filing cabinets, especially those that contain sensitive information. Place all keys in a safe location. Check doors and windows to be sure that they are locked. Review your incident response plan. Do you have a plan for how to respond when everyone is out of the office? This can include everything from a hacker going after your data to a physical emergency at the office.
Try something like, "For immediate assistance, please contact Boss Name at [email protected]."
I’ll reply to your message promptly when I return. But, if you require immediate assistance, please send an email to [contact name] at [contact email] in my absence.
Work-Life Balance6 Out-of-Office Templates for the Holidays That You Can Copy and Paste Now
To customize “Respond with Text“ for incoming calls, go ahead to iPhone Settings > Phone > Respond with Text > Edit “Respond with Text” messages.
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It’s funny, because when I turn off driving mode on my work iphone and look at the test messages coming in from my personal Samsung, it shows that the iPhone is sending the auto-replies, but I am not getting them on the Samsung??