German vehicle-maker Daimler has an innovative approach to holiday email, which many people about to return from holiday may well wish their company would copy, writes William Kremer.
Further, given how poorly humor — especially sarcastic or snarky, even if mild — translates in text, you're running a moderate risk of pissing someone off through no fault of their own, for no reason other than to indulge yourself.
.
We crafted some creative examples that you can use for your Out of office emails. Check them out. Basic Out of Office Email (just get it over with)Offer Something in Return (marketing never sleeps)Keep Them Engaged (you never know)A Little Brag Cannot Hurt (for the adventurous)
What was weirder is that it took a couple weeks after covid hit for her to turn the message off – which meant that when the entire company was wfh, we would still get an fyi message from her that she was also working from home.
I’ll add my shout out to MS and Outlook for not only being able to schedule OoO auto replies, but for having internal and external facing options.
I think this is great. A little too long, but it would work well as an internal reply in a large office with the right kinda culture. I’m imagining how useful it would be in my previous office with 300+ people that always had some “fire” or another to put out. I also appreciate how it protects the sender’s time off–at no point does it say “ok, fine. contact me.”
You crossed everything off your to-do list and cleared out your inbox. There’s one last thing for you to do: Write and activate the out-of-office message on your email.
Rather than a number of days or vague phrasing like “this week,” giving exact dates helps prevent confusion and lets senders know when they can expect a response from you.
Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterConnect with us on LinkedInCheck us out on PinterestOur BlogOur Blog RSS FeedReaching Talent to Meet Business Needs
I had a colleague who simply never answered her phone or set up her voicemail. She still listed the number on her business card and email .sig, she just never answered or checked voicemail. When she took a new job another colleague inherited her phone number and when he went to set up his voicemail there were basically eight years’ worth of messages left for her that he had to delete.
3. 3 The Bedford Falls. Season’s Greetings! I’m currently curled up on the couch with fuzzy slippers on my feet, a blanket across my lap, and a mug of cocoa in my hand.
I pretty much never pay attention to out of office replies, just note if there is one. If I really need something urgently I’ll look to see if there’s another person’s contact info, but it’s rarely that urgent. I might also look for a return date, if that matters to me. It would annoy me if I had to wade through a wall of text to find either of those things.
Same, I think it’s patronizing to talk people through their options as if they can’t make a decent choice without having their hand held every step of the way. There are plenty of people who can’t, of course, but I don’t think a long, verbose message is necessarily going to help.
Logging off will happen to every one of us, whether you're on vacation, have a family emergency, or need to attend a work conference. So we're going to put your mind at ease, creating a unique out of office message to greet your clients and take care of them until you return.
The one I’ve always wished I was brave enough to write was the one I once got which simply said:
Q. Are there any departments or clinics on the Health Science Campus that will be closed during winter break?
I’m mostly back in my actual office now, but I went with “away from my computer between X and Z” a couple of times and just straight up “I am on annual leave between X and Z” a couple of times.