Guiding them regarding who to talk to within your absence is surely a part of being responsible for your work, but it’s not necessary to make it boring. Auto replies are extremely common in today’s world with 306.4B daily emails, and taking your contacts by surprise will give them a reason to smile even if they don’t get your help personally. In this article, I have tried to include both out-of-the-box email copies and use of multimedia so that you can get inspired by what suits your workplace. I hope you find this post helpful for the upcoming holiday season.
No one thinks much about cybersecurity while traveling. However, email security company Tessian warns the out of office message actually plays right into the hands of threat actors and cybercriminals. It’s a social engineering attack vector that no one thinks about. The out of office message is ubiquitous and handy. But if it includes any personal information at all — such as attending a funeral or going out of the country — attackers have all the information they need to impersonate the person who is out of the office, without the attacker having to do any real work.
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I have a confession to make: I haven't recorded a new voicemail greeting in nearly a decade. Since then, I've (hopefully) become more articulate, poised, and self-assured. But hear my voicemail recording, and you'd think I was still new to the work world, a little unsure of myself — and probably not an authority.
The UPS driver is scheduled to pick me back up on the eighth. He should deliver me back to the office by the ninth (assuming he’s not late like he was this time).
Yet, sometimes compiling the right words can be a bit daunting. You want to be polite, clear, firm, and perhaps even a little festive. Plus, it’s often a task we leave until we’re just about to run out the door for a holiday break.
I run a summer camp and i can’t convince IT to forward the phone off season (and I forget to check those voicemails when they aren’t flashing in front of me), so the voicemail there says “You’ve reached camp, we are closed for the season, and voicemails on this machine are not checked. you can contact me at our head office at X or email me at [email protected], repeat info, thanks!
I worked with a guy years ago who would update his voicemail greeting literally every time he left the office. So the bare minimum would be that he’d record a new message when he arrived in the office in the morning. Then, when leaving for lunch he’d record a new greeting listing the time he would be back in the office, then he’d record a new message when he got back from lunch, then a new one at the end of the day saying he would be back in the morning. That’s not even counting the times he was out of the office on work business. It was deranged, especially since he had the type of job where he would normally be in and out of the office often.
I’ll be back in the office on [end date] or after I’ve perfected my banana bread (whichever comes first)—and will respond to your message then.
We’ve gone into lockdown in my state again, and one of my colleagues (events) has put the following as her out of office: Thank you for your message, I am working however there may be a delayed response as we manage our current events that have been affected by the recent XXXXXX Lockdown. I will respond to your request as soon as I am able. If the matter is time sensitive that can not wait please contact me on my mobile:
Just hang in there, the holiday break is near. Alas! You can finally disconnect, recharge, and relax.
Hey — you’ve reached my inbox, but hold on, the doorbell just rang. It’s the UPS driver. He’s loading me onto the truck. Dang, it’s stuffy in this truck with all these boxes. He’s taking me down to… Oh! Florida! And now I’m on the beach. Thanks, UPS driver!
Don’t forget all our offices will be closed for the Public Holidays this Thursday date. [Company name] will be closed to celebrate [Holiday name] and we will resume normal operation on [date]
But perhaps we have it all wrong, and are simply enslaving ourselves further to technology by toiling over OOOs that are personality-packed, marketing-friendly perfection. Maybe we need to be altogether more standoffish if we want to make our OOOs really work for us? NYU Professor Meredith Broussard, who’s the author of Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World, takes the inspiration for her OOO from US writer, poet and children’s author E.B. White, who once turned down an invitation from President Eisenhower with the words “I must decline, for secret reasons”. Accordingly, Broussard’s OOO reads simply: “I am out of the office, for secret reasons.”
This person works remotely and wants to continue to do so, but I think I am going to have to have a conversation about them using the technologies at our disposal that make this possible. Including out of office and second take-home monitor.
Don’t be afraid to use a pop cultural reference that the audience would recognize. Instead of bemoaning your absence, they’ll have something fun and familiar to laugh at.
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If you are unavailable and a client needs contact, a colleague’s contact information can be included. The text should also indicate when it’s appropriate to contact the alternate. Some people will indicate that the contact is for urgent matters while others may offer for consistent client care.