Because you can never predict when an emergency will come up, make sure you have someone who can resond to urgent requests. And that person would be your direct manager. But let them know ahead of time so they're not blindsided when they need to respond to something.
Consider also adding a funny GIF or a meme to such an email, some interesting but silly facts, or maybe include a short and harmless joke.
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Sometimes people will think it’s okay to ask a quick question while you’re out of the office. Avoid the interruption by including at least one person who can answer questions in your absence.
Thanks for your note! I’ll be OOO from [date] to [date] and will not have access to email during that time. If this is an urgent matter, please contact [Contact Name] at [contact email].
The only thing I add to that boilerplate is if I’m working but mostly unavailable.
Okay. Before you go into fancyland or funnyland about how you're in the woods protecting yourself against bears, remember Rule 1! Make sure you have all the pertinent details in your out of office message.
If you set up a vacation reply but people say they are not getting the reply, it could be one of the following:
Hahaha. This sounds like somebody thought the phrase “at X’s earliest convenience” sounded vaguely businessy and professional, but didn’t realize the pronoun is always supposed to be “your”. It’s never “my”, for the reason you mentioned.
If you know that you’re going to be out of office for a long time, it’s worth thinking about redirecting your clients to your colleague. Mention their name, explain what position they occupy and how they can help your client. Include a way to contact them in the form of an email address or a phone number. Just try to warn a colleague that you want to redirect your clients to them before going on a vacation.
Oh, this reminds me of the best out of office I ever received. It was three years ago, but it was so funny I saved it. All of it was gold but the sign-off was “Hoping that you are at least a little bit jealous (why else should I go on vacations to begin with?), I remain truly Yours, etc”.
Dear Customer, Please note that all company offices will be closed from [date]. We will reopen on [date] We wish you the best holiday. Regards, [Company name]
I should note that our voicemail system has a pretty straightforward feature to put an end date on an out-of-office voicemail message. I am baffled why this person does not use the feature.
Hi, I’m Troy McClure. You might remember me from such out-of-office messages as Avenge My Death if I Don’t Return from DMEXCO and Bye Now, I’m on an Absurdly Long Cycling Trip.
BUY and DOWNLOAD: Voicemail Recording: VM07c Hello – Our offices are currently closed. Please leave us a message so that one of our team can call you back at the earliest opportunity CODE VM07 Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.
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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)
Each time McClure makes an appearance in these out-of-office messages, he "speaks" on behalf of my colleague and alludes to the previous auto-responses in which he starred. It's a mild form of self-deprecating humor — as if to say, "I know, I'm out of the office again" — made only funnier by the made-up teaser title included in the last line.