Whenever you need to step away from the office and won't be able to respond to emails as quickly as you usually do, it is good practice to create an out-of-office email autoresponder to guide your email correspondents on how to reach you, who else to contact, and/or what to do next.
Some people keep theirs quite corporate and formal, adopting a to-the-point notification, i.e.:
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It is entirely possible to enjoy a podcast and hate voicemail, nothing about issues with human voices.
With all that in mind, take a look at the following tips and tricks and six examples to make your automatic responses more effective:
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I am currently out of office on annual leave. I’ll get back to you straight away when I return on [end date]. If it’s urgent you can contact [contact’s name] on (contact’s email).
I will be out of the office on Thursday, November 8th, and Friday, November 9th. I will be back in the office on Monday, November 12th, and will not be responding to any emails until that time.
We are here to help, so you can focus on your time off! The less time you spend on the operational bits and pieces, the more time you will have to do some awesome reading.
If you are just like us and hate operational work and endless procedural to-dos, check out our Vacation Tracker and request your days off in seconds! It’s an effective employee absence tracker which will save your HR department hours every month. How To Get Back To Work After Vacation: A Guide The 5 Best HR Tips Every HR Manager Should Know 5 Reasons Why You Should Use Microsoft Planner
Will this work if the phone is off or in airplane mode? I’m leaving the country and I can almost guarantee someone is going to text me and then get really mad even though I told them I was leaving.
I’d add a little more detail to your message just to make it clear what will happen in your inbox. “If I don’t hear otherwise, I’ll assume that your issue was handled by my colleague” or “Please cc me if you contact Jane, and I’ll check back in on my return if I think your issue is still open.”
14. "Hello, you've reached the Sales Department at [Company name]. All of our representatives are currently helping clients [insert goal such as, 'achieve 40% growth through streamlining HR operations'] and are unable to take your call. Please leave your name, company, and phone number and we'll give you a call back ASAP. Thank you!"
“Hi, I’m Troy McClure!” We’re not sure who wrote the original Troy McClure out of office message, but this version by Paul Sokol of Infusionsoft is a real gem.
15. "This is Bond. James Bond. Okay, it's really [your last name]. [Your first name] [your last name]. I'll get back to you as soon as I'm done helping M16 save the world — which will probably be tomorrow at the latest. Have a good day."
Which to my mind lets people know when I’m back and that I will get back to them after that date, as well as who to contact for more urgent stuff. But every time, Wakeen gets teapot questions because people apparently can’t be bothered to finish reading and they both get questions on stuff that is not due for weeks after I return.
It was very inefficient but I was making $3 above minimum wage and it was air conditioned. So no argument from me. They took me back for the winter break and would have had me every other summer except I did internships, so I guess I didn’t do too badly.
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.