I’m here to talk to you about someone you know. Catalina Wong is out of office until September 27. She wanted me to let you know that she’ll get back to you after her return.
Of course, managing a minute and a half response time isn’t so easily accomplished when you’re out of office, receiving hundreds of texts each hour, or shifting your attention to a different project.
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Some of the people I know that have a lot on their plate are able to deal with a large volume of email with intent and integrity. It’s worth taking a look at how they deal with email so you can model some of their habits. I’ve listed three people below who I know handle their email really well.
How long you’re out of the office forWho to contact while you’re awayYour return date
With a slightly modified email address to mirror yours, they can easily impersonate you using the personal information provided in the OOO message and exploit your absence. Knowing where you are and how long you may be gone can lead to an attempt to initiate a transfer of funds or access confidential data. They might even go the extra step and reference how great their “trip” is going just to make the message appear genuine.
Perhaps someone reached out to your marketing department regarding a press inquiry, guest post pitch, etc. You’ll want to be sure you’re ready with a response. Thanks for reaching out to NAPA marketing, someone will be in touch with you shortly. What can we help you with?
50 Out Of Office Messages And Emails Wishesmsg In 2020 Out Of Office Message Messages Auto Reply Message 20 Good Out Of Office Message Examples Office Quotes Funny Out Of Office Message Messages
I’ll be banning myself from my inbox, so if you need something before Monday 2/8, try Molly Fitzgerald, customer success manager extraordinaire, at [email protected]. If it’s urgent, she’ll know how to reach me as I watch my 14th consecutive episode of The Great British Bake Off.
Otherwise, a referral to your company’s general contact email or a simple ‘I’ll respond when I get back, stop bugging me’ should do the trick.
My biggest pet peeve is the opposite – people who NEVER turn on their OOO! I’m not saying for a day but when they’re out for an extended period of time and I’m reaching out to get a deliverable.
17) I cannot handle your emails until I return on mm/dd/yyyy. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
haha no offense taken. No one wanted to read (or even listen!) to all that. We only did it so she’d stop ruining our Mondays with epic 1-hour rants about what terrible people we are. And no, none of the projects we worked on were ever so critical or time-sensitive!
I’m with you on this one. Management has access to a mansion and a townhouse in two different fabulous vacation destinations and it burns my butt every time I see an out of office from one of them (98% white men) going on about how they’ll be enjoying this perk. In the meantime, a few years back we had to eliminate free coffee at the offices because business was not good enough (it was eventually brought back after company president realized after a year that people were really pissed).
Since holidays occur throughout the year, there is no one ideal time to send a message. For the winter holidays, we recommending sending your well wishes early in December. In general, if you can send your message before people get busy with the holiday, then it will have a larger impact.
If you’re out for several days, then sure, say when you’ll be back and leave info for who to contact in the meantime.
Think about your tone and mood - you don't know who'll be getting these out of office auto reply emails so be mindful of the impression you make. Think of the boss, the CEO, a colleague you like, family members, clients you like. That said, there are some bridge-burner examples below to tempt you!
Help your users know when to expect a response. It’s easy to show customers your team’s availability and let them know when they can get assistance from your team. You can manage their expectations by setting your office hours and expected response time.