7. Out of office lead generation and content promotion templates. As with email signatures, out of office messages can be used for lead generation purposes and promoting new content.
My European colleagues get an extended summer holiday all at the same time, which means we get OOO notes like this:
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Our office will be closed on [date] for the public holiday and will reopen again as normal on [date]. Contact details for emergency can be found on our website.
Remember, your email signature is as important to your company as all of your other corporate branding. Update any marketing promotional banners with seasonal offers. When the holiday season is over and your promos have finished, make sure you are no longer using a Christmas themed banner.
I do feel like the person who wrote it may have some issues in their organization with, oh let’s call it fire fighting. People who don’t necessarily think through the process of who would be most effective at dealing with the problem at hand. This reads like the message of someone who is used to getting everything dumped in their email and this OOO is an attempt to manage expectations and distribute issues to the people most able to quickly and effectively deal with a range of problems
I saved this one for the last example. It’s exactly what anyone would like to say when an associate messages them regarding any work during the holiday season. It talks about the ‘me time’ and also shares empathy for the sender. Especially, asking the sender to order the Pepperoni Pizza after stating the date of return is a fab movie. One of the best ways to display empathy is being humorous as it doesn’t put the other person into pressure- it makes way for helping them take the situation lightly!
Dear Customer, Thank you for your email Inquiry, Our office closed is closed celebrating [HOLIDAY]. We will not be able to respond to your email until [date]. Apologize for the delay. We wish you a wonderful holiday season. Best regards.
Your ooo also serves to let people know when they can expect you to reply yourself. If that’s not a concern, then I guess you don’t need one.
“Ahoy landlubbers, Dr Pirate [Myname] is back again to get her second eye done.
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.
“For the Symantec office, I send holiday wishes for the employees’ holiday out of office. I wish all the employees have lots of fun and adventure during the recreational holiday period. Have a happy holiday.”
“We all need breaks from time to time. Today I will be disconnecting from all things work, and going for a walk to smell the roses and soak in the sunshine.”
I hate unnecessary out of office messages. You don’t need to tell me you will be out for two hours. If it was that important, I would not be using e-mail!
Thank you for your email. I am out of the office and will be back on Nov 10th. During this period, I will have limited access to my email.
In my world, “please contact $Manager” is recognition of a staffing level problem. $Manager will have to decide what project to defer if a crisis comes up while someone is OOO.
Just because I’m that person, I may have actually contacted you with a “Hope you’re having a great time!”
You Need A Better Out Of Office MessageWe don't need professional politeness. We need honesty.