I hope you’re having an A+ [week, month]. I’m out of the office at this great conference [link to the event]. It takes place on [date] at [time] in [city and location].
Anyone who communicates digitally needs to set up ooms conversely, if you are out for just a day, your contact could reasonably expect a response i am out of the office for the thanksgiving week:
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In a role where I got many OoO replies, I actually loved this. (And wrote back in said language. And got a reply!)
We used to do this at my old job in addition to OOO messages. I found it useful to know in advance how long people were going to be gone. There’s nothing more annoying than needing something urgently from the one person who can help and then getting an auto-response saying they’re out for the next 2 weeks.
Thanks for writing! You can expect a response to your note in 1-2 business days. While you’re waiting—surprise! Here’s something I made for you: [Include a worksheet, tool, video, blog post, checklist, resource list, or whatever you’d like!] I hope [name of thing] makes your day a little brighter and easier. Thanks for your patience, and talk to you soon!
I am out of the office from [date range]. If you need immediate assistance, please contact [name, title and contact information].
› Url: https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/salaries-and-skills/vacation-time-how-to-craft-an-effective-out-of-office-message Go Now
This one’s for all the marketing/sales buffs. Turn your vacation responder into a lead generation tool and collect leads even while you’re away! Hi there, Thanks for your email. I’m currently out-of-office until [date] with limited access to email. If your request is urgent, please contact [name] at [email] or [phone]. In the meantime, did you know that we have a weekly newsletter? Step right up for a weekly dose of all your favorite content from us, delivered right to your inbox. Don’t miss out on the good stuff! Sign up for our newsletter here: [link] I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as I’m back on [date]. Appreciate your patience! Thanks,
A former coworker used to always include a kitten picture when she submitted invoices.
I hope you’re having an A+ [week, month]. I’m out of the office at this great conference [link to the event]. It takes place on [date] at [time] in [city and location].
She, if I recall, had a few comments from people when she got back regarding her words (she was on annual leave on holiday, it wasn’t a family emergency or anything that might excuse the tone). It rubbed quite a few people up the wrong way (most of them parents themselves!). Don’t recall more of an outcome though, I wasn’t at that firm long.
I know a lot of people who never vacation for more than a few days because the email backlog becomes incredibly stressful upon their return; this is one way to meaningfully combat that which is somewhat in the employee’s control.
ContentsHow to Set Up an Out of Office Reply in the Outlook Desktop AppHow to Set Up Out of Office Replies in the Microsoft Outlook Web Version
What makes this a decent example of an OOO message is that it’s candid, (hopefully) honest, and blunt. There’s no guessing whether or not this dude is going to respond to your email this week. Also, it gives us a bit of an insight into his life right now, which helps communication in the moment and in the future. He’s burned out. Even if you did manage to reach him, it’s likely he’d be resentful, even if he didn’t say so. There’s a good chance the sender of the original email will identify with this and respect his time.
My husband does this with his phone (not a number he uses for work). My parents do this as well and I can’t figure out if it’s due to lack of tech skills or not wanting to deal with voicemails (I think it’s a combination). I had surgery a couple years ago and had to give the hospital all three numbers and then my brother an hour away as backup since he’s the only one besides me with functional voicemail.
My pet peeves are too much personal information (no need to tell me your cousin had a hysterectomy) and the ones that are carbon dated, e.g. from 2018.
1. Simple Autoreply Message #1. If you’re looking for a simple autoreply message sample for your business, you can use this template. Keep in mind that you’ll have to change the field id and the date before you save it.