I remember a phone tree that at the end of the normal boring options there was “To hear a duck press 8”
It was 35 years That I joined this noble job Teaching, Since then I have made right paths for many Those who have got. My life kept moving with success
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I was once horrified as an HR person, and amused as a normal person, by an OOO from an employee who had left the company. They had booked vacation for their last week or so, and while I can’t remember the exact text, it said that they were no longer with the company and they were happy to leave and never come back. I think “to this hellhole” was only implied.
The reason for the OOOs for staff taking half-days? They didn’t want to check the shared office calendar where our time off was recorded. UGH
I work with such a person. So instead of something like “I’m writing to ask if you would graciously consider serving on our committee”, she will send a message along the lines of: “I am graciously writing to ask you to serve on our committee.”
Get the time and date right for when the automatic emails start - you could choose the the moment that you actually leave the office, or some cheeky people choose an hour or two before they leave, saying that they are busy handing over or wrapping up to deal with customers or other colleagues. They are still able to check the emails they do get anyway, to reply properly to if they want to.
But for employees at Daimler things are a little different. Email these people while they are on holiday and you will get a message like this:
There are two ways to send automatic out-of-office replies. The way you use depends on the type of email account you have.
I work with such a person. So instead of something like “I’m writing to ask if you would graciously consider serving on our committee”, she will send a message along the lines of: “I am graciously writing to ask you to serve on our committee.”
But you can do better than that. Surprisingly, you can get so much more out of such a simple letter. A good out-of-office can serve as a tool to generate leads, promote content, and help you stand out by showing off some creativity.
Out of office messages provide an excellent chance for you to produce leads and enjoy your vacation in the best way.
Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first ten words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message. This message is automated because until [DATE] because I’m moving to [LOCATION]. That’s right. A cross country road trip from [CITY] to [CITY]. I’ll get back to you when we pull into the driveway.
Yeah, that’s not enough to stress over. Try coming back to tens of thousands after parental leave.
Not every vacation you take is going to leave you completely unreachable. For those days when you’re out of the office but are still checking and responding to email or phone calls, make sure your message explicitly states that people will still be able to reach you, and how:
Here’s one example out in the world, which jumpstarted me thinking about this topic:
The Management Office will be closed on [date] for [Holiday Name]. Any inconvenience caused is much regretted.
I’d be happier getting this than one of the out-of-office messages that provides waayyy too much detail — “I’m at home nursing an unhappy stomach, hope to be in tomorrow, but meanwhile am resting and checking email in between bathroom runs,” etc.