It’s possible I might quote from some responses to this in an upcoming column, so please note if you don’t want me to do that with yours!
Two to three sentences is usually enough to tell recipients everything they need to know.
.
First, take your pick: you can create a mellow, professional out of office email (your CEO will approve!) or, you can make an auto-reply that's a bit goofier.
“Many people reveal details about their personal lives in an OOO — like where and when they’re traveling,” Tim Sadler, CEO of Tessian, explains in an email interview. “Whether done on social media or in an auto-reply message on email, this arms hackers with the information they need to either craft a convincing email targeted at the OOO employee or impersonate the person who is on vacation and target one of their colleagues.”
See, if it’s a long period of leave and there’s an alternate contact provided, this is just… the sensible thing that should happen?
One of the most important things to do when leaving office is to create an out of office auto-reply email. It’s a must for you to let your business associates and colleagues know how and when they will be able to reach you again. You should do that even if you are planning on just resting at home — it shows a certain level of professionalism.
Inform your correspondent about the date by which they can expect to receive a response to the email they send you during the holiday season. Indication that your will reply to the email when they return.
Use this response if you’re in a millennial workforce or you want to seem ‘down with the kids’. Or if you spend way too much time on Twitter. hitting your inbox between [date] and [date]; got sent to you unusually quickly and; is the same response no matter how many times you email;
To my mind, it’s just a really bad idea to mass delete stuff that comes in while you’re out. You never know if those emails contain important (though non-actionable) information that you’ll need. You really can’t expect people to resend information like that once you’re back, especially if you were cc’d on something.
Yes! I hate the “at my earliest convenience” for the same reason – it comes across as “I’ll do it when I feel like it”. I would only use that phrase at work in terms of someone else (ie “at YOUR earliest convenience”).
I read it as coming from a person who was overly frustrated with their regular OOO being ignored. It’s one of my pet peeves – the OOO clearly says I’m not there and to contact Bob, yet the sender continues to reply, never contacts Bob, then blows up at me when I return that their work is delayed. I would love to be able to send something like this message in the letter but it wouldn’t fly at my office.
Education Details: I will be checking my voicemail messages periodically, so please leave me a message and I will return your call as soon as possible. If you need immediate assistance, please contact my assistant, Suzy Jones at 1-800-555-1212 extension 6336. Hi, this is Jim Smith. I will be out of the office and returning Monday, April 21.
Does this only work with contacts saved in my phone? I’m trying to get an auto response to prospective clients whom I don’t have saved in my phone.
I’ll be on maternity leave from [DATE] until [DATE]. For general inquiries about [DEPARTMENT/ROLE], please email [CONTACT NAME]. If this isn’t time sensitive, feel free to resend this email in [MONTH] once I’m regularly checking emails again. All the best.
When you’re away from the office, it’s important that people know where they can reach you. This is especially true for those who work with you on a regular basis. If you have an email address or phone number listed as “out of office,” then everyone knows how and when to contact you. But what should go into this note?
I’d then check off all that applied—people would laugh each time they saw it bc I’m such a predictable nerd, one or both of the first two lines was almost always checked off…and usually both!
A. All faculty and staff are encouraged to leave their work areas clean, including taking food home. Also, please close all windows and doors, and shut down computers, monitors, printers and other similar equipment (except LAN servers and network devices). Portable space heaters, coffee pots, fans, radios and other non-essential equipment should be turned off and unplugged. If you notice any water fixtures that are leaking or dripping, or any other maintenance issues, please contact Facilities at [email protected] as far in advance of winter break as possible so these issues may be addressed appropriately.