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.
I used to work at a place where we would occasionally send reports of network misuse that sometimes included inappropriate images the user had stored on work devices. One person had an email system that was somehow set up to make any attached images the profile pic for that account. So she would end up with random pornographic images as the profile pic whenever she received reports from us. She said she had no idea how to change it and could we please help? Since she was not part of our company, and I have no idea how that could even happen, I just started sending her kitten pictures after every report that included an image. Problem solved.
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Don't leave your sender guessing. Let them know when you'll be out and the date you'll be back in the office — not when you're returning home.
I start work at 9.30am but always leave the OOO on until at least then and schedule it until 10am – that way if the backlog is terrifying, people who email me that morning will know why I’m not replying straightaway. Similar to how some people mark their first day back from a few weeks off as out of office so they don’t have meetings (which is a great idea although I rarely do it).
Letter Informing about Holiday Closure: This letter should be typed in the official letter-head of the company. The Company's Name Door Number and Street's Name, Area Name, City. Postal Code : XXXXXX Phone Number : 0000 - 123456789 TO : The Receiver's Name, Door Number and Street's Name, Area Name, City. Postal Code : XXXXXXX Date : Reference
In this image, you’re letting people know you’re OOO with a “Missing” notice on a milk carton. Genius. Just be careful — this sort of autoresponder is best for internal emails, not for autoresponders that get sent to prospects and clients.
Who doesn’t love a bit of decoding? Why use basic words, when a broad range of emojis can spell out exactly what you want to say, but in a much more interactive and fun way?
My favorite OOO to set is something like this: “I’m at sea from X to Y with very limited bandwidth. I’ll reply to urgent emails as soon as possible (but there may be a delay); if you don’t hear back from me by Z, please resend you message.”
When one of my colleagues went on vacation, he sent an out-of-office message that was both clever and smart. First, he sent the recipient on an imaginary scavenger hunt to "the highest peak of the tallest mountain." He used humorous absurdity to make it clear that he would not be checking email while he was away.
My favorite was one the one that said “I am out of the office and don’t plan on ever returning.”
It also doesn’t help that gmail has no ability to create an OOO schedule… like why can’t I have gmail turn on the message every day at 5pm, and turn it off every morning at 8am? We have the technology!
If you’re going to be on vacation for a week or two, then it’s essential you set up your vacation email. If you miss the odd day, the world won’t implode, but if people don’t know you’re away for a few weeks and they don’t know exactly when you’ll be back, or who they can contact in your place, you’re going to have some unhappy clients or customers.
7) If you’re reading this, Doc Brown was unable to make lightning strike the clock tower, and I’m stuck in 1985. I won’t be able to respond to emails or voicemail until 9ish on mm/dd, or until email is invented — whatever comes first.
1. Sign in to Outlook.com. 2. Click the gear icon on the upper right corner beside your name. 3. Select More mail settings. 4. Under Managing your account click Sending automated vacation replies. 5. Enter the message you'd like to send while you're away.
You might receive multiple emails from coworkers and clients if you’re not specific about your absence dates, which will clog your inbox and make it hard for you to remain productive when you get back.
Guiding them regarding who to talk to within your absence is surely a part of being responsible for your work, but it’s not necessary to make it boring. Auto replies are extremely common in today’s world with 306.4B daily emails, and taking your contacts by surprise will give them a reason to smile even if they don’t get your help personally. In this article, I have tried to include both out-of-the-box email copies and use of multimedia so that you can get inspired by what suits your workplace. I hope you find this post helpful for the upcoming holiday season.
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