Every November without fail, when I take a week off for deer season, I start my OOO with “GONE HUNTIN’!”
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Read: Office Closed For Holiday Message Template. Holiday Out Of Office Message. Thanks for your email. I will be out of the office on holiday from [date] to [date]. If you require any urgent assistance while I am away, kindly contact [name] at [email] or [phone number] for questions regarding marketing and [name] at [email] or [phone number
Education Details: The Out of Office feature is only available for users with a Microsoft Exchange account; however, Home users with non-Exchange accounts can create an out-of-the-office template and create a rule to have Outlook send the reply automatically.
My department still doesn’t allow us to send OOO auto-replies to external recipients because of one incident years ago (a customer tried to contact a sales rep about an urgent order, got the rep’s auto-reply, and in their ensuing panic, somehow got escalated all the way up to the company president). Any external emails we get are auto-forwarded to a centralized mailbox and (ostensibly) handled by another rep while we are out. It bothers me to know that my external contacts won’t get a reponse from me while I’m out and may think I’m just ignoring them.
I think this was from some outside contractor: “I have decided to retire to Pluto. Please send all work related enquiries to Cecil.Mongoose at llamagroomers dot com, or if you prefer an intergalactic means of communication my personal address is fergus at pluto dot com.”
Honestly, what drives me crazy is after someone has emailed me, gets the out of office, then *does* email someone else instead of waiting for me to get back. Yet said someone doesn’t email me back to say “see you’re out, person X got it taken care of, you can disregard my email”. So then I waste time seeing the initial request and following up. Has anyone found a good wording / other solution to know if the request was completed by someone else?
The OOO: was there ever a less apt acronym? (Ooo? Ugh, more like.) It wouldn’t be so bad if it actually worked when it was your turn to set one up, but unless you happen to live in France, where a worker’s ‘right to disconnect’ is enshrined in law, the twin fears of missed opportunities and the mail mountain that’s piling up in your absence will likely keep you furtively glancing at your in-box.
Here’s a peek at some great vacation samples of auto-reply messages, which are quick and to the point.
We’re always busy. Sometimes we’re too busy even for work. This is where out of office message comes in.
I am currently on my annual leave and will return to the office on *date*. If your request is urgent, please contact my colleague *name* at *email* or *phone*.
I had a manager who did exactly that for his paternity leave. I was floored, because I never thought it was an option. His attitude was that if it was important enough, the person would send it again.
You must pay close attention to signs of negative language or tendencies to sound monotonous. Instead, you can use simple, everyday vocabulary to convey your message.
Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, productivity strategist, and founder of Productivityist. He is the author of The Front Nine: How to Start the Year You Want Anytime You Want, The Productivityist Playbook, and TimeCrafting: A Better Way to Get the Right Things Done, coming soon from Mango Publishing.
Use a voicemail with the capability to record several different messages. Excellent customer service takes a little extra work. The good news is, once you get your messages recorded, they are set. You may need to change your holiday greeting message to fit the season, but all of the others will be okay. Write your scripts before you record!
Hey, why are you being so sneaky about where you've disappeared to? If you're not on vacation and your out of office is for a work trip, well darn it, work that! [Editor's note: Pun totally intended.]
The office is closed today for the Public Holiday. We will resume normal office hours from tomorrow morning. Enjoy your day off!