By providing this information for anyone who tries to contact you, it ensures important emails don’t go unnoticed or ignored.
Same, I think it’s patronizing to talk people through their options as if they can’t make a decent choice without having their hand held every step of the way. There are plenty of people who can’t, of course, but I don’t think a long, verbose message is necessarily going to help.
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This is one reason I rarely give a contact person. My company is terrible at communication, and not only could you easily be sent on a OOO chain, you could also be emailing someone who is out who didn’t even use OOO.
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Here are some suggestions for what you should always include in your auto-reply emails when you are out of the office:
It is important to understand that your auto-response message can go to anybody, even your top management people. Try to avoid any embarrassment by taking the time to proofread the message.
Thanks so much for reaching out. I’m currently attending the [conference/event name] from [date] to [date] and will have limited access to email during this time.
You can show just how thrilled you are about your vacation while still providing an apology (of sorts… not really). 8. “I am currently out of the office and probably chilling on the beach. Enjoy your work week.”
This email comes from another one of my colleagues. The purpose of this email is to intercept messages during Thanksgiving, and the way in which it does so is, well, with thankfulness.
Please leave your name, phone number, and a short message and I'll be sure to return your call. Hi, this is [your name] at [X company]. I am unavailable at the moment, but please leave your name, phone number, and the reason you’re calling, and I’ll call you right back. Hi, you’ve called [your name] at [X company].
One day, the boss said I needed to start answering phones, and did not accept my pushback.
Hi, I am currently out of the office from [MM/DD] to [MM/DD]. I will do my best to respond promptly to your email when I return. Please contact [name] at [email] or [phone] for any urgent matters.
Others like to take the opportunity to inject a little personality and make the reader smile, like our very own Rachael’s summertime out-of-office:
I appreciate your message. I am out of the office currently with no office email access. However, return on the following [date-of-return].
I would very much like to meet him, and I don’t know if that proves or challenges his point…
Thank you for your email! I am on vacation. Vacations are not for checking email, so I won’t be doing that. Fortunately, we rarely encounter life and death situations in the world of [INDUSTRY TYPE], and aren’t we all glad for that? If you think I’m checking email because you just received an email from me, that is only because I figured out the pixies that send emails on a schedule. Really, I’m not checking email.
A word of warning: These greetings will not do you any favors if you're in the midst of a job hunt or work in a conservative industry. Always remember your target personas. If there's a chance they won't appreciate your sense of humor, opt for a straightforward greeting instead.