If you can, include the sender's original message in the automatic reply, to help them 'unsubscribe' you of any list or to remind them about their enquiry, which can be forwarded to someone more suitable.
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If you see the Automatic Replies button, follow the steps to set up an automatic reply.
I will surely respond to your email when I’m back in the office. But, if this requires an immediate response, please resend any messages that require my immediate attention with a subject line of “URGENT: [Original Subject]”.
Hi Steve, thanks for your article. My issue is same as Pam Lamkin, above. In order to use your phone you must turn off “Driving” mode, and then any messages that come in will not get the auto reply as long as you are on your phone, and until you reinstate the driving mode. Any thoughts?
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*.
My office has a shared vacation calendar, which I think is a more helpful way to handle this.
Or provide one of those downloadable calendar reminders in the OOO response that says “X is back from leave; okay to email!” Then at least you’re being helpful and proactive while you’re deleting everyone’s email.
I pretty much never pay attention to out of office replies, just note if there is one. If I really need something urgently I’ll look to see if there’s another person’s contact info, but it’s rarely that urgent. I might also look for a return date, if that matters to me. It would annoy me if I had to wade through a wall of text to find either of those things.
To customize “Respond with Text“ for incoming calls, go ahead to iPhone Settings > Phone > Respond with Text > Edit “Respond with Text” messages.
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File –> Automatic Replies –> Type your message in both sections – Inside my organization and Outside your organization.
10. Office Closed for Annual Vacation. Use this template for your annual year-end vacation. Hi (specify the Name field id), I am out of the office for my annual year-end vacation and will not be able to check my mail until after the New Year.
(Depending on your email host, the process of setting up your out of office assistant may vary. You can find a guide on how to access your out of office settings in Outlook here.)
12. "Hi, you've reached [company]. We're available by phone from [hour] to [hour] [time zone] Monday through Friday [optional: and from hour to hour on the weekends]. You can also contact us by going to our website, [URL], and live-chatting or emailing us. If you'd like us to call you back, please leave your name and number after the tone."
So what makes a good automated response that will give you the reassurance you need to keep your work email under control so that you can truly enjoy your holiday?
The reason I did it was that the first time I took maternity leave, I came back to thousands of irrelevant emails. It was a chore to sort through them, and finding the ones that were still relevant was like finding a needle in a haystack. And it wasn’t just a waste of *my* time – I often had to reach out to email senders only to hear that no further action was needed, so I was wasting their time too.