Crafting an out of office message can be plenty of fun and we're about to show you how with our Mad Libs version!
After all, most of us long to fully detach while we’re away and we know it’s the healthier and more restorative thing to do. Yet we’re concerned that actually doing so might appear reckless or irresponsible to our clients and colleagues.
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I usually put my boss in my OOO, because if something is so urgent that it needs to be delegated RIGHT NOW then it’s urgent enough that my boss should know about it, and he’s also in the best position to know who on the team to delegate it to based on everyone’s workloads and what can be dropped. But the most likely result is that whoever is emailing me either waits for me to get back because it’s not that urgent or goes to the next/backup person based on our central documentation about who to contact for particular issues.
I am out of the office on leave and will return on September 25. Please contact Jean Awad at [email protected] in my absence.
But, what exactly should you say in that automated message of yours? Whether you’re looking for something straight-laced and formal or over-the-top festive, here are six different templates you can use for an out-of-office message that’s perfectly suited to you, your company, and this merry time of year.
Whether your go for professional or funny, the most important task of this email is to clarify communication. A well-prepared auto-responder email will allow you to better enjoy your holiday break.
The good news is, automating text messages is as simple to set up as a pre-recorded voicemail prompt or an out of office email reply. We’ll show you how it’s done and share some ideas for how you can leverage the power of automation.
An old boss had a pet peeve about this so I became very conscious of making sure that I listed out who to contact on what day… before the group email. So it looked something like this:
I’m not bothered by it, but I use “when I return” instead. I don’t want people to think I’m checking emails when I’m out.
OMG. When I was in college, my mom got me a summer job at her office. All I did was send faxes, get faxes back, and put dates in a spreadsheet.
It was a commodities trading firm. I still barely know what they do. But, I would answer the phone, listen to whatever they said, understand not much and then I would say “lemme put you on hold” and then I would turn to the nearest person not on the phone and I’d say something dumb like “They’re calling about like…salt maybe?” And then I’d transfer to that person and they would figure out who it went to. (They all knew who was trading what that day. Nobody ever told me.)
Hi! I will be out of the office this week. If you need immediate assistance while I’m away, please email (COLLEAGUE NAME).
I’ll be back in the office on 7/19 and will happily respond then. Have a great weekend! Holiday Out-of-Office Messages 10. “Holiday revelry and debauchery ahead. Proceed with caution (if you dare).”
8. "Hi, you've reached [your name]. I'm unable to come to the phone right now. But if you leave your name, number, and a short message, I'll be sure to call back."
Thank you for your message. I am out of the office from May 1-6 with limited email access. If you need immediate assistance, please contact my assistant editor, Alex Jordan, at [email protected] or 555-432-6100. Otherwise, I will respond to messages upon my return.
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You crossed everything off your to-do list and cleared out your inbox. There’s one last thing for you to do: Write and activate the out-of-office message on your email.