When it comes to the final days before vacation, people tend to fall into one of two camps: 1) those who watch the clock incessantly, and 2) those who are so busy before they leave, they might even forget to put up an out-of-office (OOO) email message.
Every employee email is an opportunity to tell your customers and clients of your Christmas opening hours. Letting your customers know when you’re open is especially important if you have international customers whose offices will be open over the festive period. Also, make sure you remember to turn on an auto-response when your office is
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I hope you will be celebrating the season soon. However, if your email is time-sensitive, please contact [Alternate Name] at [alternate email] and one of our busy elves will be happy to help.
I will be out of the office this week. If you need assistance while I’m away, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL].
The one I’ve always wished I was brave enough to write was the one I once got which simply said:
Note: Sending automatic replies to anyone outside my organization will send your automatic reply to every email, including newsletters, advertisements, and potentially, junk email. If you want to send automatic replies to those outside your organization, we recommend choosing My contacts only.
I'm probably in the middle of a tree farm right now, getting covered in tree sap, so my hands would stick to my keyboard if I tried to respond to your email. I'll respond to your email once I am back at work on [date].
Whatever style you may ultimately decide to adopt, each of these emails should feature these essential elements: Precise reference to the period in which you will be away, as the receiver will want to know when they can reach you again. Inform your correspondent about the date by which they can expect to receive a response to the email they send you during the holiday season. Indication that your will reply to the email when they return. Check Out these examples:
Sample out-of-office email message: “Thank you for your message. The University of Toledo is closed for winter break. If your message requires a response, I will reply after New Year's Day during normal business hours. Happy holidays!”
The worst one I ever received was from a coworker (senior to me, but not my manager) many years ago. I’ll paraphrase it as my memory isn’t great:
An autoresponder email message is a notification that you receive when the person you are trying to reach is out of the office. These messages …
I saved this one for the last example. It’s exactly what anyone would like to say when an associate messages them regarding any work during the holiday season. It talks about the ‘me time’ and also shares empathy for the sender. Especially, asking the sender to order the Pepperoni Pizza after stating the date of return is a fab movie. One of the best ways to display empathy is being humorous as it doesn’t put the other person into pressure- it makes way for helping them take the situation lightly!
A new survey undertaken by YouGOV of 1,000 Britain-based office workers has revealed that 30% of employees believe their workspaces are outdated and uninspiring.
Sometimes people will think it’s okay to ask a quick question while you’re out of the office. Avoid the interruption by including at least one person who can answer questions in your absence.
By providing this information for anyone who tries to contact you, it ensures important emails don’t go unnoticed or ignored.
I have a colleague that does this with their voicemail. Almost always forgets to change the message once they’re back in so if you call, say, on Thursday, June 3, and you get their voicemail, you will hear how the person is out of the office from May 24 to 26 and who to call while the person is away.