It is always good to have an out of office message prepared for your email inbox, just in case you unexpectantly have to step out of the office for a while. In this article, you’ll find the key features that should be included in every out of office message, as well as some examples to inspire your collection of just in case messages.
There are some general rules of thumb to follow, especially if this is the message you are going to leave for a professional email address. You don’t want to send rude or unprofessional messages to clients or customers.
What to Include in your out of Office Message.
Your out-of-office will be incomplete without the following details.
1. Who else can be contacted in your Absence
As a manager or employer, your absence could cause some issues. Therefore, it is important to appoint individuals who can step in and attend to clients when you become unavailable. This ensures a smooth flow of work even in your absence.
Be specific with the names of those stepping in and how they can be reached, such as email address and telephone numbers. This can prevent any miscommunication or unnecessary confusion in your workplace.
If you are involved in multiple different departments, consider which individuals your team should reach out to in the areas you are in charge of. This helps you and your team stay organized.
2. The Dates of your Absence
It is vital to specify the dates on which you will be away. Your employees will know how to manage the office when they know how long you will be away. Be very specific and state the dates clearly.
If you are re-editing a previous message that you have already used, be keen on the time, and update the dates too. Before you send the email to them, double-check it to ensure that there are no errors.
3. The Reason for your Absence
Do not just leave without telling them why you will not be around. At least explain to them why you need to take some time off. You are a team, and as their boss, you need to let them know.
Stating your reason for absence can prevent follow up emails with requests on your absence. For example, if you are on vacation, state so. This informs your colleagues that you won’t be attending to your emails at any point in the duration of time that you have stated your absence. This also gives you the opportunity to relax and not think about work.
Workplace communication can be a core value within your office and it is essential to keep your team up to date so they don’t have to spend time speculating about where you are.
What you Shouldn’t include in Out- of Office Messages
When you are crafting your out-of-office messages, there are certain things you need to refrain from doing. They include the following:
1. Typing Errors
You need to sound and appear professional. Proofread the message before sending it to other workers. Remember, the message could be going to different recipients. It could be the regional manager, prospective clients, and other employees. To avoid embarrassment, make sure that you go through it before hitting the send button.
2. Providing too many Details
Getting some time off work is exciting for most people with a busy work schedule. Its fair to include in your work message that you will be away on vacation or even to mention where you are heading.
However, it’s not necessary to explain the intricate details of your holiday to everyone else staying in the office. Save the details for your closest colleagues when return from your trip.
This ensures the message is professional and applies generally to colleagues and clients and isn’t rubbing it in anyone’s face that you’ve got a nice bit of time off.
3. Unprofessionalism
You should always consider the audience of your email replies whilst you’ll be out of office. If your email address is accessible or freqiewntl used by clients and customers, you should consider the level of professionalism that is required in your line of work.
You know your workplace and those in it the best, consider every possible person you could receive an email from within your period of absence and ensure that you are happy with the tone in your email for every single one of them.
If there is a higher up that wouldn’t find your joke funny, it might not be a good idea to set it as your out of office message.
Examples of Out-of-Office Messages
Following the rules above, here are some examples of out-of-office messages.
Professional
Example one
“Thank you for your email. I will be away from 23rd March- 3rd April. If your matter is urgent, kindly reach out to [name] through the following [phone number and email]. They will be able to assist until I return.’’
Example two
“Thanks for the email. I am out of the office and will be away on official matters from 14th -20th June. In my Absence, you can contact the following; [name] [email and phone numbers]. They will assist you until I resume work.’’
Example Three
“I am out of the office and will be away for a week. That is from 1st- 7th October. I will not respond to any of your emails. Therefore, if you have an urgent matter, reach out to [name]. [phone number and email address]’’
Example Four
“Hello,
Thank you for your email. I am out of the office and or during my Absence. It will be hard to access my email. I will be away till 14th June. For any assistance, you can contact [name], [ email address and phone number].
Regards
[Your name]’’
Example Five
“Hi
Thank you for the message, but I am currently out of the office. I shall be back on 10th November. If you have an urgent matter, kindly contact [name], [email address and phone number]. If you need my attention, then you can reach me on my telephone number. [telephone number]
Warm Regards
[Your name]’’
Funny
Remember what was discussed concerning jokes within your out of office message. It is a good idea to include the necessary details mentioned above and, if appropriate, here is some inspiration for a humorous approach to your out of office message
- Hello, I will be away until 3rd July. I am going for training. Upon my return, do not expect anything different.
- Hi, I am trying to fix my computer since my mouse ate all your emails.
- You are lucky to receive this automatic message since I am out of the office. If I were in, you wouldn’t have received any.
- Hi, I am currently out of the office, but unfortunately, I will be back tomorrow morning.
An out-of-office message is important no matter how long you plan to be out of the office. It saves you time and effort by pre-planning a message to quickly turn on should you need to leave for a while.
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