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Crafting Your Out-Of-Office Message
When you’re taking time off from work, it’s only prudent to craft an out-of-office message to make sure your contacts both inside and outside the organization don’t waste time thinking you’re getting their communication when you’re actually not even reading it. It’s a great way to make sure both clients, suppliers and co-workers don’t get the wrong ideas when they don’t get a response for their questions or requests.
As with other forms of business writing, you want your out-of-office message to reflect the same professional tone that business documents need to be delivered in. As a general rule, make sure to follow these guidelines.
Keep it short. You’re not writing anything that’s pertinent to work-related concerns, so best be brief about it.
Length of time. Always include how long you’ll be away in your message. You don’t want a guy trying to ask you about the same subject every day, hoping you’ll be in the office each time.
Reason. Give a reason why you’re away. Whether it is a national holiday or a scheduled vacation, give them the news briefly.
Clean it up. Treat the out-of-office reply as a business document. Make sure it’s free from grammar and vocabulary errors that can paint a wrong picture of your communication skills. Run it through a grammar software if you want to be sure.
Offer alternatives. Provide alternatives to those sending you messages, such as other people in the organization they contact regarding particular issues. Don’t include an emergency number – people will end up contacting you for the most mundane things. Instead, leave your number with someone else in the office in case of real emergencies.
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