The Art of Writing a Memorable Out of Office
This time of the year lends itself to many folks turning on their Out of Office Messages. (At Microsoft, they are called OOF’s. Which has an interesting history. https://news.microsoft.com/features/the-secret-history-of-the-out-of-office-message-and-other-fun-facts-about-this-workplace-staple)
In normal years, I probably have an OOF on about 75% of the time. Here are my tips on how to write a message that helps you and those who email you.
Require Action – If you don’t require action, emails will just hit your inbox and the sender assume you have it and are going to respond. Here are some things that you could try:
- If you need immediate help, please SMS or call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX.
- Resend your message with the High Importance Flag Set
- Send me a message over Teams.
In my 5+ years of doing this, I average less than one phone call, SMS or Teams message a month.
Set Expectations – I find that less than 10% of folks read my OOF. But for them, this helps make sure that they understand without acting, it may take a while for me to get back to them.
- I will be back in the office on Tuesday January 5, 2021. If your email is important and requires an answer, please resend it on that date. Emails sent during the out of office period will not be responded to.
- If you call or text me, expect to hear a large amount of background noise.
- I will be responding to emails, but my working hours will be drastically different from my normal working hours.
Provide Resources - I don’t always find people are the best connections to make here. More often than not a set of links to Yammer, Teams, SharePoint or other resources will answer so many questions that come across emails.
Make it memorable – Inject some humor or a personal anecdote into the message.
I have a few dozen from over the years. Anybody interested in them? What is your favorite Out of Office message?
Principal Cloud Solution Architect - Chief Technology Office (CTO) Customer Success - Business Solutions
3 年Hmm recognize this one? From someone with a name that rhymes with “Hen Pollmer.” ?? (2012) “I'm out of the office attending a family function. I will be checking mail periodically as I am probably bored to tears. For urgent Dynamics CRM issues I will email back as soon as I can look at my phone without it seeming obvious I am checking my email while ignoring relatives.”
Dirk Develter I do miss your Out of Office messages
Power Pages CAT @ Microsoft
3 年Ben Vollmer Love that you are always coaching! I would add that for those 10% that read and need something from you - I ask them to provide a default action and self-prioritize. My recent example: Hello, I am unexpectedly out of office - please Teams IM/Call if you need me. ? All Issues need Support triage 1.???If you have an issue please file a Microsoft Support Ticket as that’s only way to get an SLA response as our Support is staffed 24/7 to help! ? No i in team 2.???For back-up you can include others from Microsoft you work with and let them know you are seeking help but Nikita is not around, they might be able to help ? Prioritize/Fall-back 3.???For me directly, always helps me prioritize if know your urgency, deadline and default action you plan to take if you don’t hear back. ? Nikita Polyakov? Sr FastTrack Solution Architect | Customer & Partner Success | Dynamics 365 Apps | Microsoft @microsoft.com | Phone: +1 (425) | Time Zone :?East US - Regular Business Hours ? ? ? ?
Director, Customer Experience specializing in Field Service Innovation and Customer Satisfaction
3 年What I want to know is how can one hear all the background noise if they text you? ??. I always enjoy reading Ben’s OOF messages. That’s why he even has his own song.
Luke Shave could also write the book on all-time great OOFs!