Writing Effective Out Of Office Messages
Writing an Out Of Office ‘OOO’ message can seem trivial… but I’m here to tell you that it can be one of the lowest (and easiest) barriers to entry when you want to start becoming a more effective communicator in the workplace.
If you are planning on taking time off of work and need to understand HOW to take time off that is stress free, head on over to my advice on Preparing For PTO. I walk you through the three steps I’d recommend planning for when you have PTO on the calendar.
And when you’re ready to finally step away from your inbox, make sure you have a well-crafted Out Of Office responder set up! This blog post will walk you through how to do just that.
When asked “what is your number one piece of advice for people who are looking to improve their communication skills in the workplace” my answer most of the time is this,
Don’t forget to bring your humanity into the conversation.
By and large, we are taught to check our identity at the door when we clock into work. We are programmed to be producers and having a personality – or having experiences outside the workplace – are not welcomed.
Having a tough time with your partner? Don’t care, there’s work to do. Experience a loss in the family? Don’t care, we have a deadline to hit. Want or need to take a vacation? Don’t care, time off is a luxury.
If you don’t know how to professionally infuse your humanity into the conversation at work, I’m here to offer you a crafty Out Of Office message that will remind the people you work with (boss, clients, colleagues) you are an actual human being who has a life outside of work. And this life should be celebrated and prioritized.
Let’s talk about the basics of an OOO message -
What is an out of office message? The infamous OOO - out of office - message is a modern way of telling people “I am not responding to emails because I am not in the office”. It’s a way to tell people you are human and that yes, you actually have a life outside of work. I encourage people to curate descriptive out of office messages. Tell them why you’re out of the office! Relate to them.
When should it be used? The ENTIRE time you’re not in the office. Don’t sneak an email response just because someone writes “urgent” in the subject line. If you don’t respect your own time off, how do you expect someone else to respect it too? (Trust me - I am working on this too).
Why is it important? Because it’s a boundary you have communicated and it is important to honor people’s time outside the office.
How to write an effective one? Be relatable, set expectations, and provide another contact to reach out to as a courtesy of any urgent requests.
The important aspects of an out of office message include:
The dates you will be out of the office
The date in which you will return and be responding to emails
Another contact to reach out to (if urgent or applicable)
A way to humanize your message
And here are examples of some effective out of office messages you can use as templates to create your own.
The Personable OOO -
“Hey there,
You caught me out of the office taking advantage of PTO. A benefit that I am grateful to take advantage of. I am currently [insert weekend/vacay plans here].
This means I’ll be slow to respond to any emails or slacks. If nothing is pressing, I’ll be sure to get to it on when I am back on xx date.
If it is urgent, please reach out to xyz@company.com.
Thank you and I look forward to responding when I am back”
The Short and Sweet OOO -
"I will be out of the office xx date - xx date.
I will be back in the office and responding to emails on xx day.
If urgent, please reach out to xyz@company.com.
Thanks for giving me the time to spend away from work this week/weekend"
My current OOO -
“Hey there!
You caught me as I'm out of the office for a long weekend taking advantage of PTO - a benefit I am extremely grateful to be afforded. I’ll be chasing my toddler around and hopefully sneaking in some RnR too.
I'll be back on xx day, xx date and until then... TGIF!
Jenna”
Remember – curate these Out Of Office messages to make them something you feel comfortable leaving as an away message while you’re OOO. Take what works best for you and leave the rest. But if you’re wanting to start infusing your personality into your professional life, Career Civility has got you covered!
