When I plan on being away from the office either on vacation, attending a conference or any event that would keep me away from my office communication for more than one business day, there are two important items on my To Do list for the afternoon of my departure. These items are: to record a new greeting for my voice mail and set an out-of-office message. Both of these outgoing communiqués include basically the same information. Being out of the office does not mean that business stops nor the need for efficient communication ends. In today’s technology-driven office, keeping clients and colleagues informed separates exemplary professionals from mediocre ones. Having a good communication plan is essential for professional and business success.
One of the most common way we communicate in business today is via email. Thus it’s natural to use our email software to communicate with business contacts even while we’re out of the office by setting an automatic our-of-office reply. Most experts say that a good out-of-office message will include:
- The date of your return. Make it clear to people when they can expect your reply.
- The name of a contact that they can contact in your absence. Of course, include their phone number and email address. Oh, equally important, let the point-of-contact know that their name and contact information will be included in your out-of-office reply. This will eliminate the unprofessional “duh….I don’t know” response that’s embarrassing to the caller and recipient.
- Establish boundaries. If you’ll be checking emails or voice mail messages while away, state so and include the frequency. If don’t plan to be online messages, then say so and tell senders that your emails will go unread or without response.
Here’s an example of an out-of-office reply message and voice mail greeting:
Hello. I will be out of office until September 30 attending a conference. I will not be online during this time. I will start responding to emails on October 1st. If you need assistance during my absence, please contact Brian Schmidt at 512-974-7800 or at brian.schmidt@yourcompany.com
Hello you have reached the office of Rosy Jalifi. I will be out of the office until September 30 attending a conference. I will not be retrieving voice mail messages during this timeframe. If you need immediate assistance, please contact Brian Schmidt at 512-974-7800.
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Another action that I recently started implementing was to establish a “rule” that would automatically file all my emails received during my absence in a folder that I created for my out-of-office trip. Then when I returned to my office, I would spend time in that folder rather than getting newly arrived messages combined with older ones. Well, to be honest with you, I would start reading emails in that folder either Saturday or Sunday afternoon before my official arrival. To more honest with you, I often scan that folder while away to make sure there’s not a hot item. Being a government official, I have always been working with deadlines – documents due, responses due, filings due, etc., etc., etc. Unfortunately, government deadlines show little mercy for vacations or conferences.
One final note, don’t forget to turn off your out-of-office automatic reply and change your voice mail greeting to reflect your return to your office.
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