Setting your out-of-office message can seem like a niggling detail when you’re about to jump on a plane to see your family/vacation in Cancun/take a sabbatical, but it’s still one to do with care. The last thing you want while sipping a pina colada on a remote island with spotty cell reception is to wonder if you set up your out-of-office message correctly.
To help, we give you three common out-of-office email mistakes to avoid, so you can relax without worry while away.
- Not Leaving an Automated Out-of-Office Message
We’ve all left the office and either forget to turn on our OOO message or didn’t feel we needed one. But if it’s feasible a customer or prospect might contact you and expect a relatively swift reply while you’re out of the office, then it’s polite and professional to set up an automated message. All you’re doing is setting expectations in a way that’s useful to you both. They know to expect a delayed response, and you can take a break from email to better enjoy time away from work. - Providing Too Much Information
Yes, of course, you want a contact emailing you to receive the assistance they need. But remember: You’re taking a break for a reason. It’s not a break if you direct everyone to call your cell while you’re trying to relax on the beach. That’s just remote work from a beach setting.
So be thoughtful about the contact information you supply in your out-of-office message. Does everyone receiving your out-of-office message need your cell phone number? If not, don’t supply it. To calm easily worried minds, note that you’ll check email and reply to messages “periodically.” This way, recipients know they’ll hear from you eventually. Not all requests are urgent. More often than not, they can wait. - Setting Up an Out-of-Office Message That Goes to Everyone
In the early days of auto-generated out-of-office messages, we created a single message, turned it on before leaving town, and turned it off upon our return (if we remembered). But today, we have options–so use them.
Different email providers have different means of segmenting automated messages within their settings, but many include something along the line of: “only send a response to people in my contacts.” Segmentation like this prevents you from sending an auto-reply to spammers, verifying they’ve reached a live email address and can now bombard you, a bonafide human being, with their diet pill and car warranty messages. Even though Sanebox can whisk those messages into a black hole for you, the fewer obnoxious entities certain of your email address, the better!
If you’re worried prospects won’t receive notice of your limited availability then indicate it on your website. Place this note where it will be seen by those reaching out for the first time, such as on your home page or alongside your contact information. This way, prospects not on your contact list will know what’s up too, even if they don’t receive an automated message.
Let Your Out-of-Office Message Do Some Work For You
It’s important to take a true break, even from email, once in awhile. You’re out of the office, so act like it, and enjoy life outside of work. You’ve earned it!
We’d all like to have a clean email inbox with no unread messages, but keeping track of it all and figuring out which incoming emails are important is easier said than done. According to Best Reviews, SaneBox offers an easy way out of this mess. The most impressive aspect is SaneBox’s AI, which easily removes unimportant emails from your cluttered inbox and moves them to the appropriate folders, learning along the way from any mistakes. This five-star service is the perfect way to reinvent email for individuals or big companies, as SaneBox has fair prices for all types of users.
Read the full review on Best Reviews.
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