11 Awesome Out of Office and Vacation Scripts

Introduction

You've been waiting all day for this moment. You’re finally on your way home from the office and ready to start your much-needed vacation. Your flight is this evening, and you’ve packed your suitcase with everything you need to spend a week under the sun.

Suddenly, the thought hits you, “Did I put my out of office?’”

Probably not the start you were hoping for.

So here is your reminder to get an excellent out-of-office recorded and written so that you can lean back, relax and enjoy your vacation to the fullest.

What to Include in Your Out-of-Office Message

• Include the dates you’ll be away. Your callers need to know how long you will be away so they can call someone else or wait for you to return.

• Share a bit of information about your trip or your company’s product and services. Out-of-office auto-replies are often an afterthought, but the right message can be a great way to build connections while you’re away.

• Provide your backup's contact information. Indicate who to contact, for what situation, and how.

• Be clear about when you will respond. It may take time to get back to every email or message. So do yourself a favour and don’t overpromise on what you can do on your first day back.

• Repeat the time frame. It's best to re-iterate the duration of your absence, especially if you're leaving a voicemail where that detail can get missed.

• Customize the tone. Your out-of-office message can reflect some of your personality or that of your brand. If your company has a lighthearted tone, feel free to incorporate that into your out-of-office messages.

Related: What is VoIP?

What To Avoid

• Don’t get called in by HR. Vacations or time off can provide a respite from work, but keep your out-of-office message professional. For example, it's best not to say you'll be away drinking and partying all week.

• Don’t be unrealistic about your response time. You'll likely have a lot of catching up to do when you get back to work. Be realistic and avoid saying you’ll respond immediately upon your return.

• Don’t overdo the details. Although adding personal touches and promoting your business can help build rapport and connection, don't overdo it. Be as concise as possible.

• Don’t commit your colleague without asking them first. Confirm and notify your colleague if you are naming them as your backup during your time away.

Scripts For Every Type Of Out Of Office

Here are some personalized, straightforward and promotional out-of-office messages you can use for your next time out of office message. Adapt and customize these scripts for both email and voicemail and make sure to insert relevant details about your organization

Personalized Messages

Your out-of-office autoresponder email can create an excellent opportunity to spark conversation with colleagues and contacts upon your return. Feel free to add some humour or customize with a few details about where you're going and what you'll be doing; this can be a great way to start building connections.

(1) Business Professional

Email: Hi, thanks for your message. I’m away vacationing in the Bahamas and will be completely disconnected from my inbox until my return to the office on [Date]. If you require immediate assistance, please contact [Contact Name] at [ Contact Email address]

Related: 5 Messages You Need to Include in Your Auto-Attendant

(2) Friendly but professional

Email: Hi, I’m currently away on an Italian adventure. From [Date] to [Date], I’ll be wine tasting, hiking the Italian alps and eating lots of pasta. I won’t be checking my emails during this time; however, if you need immediate assistance, you can contact [Contact Name], [Position]; otherwise, I’ll follow up with you on the week of my return.

Related: 3 Friendly Holiday Out-of-Office Phone Scripts – Pick One!

(3) Festive

Voicemail: Hi, you’ve reached [Your Name]. I’m currently offline until [Date] celebrating the holidays. I’ll be busy making gingerbread houses with the kids, drinking copious amounts of cocoa and watching Home Alone for the 100th time. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you on the week of my return. For urgent matters please contact [NAME] at extension ###. Happy Holidays!

net2phone Canada Pro Tip: SONAR allows you to have voicemail within a call queue, or as part of answering rules to support after-hours calling

(4)Funny

Email: My driveway needed too much shovelling after last week's storm, so I escaped to Mexico. While I wait for the snow to melt, I’ll be snorkelling, jet skiing, and not checking my email. Please re-send your message after [date], and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you need immediate assistance, contact [Name] at [ Email]. Thanks, and keep warm!

Net2phone Canada Pro Tip: SONAR lets you set a time frame specific to when you are you are out office. This way, you don't have to worry about disabling your out of office when you return.

Getting Straight To the Point

If you prefer not to share too much information about your time off with your colleagues and contacts, that's okay too! Keep your message brief and informative with these templates.

(5) Business is off for a public holiday
Voicemail: Thanks for contacting [ Company Name]. Friendly reminder that our stores will be closed on July 1st to celebrate Canada Day and will re-open on July 2nd. Our online store is open 24/7 at [Website URL].

(6) Straight-laced and professional

Voicemail: Hi, you’ve reached [Your Name]. I am out of the office until [Date]. Any time-sensitive matters should be addressed to [coworker/manager] at [email/phone number]. Otherwise, I will reply to all messages upon my return. Thank you!

net2phone Canada Pro Tip - Want to keep up with work while away? Get your voicemails transcribed and sent to your email address or phone number with SONAR.

(7) Away with some access

Email: Thanks for reaching out. I’m travelling this week for the Power Marketing Conference in Montreal, and I will have limited access to email, but I will reply as soon as possible. For emergencies, you can reach me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thanks!

Related: 10 Professional Voicemail Greetings Your Business Needs

(8) Internal only

Email: Hi, I’m out of the office until [Date] and will respond to all messages on the week of my return. If you are looking for the June inventory reports, you will find them in the 2022 Store Inventory folder on the shared drive. For anything else, please contact [Contact Name].

Promote Your Business or Brand

Your out-of-office message is also an excellent opportunity to market your business or brand. Give your client or contact resources and educational marketing materials that would help you establish trust and rapport while you’re away.

(9) Content Promotion

Email: Hello, thanks for reaching out! I’m out office until [Date] and will respond to your message upon my return.

In the meantime, check out this ebook, ‘101 ways to Boost Online Sales’, that we recently published. It’s a quick read and has some easy-to-implement solutions from industry experts.

If you need immediate assistance, please contact [Contact Name], [Position], at [Email address] or [Phone #].

(10) Drive Traffic

Voicemail: Hi, you’ve reached [Name], [Position], [Company Name] I am out of the office between [Date] and [Date].

In the meanwhile, if you’re looking for more information about [Company Name]’s [Product/Service Name], please visit our website at [URL].

I will respond to all messages upon my return. If this is regarding a time-sensitive issue, please contact [Contact Name], [Position], at extension ### or [email address].

net2phone Canada Pro Tip: If you want the opportunity to persistently promote your product or service you can use the "Intro Greeting" within your Auto Attendant.

(11) Send them to Social Media

Email: Hello! I'll be out of the office from [Date] to [Date], but I will respond to your message when I return.

In the meantime, for resources, tips and educational content on [brand/ industry/product/service], join our 20,000+ followers on Facebook and Twitter.

For immediate assistance, please contact [Contact Name], [Position] at [email address]

Setting Your MS Teams and Slack Out Of Office

Now that your voicemail and email out-of-office messages are out of the way remember to announce your status on your workplace messenger so that your colleagues know you’re not available.

Slack: You can change your profile status to vacationing and indicate when you’ll be back. And you can also create a custom status and choose a matching emoji, which will appear on your profile. Here’s an example text:

“ I’m currently on vacation from [Date] to [Date]. @ Pam will be taking over reporting during my absence. To view the monthly inventory report, please view #allocations”

MS Teams: Click ‘set a status message’ followed by ‘schedule out of office button’. From this window, you can turn on automatic replies and type in your out of office message in the text box. This will be what your colleagues will receive when they contact you.

Let Your OOO Do The Work While You’re Off

Setting your out-of-office may be the least exciting part of your vacation, but it means that you can enjoy your time away from the office without worrying about what emails or messages you may have missed. A thoughtfully crafted autoresponder message or voicemail will work for you while you’re away, and if well done, they can even help you form connections while you enjoy well-deserved time off.

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