Whether holiday, business trip or change of company – an automatic reply by mail is a good choice for any type of absence. Do you need a suitably worded absence note quickly? With us you will find many practical tips and free text templates for your next absence from the office
Thank you for your message, unfortunately I am currently out of the office.
This or similar automatic e-mails are certainly familiar to everyone. The so-called out-of-office note is particularly practical when you are not in the office. Be it because you are on holiday, on a business trip or simply sick. With a few friendly lines, you can inform clients, partners and colleagues about your absence. Absence notes are quickly created with a few clicks and simplify communication during your absence. You can specifically point out responsibilities until your return. Customer enquiries do not go nowhere and can be answered promptly. The advantage for you: fewer open enquiries and tasks accumulate in your inbox and your stress level is not strained immediately after your return.
Content:
- Professional absence note for every occasion
- Create an absence note in Outlook
- Hints for a successful out-of-office note
- Free text templates for your next auto-reply
- 4 tips for the perfect out-of-office note
What makes a good out-of-office note?
An absentee note in the 08/15 style “I’m not here.” has no great benefit – neither for you nor for your customers. A good out-of-office note, on the other hand, givesall the important information that customers, business partners and colleagues need. This includes, among other things, the period of absence, your substitute and, if applicable, the reason. With this information you avoid misunderstandings and give the automatic reply an additional personal touch.
Possible occasions
Whether you want to give a reason for your absence in the automatic reply is of course up to you. But sometimes it even makes sense for the recipients to know the reason. This way they can decide for themselves whether they can wait for your return with their request.
A specific absence note is practical when you are on holiday or on a business trip. Here you know the exact period during which you are not in the office and can only be reached with difficulty or not at all. A personal absence note also makes a difference in the event of prolonged illness, parental leave, sabbatical or a change of company, how your absence is perceived. Since you are not available for a longer period of time, your mails will not be processed by you. Thanks to the information from the automatic reply, customers and colleagues now know and can direct their enquiries to another contact person.
By the way: Even if you should fall ill at short notice, an absence notification helps to communicate your absence.
Create Absence Note in Outlook
To create an out-of-office note in Outlook, you must go to the account information. You can do this by clicking on File. Then click on the field Automatic reply (Out of office). In the following dialogue, you can define the exact text for your out-of-office message – helpful wording examples can be found here.
Note: We work with Office/Microsoft 365 (version 2005, build 12827.20268 click-and-lose).
Hints for a successful absence note
The automatic reply helps to communicate important organisational matters. You should pay particular attention to the following points:
How long does the absence last?
You can set an out-of-office message for an unspecified time or specify an exact date including time. In this way, you can define the time period in which the out-of-office message is to be sent. So think about the time window of your absence in advance and communicate this (if possible) in your automatic reply.
Communicate differently internally and externally?
Outlook offers the possibility to send two different texts as an automatic reply. This allows you to differentiate between internal (inside my organisation) and external recipients (outside my organisation).
If you are on a first-name basis within the company, you can also use this for your internal out-of-office message. Therefore, pay special attention to the correct wording and signature for the respective recipients of your message.
Internationalisation
Internationally operating companies should write absence notes in two languages. Of course, this may also depend on the department you work in. Especially if you work in customer service or sales, you may be in contact with people who speak foreign languages. Here, bilingual versions are very useful.
What happens to incoming e-mails?
Also deal with the issue of “Access to the e-mail box”. If you have created appointments yourself, they cannot be moved by others in your absence – unless you set up a deputy for the mailbox (more on this in a moment), which should of course be done beforehand.
If you want to respond to e-mails yourself despite being away, you naturally need Internet access while on the road. However, what sounds banal can quickly become an obstacle: Switched-off roaming functions, holey wireless networks or obscenely expensive foreign data tariffs have already surprised many a manager – even though, at least EU-wide, there are no longer any major cost traps to worry about.
Who takes care of the area of responsibility?
The next step is to clarify whether there is a substitute for the time of your absence. If there is one, he or she should be named in the absence note, including contact details. Especially if you do not have access to your mails for a longer period of time, it makes sense to organise a substitute. For colleagues, the name and email address are usually sufficient. For your customers, it is best to also have a telephone number so that concerns can be clarified as quickly as possible.
You have no representation? Then pass on this information to your customers and business partners as well – and, above all, mention a time when you will be back in the office. In order to still provide added value to the recipients of your out-of-office note, you should include the general contact information of the company headquarters or your superordinate department. Perhaps enquiries can be answered this way without your assistance.
Will the requests be forwarded?
Your mails are automatically forwarded to a colleague? Then you should also communicate this. This way, the recipient knows that he does not have to send his mail to the colleague again. If no forwarding takes place, it is a good idea to write this in the out-of-office note as well and to specifically note the contact details of your substitute in the note here as well. This way, the person at the other end knows that he or she can always contact someone else with his or her concerns.
Auto-forward emails in Outlook
You can set up email forwarding by clicking on the “Rules…” field in the bottom left of the Out of Office window and then on “Add rule…”. Now create individual treatments for incoming mails.
Forward all messages
Do you want all messages to be forwarded? Then activate the field Sent directly to me. If you also want all messages to be forwarded that you receive as a copy (Cc), you must also tick the field Copy (Cc to me). Then select the item Forward and enter the email address of your substitute.
If you would like the sender to receive a notification of forwarding of the sent e-mail in addition to the normal out-of-office message, you must activate the Reply with field. Click on Templates to open an empty message window. Enter an appropriate message text and add a subject. Leave the To field empty.
Forward messages from specific senders
Of course, you can also forward messages from very specific senders – for example, if you know that certain clients will send important documents in your absence. To do this, add the corresponding email addresses to the From field at the top.
Only forward messages on specific topics
With a absence rule you can also specify that only messages on a certain topic are forwarded to the responsible person. This way, your substitute only receives really important messages and is not flooded with “unimportant” e-mails (for example, newsletters you have subscribed to). To do this, enter a corresponding term in the “Subject” or “Message text” field.
Fitting Absence Note: Free Templates
We have written our formulation examples for six different occasions and have also tried to include general absence notes. Simply choose a suitable template and adapt it to your personal needs!
Our tip: Adapt the automatic reply to the recipient group and send a different absence note internally than externally. With our practical text modules, we offer you the possibility to communicate your absence quickly and easily – without any misunderstandings.
Internal templates
1General
Dear colleagues,
Thank you for your message. This is an automatic reply as I am not in the house at the moment. Please note that your email will not be processed. I will get back to you when I return.
If you have any questions, please contact Max Mustermann.
Many greetings
Michèle
Dear colleagues,
I will be out of the office from DD. to DD.MM.YYYY and will not have access to my emails during this time. From DD.MM.YYYY I will be personally available again and will take care of your requests.
Many greetings
Michèle
Dear colleagues,
I will be out of the house up to and including DD.MM.YYYY. During this time, my emails will not be forwarded or answered. In urgent cases, please contact my substitute Max Mustermann.
Many greetings
Michèle
Dear colleagues,
I will be out of the office on DD.MM.YYYY. In urgent cases, please contact the following colleagues:
Range A: Max Mustermann.
Range B: Marie Sample Woman.
Range C: Melanie Musterfrau.
Many greetings
Michèle
2Business trip
Dear colleagues,
I will be on a business trip from DD. to DD.MM.YYYY and have only limited access to my e-mails. In urgent cases you can reach me by phone at +49 1234 56789. Due to the time difference, I can only be reached by phone between XX:XX – XX:XX h.
Many greetings
Michèle
3Holidays
Dear colleagues,
From DD. to DD.MM.YYYY I will be on holiday. In urgent cases, please contact my colleagues Max Mustermann or Marie Musterfrau. From DD.MM.YYYY I will be personally available again and will give you feedback.
Have a great time.
Many greetings
Michèle
4Disease
Dear colleagues,
I am ill at short notice and will probably be available in the office again from DD.MM.YYYY. In urgent cases, please contact Max Mustermann.
Many greetings
Michèle
Dear colleagues,
Due to a prolonged illness, I am currently not in the building. During this time, my emails will be forwarded to my deputy Max Mustermann and processed.
Thank you for your understanding.
Many greetings
Michèle
5Parental leave
Dear colleagues,
from DD.MM.YYYY I will be working full-time as well as part-time as a mum/dad for the time being. Since I will be addicted to changing nappies, Max Mustermann will be at your side for questions about my field.
I wish you (and me) a stress-free time.
Many greetings
Michèle
Dear colleagues,
I am having a baby and will be on parental leave from DD.MM.YYYY. During this time, I will be replaced by my colleague Max Mustermann. I will probably resume my work on DD.MM.YYYY.
I wish you all the best.
Many greetings
Michèle
6Sabbatical
Dear colleagues,
I have taken a little sabbatical from my everyday working life. My sabbatical starts on DD.MM.YYYY and ends on D.MM.YYYY. During this period, please contact:
Range A: Max Mustermann.
Range B: Marie Sample Woman.
Range C: Melanie Musterfrau.
Thank you for your understanding.
Many greetings
Michèle
Dear colleagues,
I am on a sabbatical in America. To make sure everything runs smoothly in the office, Max Mustermann takes care of my tasks.
All the best and see you soon
Michèle
7Company change
Dear colleagues,
Unfortunately, I have left the company. I would like to thank you for the great cooperation.
For my topics, please contact Max Mustermann.
All the best
Michèle
P.S.: Stay up-to-date via LinkedIn and/or Xing.
External templates
1General
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your message. This is an automatic reply as I am not in the house. Please note that your email will not be processed. After my return I will get in touch with you. In urgent cases, please contact my colleague:
Max Mustermann
M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com
+49 1234 56789
Kind regards
Michèle surname
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your message. I will be out of the office from DD. to DD.MM.YYYY and will not have access to my e-mails during this time. Please note that your requests will not be forwarded.
In urgent cases, please contact my substitute Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789). As of DD.MM.YYYY I will answer your email as soon as possible.
Kind regards
Michèle surname
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your message. On DD.MM.YYYY I will not be available in the office and have limited access to my mailbox. In urgent cases, please contact the following colleagues:
Range A: Max Mustermann, M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789.
Range B: Marie Musterfrau, M.Musterfrau@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789
Range C: Melanie Musterfrau, M.Musterfrau@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789
Kind regards
Michèle surname
2Business trip
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for contacting me. Due to a business trip, I will be out of the office up to and including DD.MM.YYYY. During this time I will only have limited access to my mailbox. As soon as I return from my trip, I will get in touch with you immediately.
For important questions, please contact Mr. Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789).
Kind regards
Michèle surname
3Holidays
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your message. I will be on holiday from DD.MM. to DD.MM.YYYY. In urgent cases, please contact Mr Max Mustermann or Mrs Marie Musterfrau.
Contact:
Max Mustermann
M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com
+49 1234 56789
Marie Musterfrau
M.Musterfrau@onlineprinters.com
+49 1234 56789
Please note that your requests will not be forwarded. I will get back to you as soon as possible after my return.
I wish you a good time.
Kind regards
Michèle surname
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your message. I am on holiday up to and including DD.MM.YYYY. Rest assured that I will get back to you as soon as I return.
In urgent cases, please contact my colleague Mr Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789).
I wish you a good time.
Kind regards
Michèle surname
4Disease
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your message. As I am ill at short notice, I will probably only be available in the office again from DD.MM.YYYY. Please note that your messages will not be forwarded during this time. In urgent cases, please contact Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789).
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards
Michèle surname
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your message. Due to a prolonged illness, I am currently not in the building. My emails are automatically forwarded to my deputy Mr. Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789). Mr. Mustermann will be happy to help you with any concerns.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards
Michèle surname
5Parental leave
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your email. I am currently on parental leave. My replacement will be Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789) and will be available to you in word and deed.
I wish you a successful time.
Kind regards
Michèle surname
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your message. From DD.MM.YYYY I will be on parental leave. During this time, I will be replaced by my colleague Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789). Please note that your message will not be forwarded.
It is expected that I will resume my activities on DD.MM.YYYY and get in touch with you.
Thank you for your understanding and the pleasant cooperation so far. See you soon!
Kind regards
Michèle surname
6Sabbatical
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for your message. I have taken a little sabbatical from my everyday working life. My sabbatical starts on DD.MM.YYYY and ends on D.MM.YYYY. During this period, Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789) will take over my areas. Please note that your messages will not be forwarded during this time.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards
Michèle surname
7Company change
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for your message. Unfortunately, I have left the company. Thank you for the pleasant cooperation and your trust.
For my subject areas, please contact Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789) with immediate effect.
Stay in touch:
LinkedIn
Xing
All the best
Michèle surname
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for your message. Unfortunately, you can no longer reach me personally, as I left the company on DD.MM.YYYY.
Thank you very much for the good cooperation in the past years. I would be happy if we continued to stay in touch. You can reach me via LinkedIn and/or Xing.
I wish you all the best.
If you have any questions, please contact Max Mustermann (M.Mustermann@onlineprinters.com, +49 1234 56789).
Kind regards
Michèle surname
4 tips for the perfect out-of-office note
The be-all and end-all for a good absence note: It is formulated in such a way that all questions that arise are answered directly. No unanswered questions should remain with the recipient. We have summarised the most important points for you:
→ Give a representation including contact details.
→ Select whether the emails are forwarded.
→ Pay particular attention to an appropriate salutation, greeting and writing style.
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Image source: Kari Shea via Unsplash
