Auto-responders for social email accounts are a tad pretentious, but for business accounts they are vital. If you are going to be away on holiday or on a business trip that will see you disconnected from your email then set up an auto-responder to let senders know that their email may not be seen for some time.
Depending on the type of job you have, and how many colleagues you work with, your auto-responder message will vary. Some will give details of a colleague who is dealing with all urgent matters in your absence, others will simply say that you are away and have limited access to your email. Wherever possible, try to give out contact details for urgent business.
If you are including a colleague’s details then check with them that they are happy to have these given out and that they are willing to cover for you in your absence.
Be specific in your message. Instead of writing ‘I am away until Tuesday’, write ‘I am away until Tuesday 24th August’.
Telling people where on holiday you have gone is not appropriate. I once saw an email auto-responder where the person boasted that they were on a 2-week holiday in Weston-super-Mare. Hardly something to boast about.
Do state when you will be returning to your email and thus when you will be able to go through the backlog of emails.
Remember to switch it off when you arrive back to avoid confusion and superfluous auto-responders being sent out. Leave a note on your keyboard to remind you for when you return.
