Setting up a clear out-of-office (OOO) email helps maintain continuity while your team is away over the festive period. A well-written OOO message ensures clients know who to contact, reduces delays, and avoids confusion during reduced staffing.

This guide covers what to include, common mistakes to avoid, ready-to-use templates, and step-by-step instructions for setting up your OOO in Outlook (Classic and New Outlook).

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How to Write an Effective Out-of-Office Message for the Festive Season

Setting up a clear out-of-office (OOO) email helps maintain continuity while your team is away over the festive period. A well-written OOO message ensures clients know who to contact, reduces delays, and avoids confusion during reduced staffing.

This quick guide outlines what to include, what to avoid, and provides templates you can copy and adapt.

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What Your Out-of-Office Message Should Include

A good OOO message is clear, concise, and sets accurate expectations. Include the following:

1. Dates of Leave

State when you're away and when you’ll be back.
If your inbox won’t be monitored during this period, say so clearly.

2. Alternative Contact Details

Nominate who can assist in your absence. This could be:

• A colleague
• A shared team inbox
• A department such as “Accounts” or “Support”

Make sure the contact provided is genuinely available.

3. Response Expectations

If replies will be delayed, be upfront.
Avoid promising same-day responses if that’s not realistic.

4. Professional and Secure Wording

Keep your message business-appropriate.
Avoid:

• Personal travel details
• Oversharing about location or plans
• Forwarding mail to a personal email account

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3 Out-of-Office Templates You Can Use

Below are three practical templates tailored to different use cases.

1. Standard OOO (Individual Staff)

Thank you for your email. I am currently away from the office from [start date] to [end date] and will respond when I return.
For urgent matters, please contact [name/team] at [email or phone].

2. Shared Mailbox OOO (Teams / Departments)

Thank you for your email. This mailbox is operating on reduced monitoring over the festive period.
For urgent enquiries, please contact [team/shared inbox].

3. Short, Compliance-Friendly OOO

I am currently away and will return on [date].
For urgent assistance, please contact [team/contact details].

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Tips for Out-of-Office Messages for Shared Mailboxes

If a shared mailbox is used by multiple staff, confirm coverage before enabling an OOO:

• Make sure at least one team member is monitoring the inbox
• Avoid enabling OOO for automated mailboxes (e.g., alert systems, ticketing systems)
• Ensure escalation paths are defined for urgent requests

This prevents situations where clients receive OOO messages despite the inbox still being monitored.

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6 Common Out-of-Office Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid these frequent issues to keep your OOO message professional and secure:

1. Sharing personal details (travel location, family plans, etc.)
2. Using informal or overly casual language
3. Setting an unrealistic response timeframe
4. Forgetting to disable the OOO after returning
5. Forwarding work emails to a personal account
6. Leaving no alternative contact

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4 Final Checks Before Enabling Your Out-of-Office

Before activating your message:

1. Confirm your dates of leave
2. Verify your alternative contact is available
3. Test that the OOO triggers correctly
4. Update your calendar and internal teams accordingly

A few minutes of preparation ensures smooth communication while you’re offline.

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How to Set Up Your Out-of-Office Message in (New, Classic and Web) Outlook

Below are simple steps for Outlook (Classic), New and Web Outlook.

Outlook (Classic Desktop App)

To turn on Automatic Replies:

Determine email account type

There are two ways to send automatic out-of-office replies in classic Outlook. The way you do it depends on the type of email account you have.

Select File on the left end of the ribbon:

... then select the image below that matches your version of classic Outlook:

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If you see the Automatic Replies button, follow the steps below.

If you don't see the Automatic Replies button, follow the steps to use rules to send an out of office message.

How to set up an automatic reply

1. Select File > Automatic Replies.

2. In the Automatic Replies box, select Send automatic replies.

3. Optionally, set a date range for your automatic replies. This will turn off automatic replies at the date and time you enter for the end time. Otherwise, you'll need to turn off automatic replies manually.

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Note: If you don't see Automatic Replies, use Rules and Alerts to set up your out-of-office message.

On the Inside My Organization tab, type the response that you want to send to teammates or colleagues while you are out of the office.

4. Select OK to save your settings.

To turn it off:

• Outlook will automatically disable it after the end date, or
• Go to File > Automatic Replies and select Do not send automatic replies.

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New Outlook (Windows & Mac)

To turn on Automatic Replies:

1. On the View tab, select the gear icon to View settings in new Outlook​​​​​​​.
2. Select Accounts > Automatic Replies.
3. Select the Turn on automatic replies toggle.
4. Select Send replies only during a time period, and then enter start and end times.
5. Under Send automatic replies inside your organization, enter the message to send while you're away. (You can use the formatting options for text alignment, color, and emphasis.)
6. When you're done, select Save.

To turn it off:

• Disable the Automatic Replies toggle, or
• Allow the end date to turn it off automatically.

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Web Outlook

To turn on Automatic Replies:

1. At the top of the page, select the gear icon > Mail > Automatic replies in Outlook on the web or Outlook.com.
2. Select the Turn on automatic replies toggle.
3. Select the Send replies only during a time period check box, and then enter a start and end time.
   Note: If you don't set a time period, your automatic reply remains on until you turn it off by selecting the Automatic replies on toggle.
4. Select the check box for any of the following options that you're interested in:‍
   
   • Block my calendar for this period
   • Automatically decline new invitations for events that occur during this period
   • Decline and cancel my meetings during this period‍
5. In the box at the bottom of the window, type a message to send to people during the time you're away.
   Note: If you like, you can use the formatting options at the top of the box to change the font and color of the text or customize your message in other ways.
6. If you want senders outside your organization to get automatic replies, select the check box for Send replies outside your organization, then in the text box below it, add a separate message for that audience.
7. When you're done, select Save.

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To turn it off:

• Disable the Automatic Replies toggle, or
• Allow the end date to turn it off automatically.

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Need Support Preparing for the Festive Period?

If you need assistance setting up your OOO messages, updating shared mailboxes, or preparing your systems for the festive break, our team is available to help ensure everything runs smoothly while your staff are away.

Phone: 1300 93 77 49
Email: info@superiorit.com.au
Website: www.superiorit.com.au