Out of Office Assistant

I regularly make use of the Out of Office Assistant in MS Outlook. It is extremely handy, especially when I am away from the office on annual leave. It lets clients and colleagues know that I value their correspondence and that I will reply. It also offers a reason for not returning e-mails promptly.

Click on image to enlarge

Below are some easy to follow steps to activate the Assistant. Click on the pictorial above for more info.

Activating the Out of Office Assistant in MS Outlook

1. Click on Tools Tab in the task bar
2. Then click on the Out of the Office Assistant Tab
3. Choose the ‘Out of the Office’ option by pointing your mouse on and clicking in the little circle –it should be filled with a blue bubble
4. Type in your message. To activate the box, simply point your mouse inside the box and click in it. A cursor will now appear, and you may start typing. Remember to check for spelling and grammar errors!
5. Now click the OK button.

All incoming mails will now automatically receive your Out of Office message.

To turn off the Assistant, follow the same steps, but at Step 3, instead of clicking ‘I am currently Out of the Office’ click on ‘I am currently In the Office’.

The Assistant will also save your message, so next time you want to use the Assistant, your old message will be there for you to use or change.

To see what the message will look like, send yourself a message, and you should receive an Out of Office Message :-)

An example of an Out of Office Message

Thank you for your mail.
I will be out of the office from 1 January until 9 January inclusive.
Should your mail require urgent attention, kindly contact:
Tessamar Baines, Departmental Secretary at
tessamar@_ _ _.com or telephone _ _ _
Kind Regards
Gretchen Scrompton-Hayes
Personal Assistant

Tips:

• Include your contact number only if you are able to receive calls to that number
• Before you include a colleague’s contact details, obtain their permission first
• You may make your message as detailed or as concise as you wish
• Read your message before clicking the OK button
• Always thank the sender for their mail, and remember to end off the mail with a greeting
• Keep it professional at all times – watch your wording and use proper format