General Out of Office (OOO) Guide

PTO:  Requests, especially those surrounding holidays, will be reviewed against the following criteria (in no particular order) to ensure adequate team coverage:

• Client deadlines/priorities
• Submission date
• PTO balance/status
• General nature of the request
• Tenure

Use the TrackSmart system for all requests,giving at least 2 weeks advance notice whenever possible. Refer to Employee Handbook for further details.

WFH: Request WFH days directly with your manager, giving at least 2 days advance notice whenever possible. Refer to Employee Handbook for further details.

If you are eligible to WFH, please be sure that you have a separate and dedicated space to work that is feasible for video calls, phone calls and active messaging/email without disruption and with strong internet accessibility. 

The expectation is that you are reachable through the entire work day, except when participating in meetings, during lunch hour and taking obvious breaks as needed.

Inclement Weather: Refer to Employee Handbook for further details.

Late In/Early Out: Any time out of the office exceeding 2 hours will need to come from your PTO unless otherwise arranged with your manager..

Life happens, speak directly with your manager when extenuating circumstances arise.

REQUESTING/ACTIVATING APPROVED TIME OFF:

1) Make the Request

• Submit in TrackSmart and WAIT until approved before blocking any calendars/sending communications

2) Mark Calendars

• Once approved, block your own calendar for the exact times you are out so that you are not scheduled.
• Once approved, ​send an appointment to the Digital team and Sarah so we can easily see/communicate when someone is not in the office. Please use these appointment settings: 
  • Mark as all day
  • Mark as available
  • Turn notifications off
  • Omitting non-work details, use simple subject titles such as: "Steve OOO", ​"Steve in @11am", "Steve out @2pm", "Steve out @12pm-3pm", "Steve WFH-410.123.4567"
• Find/confirm who will be on point to cover you in your absence

3) Internal Teams/External Communication

• Send an email to your internal teams and client POCs advising of the time you will be out of the office as well as who will be covering you while you are out. 
  • Up to 1 day OOO-send 24 hours in advance
  • Up to 2 days OOO-send 48 hours in advance
  • 3 days or more OOO-send 1 week in advance

4) Final Check-In

• If you are out for 1 day or more, you must provide me with a coverage document denoting all that may or may not need to be covered in your absence--send 24 hours in advance.
• If you are out for 2 days or more, you must provide me with and meet with me to discuss a coverage document denoting all that may or may not need to be covered in your absence--48 hours in advance.
• Be sure your auto-reply is set to activate on and through your time OOO.
  • Use simple messages such as: "Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office today, returning on XXX [with limited/without] access to email. Should you need immediate assistance, please contact XXX (xxx@marriner.com, 410-xxx-xxxx) during my absence. Otherwise--I will reply upon my return. Thank you and have a great day!"