Out-of-office plan template

Even the best teams can feel off balance when a key member is out. A clear out-of-office (OOO) plan ensures that projects continue seamlessly, responsibilities get covered and communication stays consistent. Whether you’re taking a well-deserved holiday, heading out for parental leave or recovering from illness, solid planning helps your team to stay focused and confident. It also helps to protect much-needed recharge time, enabling a better work-life blend and empowering teammates to succeed in your absence.

Instead of a static, automatic OOO email, use Slack’s out-of-office plan template to document your time-off details and coverage plan within your workspace. It provides a dedicated channel where teammates view, comment and collaborate on handoffs, keeping your workflow organised, visible and stress-free.

How to use this out-of-office plan template

Slack’s template makes preparing for time off intuitive and collaborative. Built with canvas in Slack, it combines structure and flexibility so that you can easily share your plan and adjust details as needed. Here’s how:

• Click ‘Get template’. Add the preconfigured channel and canvas for your OOO plan to your workspace.
• Open the canvas tab. This appears in the new channel.
• Opt for a new ‘Out-of-office coverage plan’. You’ll see sections pre-filled with prompts to help you delegate and organise. These include:
• Type of leave. If desired, share the reason for the absence, such as business travel, holiday time or medical leave.
• Dates offline. Specify when you’ll be away.
• Availability. Describe whether you’ll check in occasionally or fully disconnect, or some combination of the two. Share specific dates, times and your time zone(s). For example, share if you’ll get online to check in after a big product launch.
• Project coverage. Explain active initiatives, their statuses and the teammates responsible.
• Contacts. Identify key people to contact if urgent questions arise.
• Resources. Include important links, documents or Slack canvases for reference.
• Confirm and share. Review the details, then share the channel with your manager and teammates so that everyone can view and comment.

In Slack, it’s easy to tag teammates with mentions under ‘Contacts’, add status notes for ‘Project coverage’ and insert links or canvases under ‘Resources’. Your entire out-of-office communication plan is in one place – so even if multiple teammates are covering for you, your plan is clear and accessible.

What is an out-of-office plan?

An out-of-office plan is a documented guide for how your work will be managed while you’re away. It typically includes your leave dates, communication preferences, delegated responsibilities and instructions for handling urgent issues.

A well-structured plan helps your team to maintain continuity without needing to track you down for questions. It sets expectations, clarifies ownership and allows everyone to keep moving forwards confidently.

When your plan lives in Slack, it becomes part of your existing workflow – integrated with the channels, messages and files that your team already uses daily.

Benefits of using an out-of-office plan template

Planning for time away is an investment in smoother collaboration – and peace of mind while you or a teammate is out. Use Slack’s out-of-office plan template to:

• Ensure seamless task handoffs. Within the template, you can clearly document responsibilities and task handoffs before you leave.
• Keep communication transparent. Managers, peers and clients always know who to contact for updates.
• Reduce team stress. Teammates don’t need to guess or send ‘checking in’ messages that add stress all around. They have everything they need in the template.
• Centralise information. Storing your plan in a shared Slack channel ensures visibility for all, minimising confusion or missed steps.
• Integrate with other workflows. Pair this built-for-purpose OOO plan with the annual leave/time-off request process template or automate notifications with Workflow Builder.
• Support boundaries and well-being. Nothing dulls a holiday vibe quite like work email notifications or Slack messages starting with ‘Sorry to bother you, but…’. With clear documentation and coverage, you can fully disconnect, knowing that your team has what they need.

The combination of visibility and automation makes the handoff process more reliable and helps you to return to a calmer, more organised workplace.

Out-of-office plan examples

The Slack out-of-office plan template adapts to different types of leave. Explore these examples for how to use it effectively.

Holidays

When taking time off for a holiday, use the ‘OOO details’ section to list the dates when you’ll be offline and specify your availability. For example, ‘Slack notifications off’ or ‘Limited check-ins on Fridays’. In the ‘Project coverage’ section, list each major project and its current status, and tag teammates who will handle updates while you’re away. Under ‘Resources’, include links to key canvases, shared docs or dashboards that your team might need.

Before you leave, update your Slack status and create an automatic response using Slackbot custom replies. This ensures that anyone messaging you gets information about your return date and coverage.

Business travel

If you’ll be online, but in transit or in meetings, use the ‘Availability’ field to indicate when you can respond. For example, if you’re on an aeroplane for six hours doing deep work on a presentation or document, you can specify that you can respond to Slack messages but are unable to huddle or join a meeting. Add your travel schedule and relevant time zones in the ‘OOO details’ section, and note which projects you’ll continue to monitor. You can also link to travel documents or itineraries under ‘Resources’ for quick access.

Teammates can comment directly in the canvas to confirm responsibilities or update task progress – making your coverage plan a living document rather than a static note.

Medical or family leave

For time away for medical reasons or family leave, detail your communication preferences – such as checking messages weekly on Mondays. Include coverage contacts for all major projects, and make sure that urgent issues are routed appropriately. You can even use Slack Workflow Builder to set a workflow that automatically notifies your team when your OOO period begins.

By creating clarity around your absence, you empower your team to operate smoothly and respectfully during your time of recovery or caregiving.

Best practices for communicating your out-of-office plan

An effective OOO plan isn’t just written – it’s shared and reinforced across your team. This information can become second nature within your team’s workflow, and that starts with effectively communicating your plan. Before you go offline:

• Share your plan in Slack channels. Post your canvas link in your team’s main channel to make the plan visible to everyone.
• Update your tools. Set your Slack out-of-office status, email autoresponder and digital calendar to indicate when you’ll be away.
• Confirm coverage and responsibilities. Review your plan with your manager and each delegate.
• Use an OOO checklist. Before leaving, confirm that open tasks have been documented, with deadlines and key contacts noted.
• Add Slack autoresponder messages. Create auto-replies in Slack to make sure that everyone gets the right information quickly whenever they contact you.
• Link your resources. In the ‘Resources’ section, insert relevant canvases, documents or project boards.
• Automate notifications. For recurring absences or coverage reminders, consult the guide to Slack Workflow Builder to automate as much of the process as possible.

Want additional ideas to optimise your employee absence plan? Take a look at the Slack guide to taking time off and practical tips for how to set up Slack for when you’re away.

Breathe easier with an out-of-office plan

Preparing an out-of-office plan keeps your team connected and confident in your absence. When your plan lives in Slack, everyone can find the information that they need – without confusion, long email threads or people contacting you for clarification. It also reinforces a respectful way of working within boundaries, which helps the team and organisation to operate in a more efficient and trustworthy manner.

Explore more ways to work smarter with Slack’s template gallery – from project management to employee onboarding, every template helps teams to stay aligned and productive.