Cover arranged in advance beats improvising during the absence.
BEFORE YOU GO
Set an autoresponder with a return date and an alternative contact Tell key customers and suppliers, if the absence is long Make sure someone can access shared mailboxes Decide who handles anything urgent, and tell them
GIVING COLLEAGUES ACCESS
Preferred: set up the shared mailbox on their device using IMAP, so they see and handle the same mail.
Alternative: create a temporary forwarder to their address, removed on your return.
Avoid sharing your personal mailbox password. Where it is unavoidable, change it when you return.
ON YOUR RETURN
Remove temporary forwarders Turn off the autoresponder if it has no stop date Review what was handled, so nothing falls between you
FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
If one person handles all mail, the business has a single point of failure. A shared role address that two people can reach is worth setting up before you need it.
