The end-of-year rush in engineering is stressful enough without tech glitches or miscommunications causing friction. Your team’s balancing project wrap-ups, field coordination, and holiday time off. Meanwhile, clients still expect status updates, access to files, and clarity on deliverables.
The last thing your firm needs is to frustrate a municipality, general contractor, or developer because your systems didn’t reflect your schedule. Consider this your Salt Lake City engineering firm’s "Holiday Tech Etiquette Guide."
Because even in a business built on structure, it’s the small, human-centered touches that keep clients confident in your work.
Update Your Office Hours (Before an Inspector Shows Up to a Locked Door)
Picture this: A permitting office rep swings by your downtown office to review site documents after seeing you're "open" on Google, only to find dark windows and a handwritten sign taped to the door.
What to update:
- Your Google Business Profile (highest priority)
- LinkedIn company page and any social platforms used for client updates
- A banner on your website (especially the contact page)
- Apple Maps, Yelp, and engineering association directories
Sample message:
"Happy Holidays from all of us at [Firm Name]. We’ll be closed from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2. During this time, project teams will be available for critical issues. Please contact your project lead directly."
Set Out-Of-Office Replies That Sound Professional (Not Robotic)
You wouldn’t hand a spec sheet to a client without reviewing it first. Apply the same care to your auto-responder.
Sample out-of-office:
"Thanks for reaching out. Our Salt Lake City office will be closed for the holidays from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2. We’ll respond to all non-urgent messages when we return. For project-critical matters, please call our main line at (XXX) XXX-XXXX."
Keep It Secure: Don’t Overshare in Your Auto-Replies
We get it—your BIM lead is headed to Moab and the CAD team is at their kid's school play. But don’t advertise that in your auto-response.
Avoid sharing travel details, hotel names, or office-wide absences. It opens a door for social engineering tactics and can signal when key systems are lightly monitored.
Stick to:
- Dates you'll be out
- When you'll reply
- Who to contact in your absence
Test Your Phone Systems (Before a Bid Contact Hits a Dead End)
A stale voicemail greeting can confuse or annoy a potential client, especially if you're in the middle of an RFP cycle.
Pro tip: Call your own main line. Does the greeting match your actual holiday schedule?
Sample voicemail:
"You've reached [Firm Name]. We’re currently closed for the holidays and will return on January 2. If this is urgent, please press 1 to be connected to our on-call technical support."
Communicate Project Schedules & Deadlines Early
Whether you're delivering CAD files, submitting stormwater reports, or finalizing redlines before year-end, make sure stakeholders know what to expect.
- Include holiday deadlines in project status emails
- Clarify which deliverables will pause during office closure
- Add cutoff dates for contractor onboarding or tech support
Why it matters: A missed file upload or unanswered spec question can delay inspections, permitting, or even payment.
The Bottom Line: Good IT Etiquette Reinforces Trust
Cybersecurity and system uptime matter. But so does client perception. The best managed IT services for Salt Lake City engineering firms don’t just protect networks—they support reputation.
Holiday tech etiquette helps maintain responsiveness, professionalism, and clarity when it matters most.
Because clients don’t just remember your precision or design skills. They remember how easy you made it to work with you under pressure.
Want help making sure your systems, phone trees, and client touchpoints stay professional this season?
Click here to schedule your free Network Assessment with Qual IT.
Because managed IT services for engineering firms should help you build trust—not break it—this holiday season.
