Simplify Meeting Scheduling

Transcription

1 Simplify Meeting Scheduling 5 Tips to Whipping Your Office Scheduling Into Shape

2 When it comes to productivity, if you can cut the time you spend on a certain repetitive task in half, you ve hit the bull s-eye. Using online meeting scheduling tools is a way to do just that it cuts the time spent scheduling a business meeting of 6-8 participants from almost 30 minutes to just about 15, according to a 2013 survey. 1 After all, think about what it takes to schedule a meeting if you don t use some kind of software made for that purpose. We ve all been through the usual dance involving multiple group s or chats. It goes something like this: You said you could meet Tuesday morning Oh, John s not here then? What about Thursday? Finally, you arrive at a mutually agreeable day and time only to find out that all the conference rooms are booked. You end up meeting at the coffee shop down the block, struggling to hear each other over the hiss and whir of the espresso machine. And if one of the people needed in the meeting is joining in remotely, there s an added layer of complexity. Good luck hearing them over the phone or video call with that coffee shop clatter in the background. Does it really have to be so hard to set up an in-person meeting? Nope. In fact, the most common roadblocks to efficient scheduling can be removed with a minimal investment of time and money. Here s how:

3 1 Implement a shared calendaring system. Implementing a shared calendaring system, including rooms and resources, such as Google Calendar or Outlook cuts out most of the back-and-forth hassle of meeting scheduling. Employees can view coworkers calendars to see if they re busy or available on a given day or time. (There s usually a setting to make event details private, if that s a concern.) Once an available time has been found, the meeting organizer sends an invitation via the calendaring system to set up the event. Then, attendees simply accept or decline the invitation. Once someone accepts, the event is added to their calendar and that time slot shows as busy on their schedule. Meeting spaces can also be added to the shared calendaring system, so organizers can choose and reserve whatever type of room conference room, brainstorming space, huddle room, etc works best for their particular event. Some systems also allow for other resources, such as desks or AV equipment, to be reserved. Once a room or resource has been reserved for a particular time, it displays as busy on the shared calendar system. 15 percent of an organization s collective time is spent in meetings. 2

4 2 Ditch paper signs. Shared calendar systems can go a long way toward making meeting scheduling less painful and more efficient. But a busy slot on a shared calendar doesn t always translate to the room actually being available for the group that reserved it. The old-school way to claim a room is to tape a reserved sign on the wall. It s a time-consuming approach. Whether it s the meeting organizer or an administrative employee, someone has to walk to the room and tack up the sign. And it ll probably be outdated by the time they do, because it s so common for meeting times to get bumped or cancelled. Plus, paper signs don t work all that well. How many times have you shown up for a pre-scheduled meeting, only to find another team is already in the room? It s awkward and inefficient. It s even worse when you have a client or job candidate with you. If your group has to wander the halls looking for an unused space to meet, the visitors are likely to conclude that this scattershot approach might translate to other business transactions, as well.

5 3 Install digital displays for eye-catching, real-time info. There s a better alternative: you and your guest walk up to the conference room and an eyecatching display proclaims Welcome Acme Corporation at the time of the meeting. This has the exact opposite effect of a paper sign tacked up with Scotch tape. A customized digital display implies the kind of forward-thinking professionalism that others want to be a part of. efficient. EventBoard, for instance, works with Google Apps and Outlook/Exchange to display room availability on ipads mounted near each meeting space. When someone updates a room s event via the shared calendar, the time also changes on the display. When the room is in use, the display shows busy. If the room is currently available, EventBoard displays allow users to book a meeting on the spot. Digital displays that tie in with shared calendaring systems are also more Starting late is one of the top 10 most common meeting problems, reports a paper titled Meeting Analysis: Findings from Research and Practice 3

6 4 Train and encourage. Whenever new systems or policies are introduced, it s smart to plan some related training for employees. Although most shared calendaring systems are fairly simple to learn, people could avoid the new solution just because it requires them to change their habits. Acknowledge this natural inertia. Don t assume that one announcing the new system will get everyone on board. Hold group trainings or provide DIY tip sheets or videos to help make shared calendar adoption easy for everyone in the office. One problem to watch for during this transition phase is employees booking meetings that they don t show up for. This means the meeting space goes unused when it could ve probably been re-booked percent of the time conference room reservations are not being kept, according to a Herman Miller study. 4 EventBoard s display includes a check-in feature that allows administrators to set a check-in window tied to the event start time. If no one checks in on the display during that window, the event is automatically canceled. Using this feature can dramatically reduce late-start meetings.

7 5 Analyze and adjust. When Mozilla began using EventBoard analytics, they discovered that one small room was being used more than the others. As it turned out, it was because the room had an Apple TV and the other rooms didn t. Finding out that employees actually preferred affordable Apple TVs over expensive AV equipment saved them thousands in facilities expenses. Many companies lack reliable data about how office resources are being used. If you ve implemented a system that offers analytics as well as booking functions, you won t be one of them. After your calendaring and room booking system has been in place for a couple of weeks, take advantage of built-in reports and analytics to improve your organization s internal processes and workspace usage. EventBoard s analytics provide a better understanding of how spaces are being used. Learn which spaces are over-booked and which are under-utilized, allowing management to make facilities consolidation or expansion decisions based on real data, not guesses. Compare usage trends between rooms and across the entire organization, and see how often rooms are occupied and by how many people. Is it really a good investment to build five more conference rooms that fit 10 people each, if your company s average meeting only has four attendees? Analytics can also help companies decide what other type of resources, besides space, to invest in.

8 Ready to cut your meeting scheduling time in half? So if you and your coworkers are tired of wasting time going back and forth to set up meetings, fighting over conference room space, and making facilities decisions without adequate data, it might be time to make a change. A shared calendar system and meeting room management platform working in tandem means more productivity and less frustration for everyone who needs to book a meeting space in their workplace. That s a pretty considerable return on investment. If you re ready to whip your company s meeting culture into shape, EventBoard can help. We have experts on hand to talk to you about how using shared calendaring in tandem with the EventBoard platform can transform your office. Sources 1 Study reveals time spent with scheduling, Doodle, accessed August Busy CEOs spend nearly one day each week managing communications, two days in meetings, Bain & Company Media Center, 6 May Busy-ceos-spend-nearly-one-day-each-weekmanaging-communications.aspx 3 Meeting Analysis: Findings from Research and Practice, Proceedings of the 34th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences etm5221/week%201%20challenges/meeting%20 Analysis%20Findings%20from%20Research%20 and%20practice.pdf 4 Why and How We Meet, Herman Miller Research Summaries, accessed August Sign up for a demo at info.eventboard.io/request-a-demo or call us at About EventBoard EventBoard is a cloud-based platform that makes meeting room management easy for thousands of companies around the world, including AirBNB, MGM Grand and Disney. Successful businesses use EventBoard to optimize their workspaces, save millions and help employees work more efficiently sales@eventboard.io