If you've come this far, it's because you know the importance of meetings in the business world.
With the pandemic and many companies moving to a hybrid or remote model, online meetings have only increased and the email inbox has become a mess.
We know how busy everyday life is – you need to fulfill the demands of work, attend meetings, schedule the next ones and, above all, also put your personal commitments on the agenda, so there is no conflict of events.
But, rest assured, to organize your schedule much more easily and schedule meetings much faster, follow the text.
Come on!
First Steps to Setting Up a Meeting
The first and most important item to keep in mind is: schedule in advance , don't just show up with a meeting without notifying the other guests.
Next, see if the people you need to meet with have compatible availability and are within working hours .
To help, you can also put the meeting specifications , that is, always make it clear the topic that will be discussed and the importance of that meeting for your team, if possible inserting an agenda with the subjects that will be discussed.
Finally, the last point of this topic is: have a tool that optimizes this entire process , in this way, there will be no need for infinite emails or communication failure.
If you want to know what these tools are, just follow the text!
Also Read: Service Level Agreement (SLA): What It Is and How to Create a Beneficial Agreement
How to Organize My Schedules?
First of all, you need to write down all your commitments , whether personal or work, always remembering to leave time for your rest.
If you are that person who lives from meetings , it may be time to review some of them , think if they all still make sense for the current moment of your work.
After these two points, you can put some of these tips into practice:
- Establish priority levels ;
- Don't be multitasking;
- Have a goal; and
- Count on the help of technology.
What is the Importance of Prior Meeting Scheduling?
By scheduling a meeting in advance, you allow your co-workers time to prepare.
In this way, they are able to take relevant topics and data on the subject discussed, participate more actively in the meeting and also answer any questions that may arise, as they will be more in the know.
In addition to all these points, with prior scheduling you prevent that there is a convergence of schedules in your schedule and in that of the other participants .
5 Techniques for Scheduling More Efficient Meetings
For you to be able to schedule a meeting quickly and make it efficient, you need to pay attention to the prior details, that is, prepare for that meeting, in addition to having a scheduling system to assist you in this process.
1. The leader sets the tone
If you're the leader of your team, know that it's your responsibility to be the one who brings positivity and pulls interactions into the conversation .
2. Prepare the Participants
As we said above, explain to those who will participate in the meeting which topic will be addressed and what the function of that meeting is, in this way, they will be able to prepare better and the meeting will become more efficient.
3. Record Important Information
There's no point in a meeting if right after it ends you no longer remember the important points spoken.
Therefore, always write down the main topics covered at the meeting , make your notes so that the content is not lost and share the main points and definitions with the participants after the meeting.
4. Set the Next Meeting Date
If you give a warning or just a prediction that they will meet again to deal with that matter, the participants already know what steps should be taken until the next meeting.
5. Explore Online Meeting Tools
Finally, take advantage of online tools to streamline the entire meeting scheduling process.
With them, communication becomes clearer and your schedule much more organized .
Follow the text to find out which are the best tools for you to implement in your business!
What is the Best Online Scheduling System?
There are several online scheduling tools on the market, with that in mind, we've listed some here for you to find out which one best fits your business.
Let's go to them!
Appointlet
Appointlet is a tool that has been on the market for 10 years, enabling various integrations with platforms such as Google Calendar, Office 365, Zoom , etc.
The tool offers three types of plans: the Free, the Gold ($8 member/month) and the Enterprise which has a price difference depending on the specifications.
Setmore
Setmore can be considered the best when it comes to business scheduling, as it allows several online reservations to be made, in addition to automated reminders , payment processing , among other functions.
The software also has three plans: Free (up to 4 users), Premium ($5 user/month for 2-3 users) and Pro ($5 user/month for 3+ users)
Acuity
Acuity is an online scheduling assistant that automates booking and calendar management.
Since it was acquired by Squarespace, it can be used as an integrated widget for scheduling.
Their plans are: Emerging at $14 a month, Growing at $23 a month, and Powerhouse at $45 a month; these prices are for annual payments.
Calendly
Calendly , on the other hand , can be considered a more popular and user-friendly tool .
It allows meetings to be created easily and shares the meeting link with other participants.
There are five plans, they are:
- Basic – free;
- Essentials – $8 seat/month;
- Professional – $12 seat/month;
- Teams – $16 seat/month; and
- Company – Need to contact Calendly.
Doodle
Doodle 's differential is the possibility of creating polls so that your co-workers can vote for the best time for everyone.
There are three plans: Pro ($6.95 user/month), Team ($8.95 user/month), and Enterprise (contact required)
Google Calendar
Google Calendar is certainly the most famous of all this list, with it you can schedule meetings, set reminders, organize tasks and block certain times in your schedule , as well as being able to check your colleagues' schedules .
Hubspot Meetings
Hubspot Meetings is scheduling software provided to Hubspot account holders .
There are several plans offered, they are divided between the areas of marketing, sales , CS, CMS and Operations, all of which start at $45 per month.
OnceHub / ScheduleOnce
OnceHub is a platform that automates the entire meeting scheduling process .
There are three plans: Starter (free and up to 3 users), Growth ($10 per month with unlimited users) and Enterprise ($950 per month with custom plan).
Youcanbook.me
YouCanBook.me is a tool for those who need to share their agenda on the internet in order to schedule meetings with different people.
It allows scheduling to be done with just one click .
There are two plans for this tool: Free forever (free) and Paid plan ($10 per month).
Calendar
The purpose of Calendar is to optimize your time . With it, your appointments will become faster and easier.
In addition, it offers a graph for users that shows exactly how time is being spent.
SimplyBook.me
SimplyBook.me is an extensive booking system that allows integration with other calendar software on the market .
The tool offers four plans: Free, Basic (R$33.75/month), Standard (R$66/month) and Premium (R$110/month).
Now that you know more about meeting scheduling tools and how to organize your calendar, don't waste time and implement the one that makes the most sense for your business.
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