Top 5 tips for scheduling meetings
Two of the greatest complaints about workplace productivity are email and meetings.
Ahhh . . . meetings. No one really wants to have them. Arguably, many of them could be and should be emails. But for those that need to happen, people have been struggling for years with attendance, willingness to meet, and, the very annoying back and forth (usually via email) that comes with finding a consensus on timing.
Generally it takes 15 minutes to schedule a single meeting – five minutes per email, three emails per meeting. If you’re scheduling 10 meetings a week, that’s 2.5 hours spent just getting those meetings scheduled!
Based on research from 3.5 million proposed meetings time around the world, here are top 5 tips for scheduling meetings
1: Monday at 11am is the best time to schedule a meeting
People want to get meetings done and off the calendar, and late Monday morning has the least potential for conflict with other meetings.
2: The most proposed time slots are NOT the most bookable
Wednesday and Thursday afternoons are frequently offered, but their popularity means there will be conflicts with other meetings
3: Offering 7 to 14 time slots is the best way to book a meeting
To maximise your odds of getting a meeting scheduled, offer between 7 to 14 time slots. Choosing and typing out that many time slots is a lot of work, but always offer at least three possible times. Or, you can use a meeting scheduling tool like Calendly or Boomerang to offer 14 time slots in just two clicks.
4: Most invitees prefer to meet as soon as possible.
Adding a last minute invite to someone’s Calendar probably won't be appreciated. But it turns out that when offered multiple meeting times, most people prefer to meet within 24 hours of receiving the invitation ( unless it's near the end of the week).
5: No one likes Friday meetings!
Friday afternoon time slots are the least likely to be chosen - if you want to get your meeting booked stay clear of this time of the week.