If you wish to organize a meeting that involves some of your colleagues and a client, instead of sending an email, send an appointment. Sending appointments is convenient because all the user has to do is click 'accept' and it is in their calendar.
Figure: Use Outlook appointments to easily synchronise your calendar with your client's
This way Outlook will remind your colleagues about the appointment and you can update them if any changes are made.
If the appointment is for 3 days or less, send a separate appointment for each day. This is because multiple-day appointments appear at the top in your Outlook Calendar, so you risk missing the appointment (see below).
Figure: Bad Example - Multiple-day appointments appear hidden at the top of your Outlook calendar, so you might miss it, thinking that the time is free
Figure: Good Example - Send a separate appointment for each day so you can clearly see it in your Outlook calendar
If you wish to organize a meeting that involves some of your colleagues and a client, instead of sending an email, send an appointment. Sending appointments is convenient because all the user has to do is click 'accept' and it is in their calendar.
A lot of people talk about appointments and plan to do it later. E.g. you’re at the dentist and they give you a card with your next visit’s time written on it. People take the card and plan to enter it into their calendar later.
A better way is to stop, pull out your phone, and enter it immediately before leaving the dentist.
Similarly, you might be on the phone with a client and arrange a date and plan to enter it in later. A better way is to say “Hang on a second while I shoot you an appointment for the time.”
Locking in time as soon as possible is a big efficiency gain, and helps to avoid any possible mistakes or double bookings.
Figure: As soon as you know you’ll need time with someone, create and send the appointment immediately
A lot of people talk about appointments and plan to do it later. E.g. you’re at the dentist and they give you a card with your next visit’s time written on it. People take the card and plan to enter it into their calendar later.
One of the least successful ways to get an appointment is to ask for one. The reason is that by asking for a meeting, you're creating hurdles. A hurdle for you to look at your calendar for available times, a hurdle for them to look at their calendar, a hurdle to reply to the email. And then there is the obstacle that arises when their proposed time conflicts with something you're doing, and the process begins again. Even for people who don't have busy calendars, these meetings often don't happen because they slip down the inbox.
The better way to get an appointment with someone is to throw an appointment their way. You have a higher chance of it sticking if it appears in their calendar. You will be amazed at your success rate. That said, make sure you soften the appointment with something like “if there is a better time for you, let me know”.
It is a good idea to send the appointment a few weeks out, it is less confronting and less demanding than finding a meeting in your calendar for the next day (or the same week).
The obvious caveat is that you shouldn't send meeting requests to people who have no idea who you are, that's just spam in a different vehicle.
To:
Adam Cogan
Subject:
Intro to SSW - Marni
Hi Adam,
Great to e-meet you. I would love to talk to you and hear your thoughts on where the industry is headed.
Please let me know when you are available, and I will set up an appointment.
Best,
Marni Lefebvre
Figure: Bad example - Leaving the ball in their court
To:
Adam Cogan
Subject:
Intro to SSW - Marni
Hi Adam,
Great to e-meet you. I would love to talk to you and hear your thoughts on where the industry is headed.
I have sent through a Teams meeting to catch up early next week. If the timing doesn’t work, let me know and I’ll update the appointment.
Best,
Marni Lefebvre
Figure: Good example - Sending the appointment first. They can change the time if necessary, but it's in their calendar
One of the least successful ways to get an appointment is to ask for one. The reason is that by asking for a meeting, you're creating hurdles. A hurdle for you to look at your calendar for available times, a hurdle for them to look at their calendar, a hurdle to reply to the email. And then there is the obstacle that arises when their proposed time conflicts with something you're doing, and the process begins again. Even for people who don't have busy calendars, these meetings often don't happen because they slip down the inbox.
When sending an appointment, it's a good idea to choose your subject/title intelligently so that people can see all the information they need to see on the Subject of the Appointment.
For example, if the appointment is a meeting request you should include the names of the persons attending that appointment. Another example is flight bookings or hotel bookings. Including the flight number and/or Hotel name in the Appointment Subject so that you can see the information without having to open the item. Think about what the recipient sees in their calendar and try to make it as clear as possible.
Figure: Bad Example - appointment subject with very little information
Figure: Good Example - Appointment subjects are better when they can be read from both sides e.g. Include both names
When sending an appointment, it's a good idea to choose your subject/title intelligently so that people can see all the information they need to see on the Subject of the Appointment.
For example, if the appointment is a meeting request you should include the names of the persons attending that appointment. Another example is flight bookings or hotel bookings. Including the flight number and/or Hotel name in the Appointment Subject so that you can see the information without having to open the item. Think about what the recipient sees in their calendar and try to make it as clear as possible.
Whenever you have to modify the time, attendees, or subject of an appointment, always send the updated appointment with comments at the top to explain why you want to make these changes.
Examples:
UPDATED: Moving to Thursday as Adam could not make it
Figure: Good example – changing the date or time
UPDATED: Adding Uly since he may want to know that we are working on TimePro this day
UPDATED v2: Changed attendees from SSWAll to SSWBrisbane
UPDATED v1: Changed Subject
Figure: Good Example - Explaining the change that has been made using the prefix "UPDATE:"
Note: Using brackets is also an option
Whenever you have to modify the time, attendees, or subject of an appointment, always send the updated appointment with comments at the top to explain why you want to make these changes.
Often your conversation flow with someone will go from a phone call to emails, to an appointment, and then back to emails.
It's nice to be able to look back and see the whole history in one thread, so you will need to be able to Reply All to an appointment to continue the email conversation after the meeting.
Outlook makes this easy:
Option 1: Right-click on the appointment in your calendar and click "Reply All"
Option 2: Left click on the appointment in your calendar and type "Ctrl + Shift + R"
Option 3: Use the ribbon as below
Figure: Open the appointment in your Calendar (You should already have Invited all the required people to attend)Figure: Click on "Contact Attendees" | "Reply to All with Email" if you created the appointment, or "Respond" | "Reply All" if you were invited
Figure: Good example – This friendly reminder has the right history (the appointment)
Reasons you might want to "Reply All" to an Appointment include:
Continuing the conversation after a meeting
Reminding someone about an upcoming meeting (especially if you know they have unwieldy calendars)
Getting more information before a meeting
Often your conversation flow with someone will go from a phone call to emails, to an appointment, and then back to emails.
It's nice to be able to look back and see the whole history in one thread, so you will need to be able to Reply All to an appointment to continue the email conversation after the meeting.
One of the great things about email is that as a conversation progresses, you always have the thread history that you can refer to for context.
Calendar appointments, on the other hand, don’t have this. Therefore, if you make plans via email, and that email conversation includes details like times, agendas, locations, etc. It’s usually a good idea to copy the email text into the body of the calendar appointment. That way you’ve got the history and context right there, so the attendees don’t have to go searching for it in their inbox.
Warning: With calendar appointments, there is a risk of people accepting the appointment without reading the content – it doesn't happen with emails. If you are initiating an appointment that has a task in it (when you expect a ‘done’) then duplicate the content of the appointment into an email.
To:
Adam, Jason, Tom
Subject:
Meet with the SSW software architects and talk about CodeAuditor
When:
Friday, 30 July 2021 9:30 AM-10:30 AM (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney.
I am the Scrum Master of the upcoming Northwind project and I’d like to understand the specific performance and code quality requirements
Can you meet with me and review the current SSW CodeAuditor rules we need to enforce per sprint for the upcoming Northwind project?
Once I understand, can you communicate those rules to the developers on the project?
Uly
Figure: Calendar appointment with tasks should be copied from an email, so the items assigned get read via the email (better visibility), and also the email can get replied to with a ‘done’
One of the great things about email is that as a conversation progresses, you always have the thread history that you can refer to for context.
Calendar appointments, on the other hand, don’t have this. Therefore, if you make plans via email, and that email conversation includes details like times, agendas, locations, etc. It’s usually a good idea to copy the email text into the body of the calendar appointment. That way you’ve got the history and context right there, so the attendees don’t have to go searching for it in their inbox.
When you would like to propose a new time for an appointment that someone has sent to you, use the Propose New Time button in Outlook instead of simply declining the message. By using the Propose New Time option, the requestor can easily accept your proposed time, rather than having to edit the previous appointment.
Figure: Bad Example: The person who sent the appointment has to interpret your message, then go back in and edit the appointment
Instead of simply declining the message and typing your proposed time in the message body, propose a new time as follows:
Figure: Good Example - Click one of these... and then...
Figure: Good Example - The new time is proposed, and the person who sent the original appointment can easily accept your proposal (or view all proposals if there are multiple recipients)
Figure: Good Example - The new time is proposed, and the person who sent the original appointment can easily accept your proposal (or view all proposals if there are multiple recipients)
When you would like to propose a new time for an appointment that someone has sent to you, use the Propose New Time button in Outlook instead of simply declining the message. By using the Propose New Time option, the requestor can easily accept your proposed time, rather than having to edit the previous appointment.
We've all been part of that email chain... "Let's meet to discuss this", "When are you free?", "I can do Friday", "Friday's no good, what about Monday?", "I'm free in the morning", "Penny can't make that, how about Tuesday afternoon after 3?", etc.
AI can make scheduling meetings with multiple attendees much easier.
Note that both of the following solutions work best when you're dealing with people in your own organization, as they then have access to all calendar data, but with a bit of back and forth, they can still work for externals too. There are some options.
Microsoft Cortana Scheduler (formerly known as Calendar.help)
Figure: Microsoft Cortana Scheduler
This option is best if you're ok to meet any time that your calendar says is free.
Figure: FindTime gives a nice UI for people working in the same org, as you can see times that might be available for all attendees easily (e.g. 8 am above)
Mobile – does not work ❌
As of Dec 2020, FindTime does not work on iOS.
Figure: FindTime - No mobile support for iOS
We've all been part of that email chain... "Let's meet to discuss this", "When are you free?", "I can do Friday", "Friday's no good, what about Monday?", "I'm free in the morning", "Penny can't make that, how about Tuesday afternoon after 3?", etc.
AI can make scheduling meetings with multiple attendees much easier.
Note that both of the following solutions work best when you're dealing with people in your own organization, as they then have access to all calendar data, but with a bit of back and forth, they can still work for externals too. There are some options.
By default, when you click the button to turn an appointment into a Teams Meeting, it adds the link to join the call to the bottom of the body content. It’s generally a good idea to move this up to the top, as It’s the 1st thing you’ll want people to do when they open the appointment on the day of the meeting.
Figure: Bad Example – join link gets lost
Figure: Good Example – easy to know what to click on
By default, when you click the button to turn an appointment into a Teams Meeting, it adds the link to join the call to the bottom of the body content. It’s generally a good idea to move this up to the top, as It’s the 1st thing you’ll want people to do when they open the appointment on the day of the meeting.
Within a company, there are occasions that you are not able to access your computer to send sick emails, or you get a call from your client on the way to the office that you have to drive to a client site straight away; when such things happen, you need someone else to update your calendar when you call in, so others are aware of your availabilities.
Always make sure that:
Admin people are able to access your calendar with full permission in order to add/edit/delete appointments for you.
The whole organization can see your full calendar details.
Do this to allow Admins to edit your calendar permissions:
Open Outlook (or Outlook Web) | Click Calendar | Click "Share Calendar" | Click "Add..." | Add the Admin group | Select "Can edit"
Note: Check you are looking in the right address book using the "Address Book" dropdown if you cannot find a user or group.
Figure: Click on "Share Calendar" in OutlookFigure: Give admins full access to your calendar in Outlook with "Can edit"
Now do this to allow the whole organization to see your full calendar details:
Open Outlook (or Outlook Web) | Click Calendar | Click "Share Calendar" | Click "My Organization" | Select "Can view all details"
Figure: Give the whole organization access to your calendar in Outlook with "Can view all details"
Once the permissions are given, opening other people's calendar is as easy as 2 steps:
Go to the Calendar tab in outlook and click "open a Shared Calendar" Figure: Opening a shared calendar
Choose the calendar you want to open in the pop-up form Figure: Find the calendar you want
Then you can have this shared calendar shown in your Outlook.
Within a company, there are occasions that you are not able to access your computer to send sick emails, or you get a call from your client on the way to the office that you have to drive to a client site straight away; when such things happen, you need someone else to update your calendar when you call in, so others are aware of your availabilities.
If someone wants you to send an appointment for them, but you don't want it to appear in your own calendar, this is the way to go.
When sending an appointment from someone else's calendar, you should always include that person as an attendee so that they also receive the same appointment email that their guests do. It shows them that the invitation has been sent, and also allows them to check for any mistakes or additional information that needs to be added.
Figure: Step 1 - Open the person's shared calendarFigure: Step 2 - Make sure you invite the person you're sending forFigure: The attendees will receive an appointment that says you sent it on behalf of the other person
If someone wants you to send an appointment for them, but you don't want it to appear in your own calendar, this is the way to go.
When sending an appointment from someone else's calendar, you should always include that person as an attendee so that they also receive the same appointment email that their guests do. It shows them that the invitation has been sent, and also allows them to check for any mistakes or additional information that needs to be added.
Sometimes your schedule is chockers and you want to be transparent!
Have you ever needed to send your calendar schedule to someone to figure out the best time to schedule a meeting with them? Figuring out when someone is available within your organization is usually easy, as Outlook can show you automatically using the Scheduling Assistant.
If you're trying to coordinate with someone outside of your organization, this can be more challenging. In Outlook you can easily include a copy of your calendar schedule to make this process easier.
To insert a nice looking calendar and .ics file attachment into your email in Outlook, do the following:
New email in Outlook, go to the ribbon and select Insert / Calendar
Select your options to insert the fancy HTML calendar and .ICS file in to the email:
You now have a nice looking calendar showing your availability, ready to send:
Figure: Pick your calendar, date range, and amount of detail
Sometimes your schedule is chockers and you want to be transparent!
Have you ever needed to send your calendar schedule to someone to figure out the best time to schedule a meeting with them? Figuring out when someone is available within your organization is usually easy, as Outlook can show you automatically using the Scheduling Assistant.
If you're trying to coordinate with someone outside of your organization, this can be more challenging. In Outlook you can easily include a copy of your calendar schedule to make this process easier.
While working in a team, there are three ways of seeing others' or team calendars.
Option 1: Using Outlook Calendar Permissions - See a person's calendar (Recommended)
You can share your Outlook calendar with another person or a group in Outlook. This option is useful when you want to share your personal calendar with others.
When joining a new team, it's easy to be lost and not know when the important meetings are (like the Daily Scrum, or the next Sprint Review). Broadly, use Teams as the appointment source (rather than Outlook) then the benefit is that you can have a tab where you see it in the context of the team. Then, when a new member joins a Team they do not have to go looking for the appointment, and can easily join the call.
Figure: Bad Example - When I look at my calendar, I don't know when the meetings are
Figure: Good Example - A SharePoint page allows me to see my Team's meetings before I have been invited (and invite myself if required)
Open up the Team's SharePoint site (you can find this easily by going to the
Files tab and clicking
Open in SharePoint)
Go to the SharePoint site's Home page (from the menu on the left)
Add a new page
Add a Group Calendar web part to the page
Publish the page
Figure: Some easy to follow steps to create the SharePoint page
In Teams, click add a new SharePoint tab to the Team
Select the newly published SharePoint page
Click Save
Figure: Adding a tab to a Team is an indispensable skill
Make sure you pick "SharePoint" tab (as opposed to "Website" tab) for best possible integration:
Figure: Bad Example - using the Website tab
Figure: Good Example - using the SharePoint tab
Suggestion to Microsoft: This is an unnecessary extra hoop to jump through. If you create an appointment from a Team then this tab should be automatically created.
Figure: As a bonus, I can the event to my calendar
Warning: Only the organizer of a meeting can make changes to it and Teams offers no ability to transfer ownership of that meeting.
To be fair you also can’t change meeting owners in Exchange.
When joining a new team, it's easy to be lost and not know when the important meetings are (like the Daily Scrum, or the next Sprint Review). Broadly, use Teams as the appointment source (rather than Outlook) then the benefit is that you can have a tab where you see it in the context of the team. Then, when a new member joins a Team they do not have to go looking for the appointment, and can easily join the call.
You should always set your working hours in your Outlook calendar so others knows when you are working, this will help us to do resource scheduling. This is especially important for people who are not working as full time, e.g. part-time, contractors etc.
You can find this setting in File | Options | Calendar Options, it looks like below:
Figure: Outlook Calendar options for working hours settings
Once you set this up, you will be able to see the grey area in "Scheduling assistant" so you know what's the best time to book that person.
Figure: Grey means people are not available (so set your working hours to be accurate)
Set your work hours in CRM
Figure: In CRM, Click on the cog in the top right | Personalization SettingsFigure: Go to the Activities tab | Enter your default work hours
This only allows for times that are the same every day. You should also update the work hours field in your CRM Details Tab.
Figure: Good example - Only update your work hours if they vary from the usual Mon-Fri, 9-6
Set your work hours in Outlook Calendar
You should always set your working hours in your Outlook calendar so others knows when you are working, this will help us to do resource scheduling. This is especially important for people who are not working as full time, e.g. part-time, contractors etc.
People take leave all the time, and it can be frustrating to find out that someone is not in the office after you've already sent an email to book them for a meeting. You should have a centralized system to check for everyone's availability.
The easiest way to do this is to use a shared calendar that is just used for leave. At SSW, we have the SSWAbsence calendar for this. This requires people to send their leave requests as an appointment to SSWAbsence.
Since this is just a calendar, you should also have these leave requests automatically to your admin managers (e.g SSWAdmin), so they are always notified of what's going on, although normally these managers will decline the notification rather than add it to their own calendar by accepting it.
Figure: Good Example - See everyone's leave appointments in one place
People take leave all the time, and it can be frustrating to find out that someone is not in the office after you've already sent an email to book them for a meeting. You should have a centralized system to check for everyone's availability.
If you have a date for any event appearing on your website, you should make it as easy as possible for the user to add it to their Outlook calendar. This is why we use ICS links for all dates on our site.
Next User Group Meeting:
Wednesday, 15 February 2006 5:45 PM
Figure: Good Example - User can click and add a reminder
By clicking the calendar link, users can easily add the event to their own calendars.
You have 2 options - VCS and ICS. Both let you add appointments to your calendar. We use ICS because it allows collaborating information between personal information management programs like Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Calendar, Mac OS, etc. over the Internet, independently of differences between program vendors or operating systems, which is not allowed with VCS.
It is always preferred to use icons to give users a proper idea about the file. Users can quickly get the idea by just looking at the icon.
If you have a date for any event appearing on your website, you should make it as easy as possible for the user to add it to their Outlook calendar. This is why we use ICS links for all dates on our site.
It's usually easier for users to remember where given information is when it is associated with an image/icon. This is especially true for non-technical people or the ones that are not very familiar with digital workspaces.
An easy and fun way to alleviate this issue and boost user adoption to Microsoft Teams is to use Emojis in your channel names (using Windows Key + .)!
Figure: Bad example - Teams Channel names without emojis
Figure: Good example - Teams Channel names have emojis
Figure: Good example - Control4 automation Mobile UI is more friendly with emojis
Figure: Good example - Some appointments can benefit from an emoji too, like a Sprint meeting in Scrum
It's usually easier for users to remember where given information is when it is associated with an image/icon. This is especially true for non-technical people or the ones that are not very familiar with digital workspaces.
Figure: Pick your calendar, date range, and amount of detail
Add Outlook reminder
