6 tips for stress-free online meeting scheduling

Online meetings are becoming increasingly popular as businesses and organizations look for new ways to connect with their team members, clients, and customers. While they can be a great way to save time and money, trying to coordinate the timing of an online meeting can be a stressful process.

To help make your life easier, here are 6 practical tips for stress-free online meeting scheduling. By following these simple steps, you’ll be able to organize your meetings with ease and ensure that everyone shows up on time and is ready to go.

Schedule in advance

Schedule meetings with your colleagues in advance. As the organizer, you'll have to juggle a number of different time zones and priorities. Give yourself plenty of time to iron out the details and be transparent with your team about any potential conflicts. Allocating this initial effort up front can save hours of back-and-forth later on. This will also help you avoid last-minute scheduling headaches.

It is important to keep an open mind when someone requests a meeting time that may not work well with your agenda. You are not obligated to agree to their request if it doesn't make sense to you, but it's worth taking the time to understand the rationale behind their request. Try exchanging email or instant messaging conversations before talking on the phone or in person so that you both understand what needs are being addressed and how much time each side has available. 

Set a clear agenda

Set a clear agenda and a corresponding time limit. The goal of the meeting should be clearly stated at the beginning, and it is important to know what you want to achieve. Don't underestimate the time, set realistic time limits to finish the agenda.

It's also a good idea to check with participants beforehand if they have any difficulties with some of the technology requirements (e.g., do they have video or audio capabilities). And finally, try to keep things as simple as possible: stick to your original plan and don't go off on tangents. If you're unsure about how much time is needed, schedule less rather than more.

Keep it short

Keeping Online meetings are becoming increasingly popular in today's world, as more people are working from home and rely on technology to stay connected. While virtual meetings have many advantages, they can also be stressful to plan and organize. To make sure your online meetings are stress-free, you should Keep them Short: Long online meetings can become tedious and unproductive. Try to limit your online meetings to only what is absolutely necessary, and make sure all agenda items are discussed in an efficient manner.

Provide options

Provide options for the frequency of meetings. Sometimes, it is necessary to meet in person to accomplish a task. When possible, find a balance between in-person and remote meetings.

For example, schedule quarterly in-person meetings with all your stakeholders and monthly or quarterly remote meetings to check in on progress. It's also important to provide different time zones an option. If you know people are located across the world, consider scheduling times that work best for them as well as yourself.

Utilize tools

Use the right tool for the job. We recommend that you first assess what your needs are, and then choose a meeting scheduling software accordingly. There are some free online tools that are good enough to get you started if you’re on a budget or just getting started. Try Cubo!

If you need to share and collaborate with others, however, it’s worth investing in one of the popular paid options out there. If your needs include: sending reminders, making guest lists, checking availability, and more we recommend Calendly or Doodle. Both allow for an unlimited number of people per event and can integrate with other services such as Google Calendar or Outlook.

Follow up

Make sure you follow up with the meeting attendees before, during, and after the meeting to keep them updated on progress. Check-in with attendees after the meeting to find out what they liked and didn't like about the meeting so you can improve your next one.

Finally, don't forget to send a thank you email as soon as possible following your meeting. The business world is becoming more connected by the minute and it's important that we do our part to help our companies grow. With these six tips in mind, we can have more success at meetings than we ever dreamed of!