Maximize Online Calendar Collaboration in 7 Tips

The average employee spends 30% of their workweek in meetings. Not to mention the many hours it takes to coordinate schedules and find time to collaborate. For team managers, this time may be doubled. Days packed with meetings likely means you are spending a great deal of time in your online calendar. 

The best way to optimize time is with online calendar collaboration. Calendar collaboration for your team can save time, increase productivity, and organize workflow. Here are 7 tips to maximize your teamwork and improve calendar collaboration. 

7 Tips for Maximizing Online Calendar Collaboration

Organizing your calendar can take hours, but these simple tips don’t.

1. Use a Shared Calendar

Shared inboxes and collaborative email tools have changed the way most teams operate. And that includes online calendar collaboration. Coordinating calendars online offers an efficient option for teams to work together, remotely or using a hybrid model. While having your own calendar can keep your schedule organized, it does not create opportunities for team collaboration. 

A shared calendar can share your schedule with whomever you’d like to share it with. With Gmail, a shared calendar feature allows you to share your schedule with one individual or an entire team. You can adjust settings to allow team members to only see blocks of time in your schedule. In addition, you can grant permissions to team members to change meeting details to take responsibilities off your plate. 

Rather than spend time emailing back and forth regarding availability, simply view your team’s calendar to designate a time when everyone is free.

2. Utilize Google Tasks

Suppose you are using Gmail as your primary inbox. In that case, your Google calendar allows you to designate time to a specific task rather than create an event. For example, you can select the "tasks Google Calendar" view underneath "my calendars" in the sidebar. This allows you to turn an email into a task by clicking the "add to tasks" icon and editing the task's details. The task will then be incorporated into your calendar to provide better organization and helpful reminders on what you need to do.

3. Schedule Time Efficiently 

If you are using a shared calendar, your availability is public for everyone to see. While there are options to limit who on the team sees what, it is important to schedule your time accordingly. 

For example, as a manager, you may need time to organize tasks and return emails before you have an opportunity to meet with your team. Be sure to schedule blocks of time designated to address your workload. This block of time will notify your staff that you are unavailable for that part of the day and will eliminate internal meetings from intruding on other tasks. 

Suppose you are using a Google Calendar but are scheduling a meeting for your internal team that you cannot attend. In that case, you can mark the organizer's availability during that meeting time as "free" or busy.” The "out of office" setting will automatically decline your invitation to the meeting, eliminating confusion and reducing unnecessary communication. 

4. Leave Extra Time In-Between Meetings

Meetings tend to go over their designated time frame. To reduce back-to-back meetings, leave at least a 15-minute window between meetings on your calendar to give yourself time to take a quick break or return messages. This also leaves time to coordinate with team members on meeting information and answer questions regarding feedback. 

5. Add an Agenda

Upon scheduling a meeting, be sure to add an agenda for everything you plan to discuss. This will allow your team to see in detail the contents of the upcoming meeting and will enable them to come prepared. In addition, this allows everyone to focus on their respective workloads. 

6. Add Reminders 

As a manager, your calendar may fill up quickly. This can cause you to forget about critical upcoming meetings or due dates. Setting reminders on your calendar can help you remember what you have on your calendar for the day or the upcoming week. 

When creating the event, set the meeting to recur each week or every other week if you have a recurring internal meeting. This eliminates the hassle of coordinating times with team members for the same meeting each week. 

7. Use a Calendar Integration Tool 

Finding a collaboration tool that can integrate with your current online calendar can transform how your team works together on coordinating schedules. 

For example, Google Workspace allows your Google calendar to be integrated with other Google features. Upon setting a meeting, you can share the event with others via their Gmail. You can check workers' availability, leave appointment slots, and manage your calendar from your smartphone if you are away from your computer. 

While these features are expansive, an integration tool for your Google Calendar can take your team's collaboration to the next level. Integration tools allow you to:

• schedule meetings faster
• collaborate easier 
• spend less time coordinating
• organize tasks
• keep track of deadlines 
• share availability 
• automate workflow 

Online Calendar Collaboration with Gmelius 

If you dread spending hours coordinating schedules and meetings, then Gmelius may be the perfect solution for you. Gmelius lives right inside your inbox to integrate with your everyday platforms such as Google Calendar as a powerful Gmail collaboration tool. Gmelius allows your teams' emails, meetings, and projects to become organized with a consolidated view in Google Calendar.

Gmelius offers powerful organization tools so you can treat emails as tasks, set due dates, and automatically add them to your agenda. Easily schedule meetings inside an email, and review meetings' details directly in your Google Calendar. What once took hours is now simplified in just a few clicks. 

Gmelius Meeting Scheduler

Gmelius can help your team schedule meetings smarter and with more efficiency. With its Meeting Scheduler feature, your team can:

• automate the appointment scheduling process
• share your calendar availability
• send pre-meeting questionnaires
• send reminders 
• integrate with video conferencing tools
  

What separates Gmelius' Meeting Scheduler feature from the many capabilities of a Google Calendar is automating the scheduling process. 

For example, Gmelius' Meeting Scheduler allows you to embed a meeting inside an email in Gmail. You no longer need to view your team member's availability on their calendar to determine their availability. Instead, each meeting has its public page to share the appropriate link or add a simple "book a meeting with me" link to your email signature. 

This option can help make a good impression with clients as the process is simplified and interactive right inside an email. In addition, having everything in one place eliminates unnecessary coordination that takes up hours of the workweek.

Meeting Scheduler also integrates with video conferencing tools such as Google Meet and Zoom. The video conferencing link is automatically added right inside the appointment slot for clients or team members to see. Once the meeting is booked, an email notification is sent and the slot is scheduled in your Google Calendar. Your team can even create shareable email templates, sequences, and campaigns with pre-configured meeting invites to help automate the scheduling process even more.

Whether you utilize a calendar to collaborate better with your team or automate your workflow, following these tips can ensure success with your team's online calendar collaboration. 

If you're looking to improve your online calendar collaboration for your team, check out our features and integrations like Meeting Scheduler to learn how Gmelius is built to improve team communication and collaboration. Ready to get started? Sign up today!