February 17, 2009Meeting scheduling
Hi Meryl
My boss continually asks me to set up meetings with him and for him.
His schedule is way more booked than mine, so when I send him a meeting request, it’s usually declined and I have to keep trying dates until we find one that works. How can I put the burden of scheduling the meeting back on her? I don’t know how to ask.
Meryl Responds
Say,
- I’d be happy to schedule meetings if it was efficient, but since you know your schedule so much better than I do and my schedule is more open, it seems to take more time for both of us for me to do it. I’d prefer you set up your own meetings or at least suggest a few times for me so I don’t have to keep contacting you to find out what whether a time works for you or not. Does that sound reasonable?
Does this sound like it could work? Tell me how it goes.
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Depending on the level of your boss (VP?) it is probably not appropriate for him to set up his own meetings. One way to solve the problem is to use MSOutlook to schedule meetings. You can see when he has a meeting on his calendar as well as see if others who you are including in the meeting are available. Another option is to get permission to view his calendar in MSOutlook. Then, you will have available times to suggest to other participants.
Comment by Barbara Mitchell — February 18, 2009 @ 11:25 am
Barbara, your point is well taken. When I edited the question, I left out that she isn’t his secretary and it doesn’t fall into her job description.
Comment by merylrunion — February 18, 2009 @ 11:36 am
Is this really an area where you want to challenge your boss even if it isn’t in your job description? Most job descriptions allow for “other duties as assigned” and well, he is your boss.
I would make a few meeting time suggestions at once:
Option 1. Tues @ 10 am
Option 2. Thursday @ 2 pm
Option 3. Friday @ 12:30 pm
Then let him pick -
Comment by RunningMom — February 18, 2009 @ 11:45 am
It always works for me to just ask or request, “Please provide me a few windows of time that you will be available on X day?” After awhile I’ve found that people will just automatically tell you when they are available once they are used to the routine and you won’t have to ask. Also, as someone else suggested, using some type of calendar that can be shared is the most effective way to understand each person’s availability.
Comment by Janet — February 18, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
Again I left out an important detail. The way the boss wanted it was for her to set the meetings up and then check with him for availability. It usually took several attempts to get a time, which meant calling everyone. that doesn’t negate all the great suggestions, but I did want to be clear why this was an inefficient process.
Comment by merylrunion — February 18, 2009 @ 12:43 pm
I have kind of a related comment/question….I love using my Outlook calendar’s meeting planner feature, but most of my co-workers do not use it so we still go through the e-mail correspondence regarding availability. Is it OK to say “My Outlook calendar is up to date if you’d like to send me a meeting request.”
Comment by Julie Simmons — February 18, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
It sounds good to me! Tell me how it goes.
On a related related subject, I love using outlook tasks for assigning or making project requests. I’ve experienced a lot of resistance from my associates to using it. I keep telling them – try it – you’ll like it – and things won’t slip through the cracks like they so often do.
Comment by merylrunion — February 18, 2009 @ 2:23 pm
When my boss asks me to schedule a time in his calendar for a meeting (which he regularly does and I am not his secretary either), I usually do. I am lucky because our calendaring system enables me look at his “availability”. But first he had to give me permission to “view” his calendar. So my recommendation would be to first check if that option is available.
Or as RunningMom suggested provide Options. There is a great free tool available to accomplish just this called Doodle(http://www.doodle.com/main.html). You can create a quick pole with time and date options and send him the link.
For example, (I am using embed code, so I apologize if this does not come through correctly.)
Bosses generally like employees who are proactive and creative.
Comment by Manisha — February 19, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
I would offer that some quick questions are in order when asked to set appointments…. “what days/times are best for you?”….”when would you prefer?”….or what does your availablity look like next week?” before proceeding. My assistant has “trained” me well to the point that when I ask her to make appointments I am anticipating her questions and usually have a quick answer. If she sets up something that did not work for me she would then ask again, “well, what would work for you then?” putting it back in my court. I appreciate (and expect) cooperation but don’t mind questions if I am asking my assistant to act without enough information.
Comment by Darryl Lingle — February 19, 2009 @ 7:50 pm