Using Microsoft FindTime for Scheduling

Coordinating time that works in a calendar can be difficult – especially across organizations. That is where scheduling options such as Microsoft Outlook add-in FindTime works great and can help you plan meetings at a time that works for everyone more efficiently and with less effort. This Office 365 add-in is particularly useful when you need to connect with multiple people who do not have access to each other’s calendars.

What is FindTime?

FindTime is a Microsoft add-in built for Microsoft Outlook that uses an attendee poll feature for scheduling. If you have Office 365 this is a FREE installation you can download from Office 365 and use instantly. FindTime integrates with your calendar to show what days and times work best and if you are inviting attendees from the same organization, you will receive real-time suggestions. If attendees are from outside of your organization FindTime will set up a poll with proposed meeting times and attendees can vote on a time that works best for them. Once all attendees vote, FindTime will send out the meeting invitation automatically without the organizer having to go back into Outlook and create the invite to book the time.

Here is a quick run-through of the FindTime process from within your Email message:

1. Meeting Organizer with the FindTime Add-in proposes meeting times right from the email message by selecting their FindTime feature. Pro Tip: It is great if the meeting organizer includes all the meeting information in the email going out will the poll so when the meeting is automatically scheduled the information can be included in the invite.
2. Attendee calendars will tentatively be booked for all the proposed times.
3. All invited attendees can vote on a time that works for them. If none of the proposed times work for an attendee, they are given the option to suggest a different time that better fits their schedule.
4. Once all attendees respond, FindTime will automatically send the meeting invite based on poll responses.

Benefits of FindTime

• Easily accessible – Anyone can receive an invite to a FindTime poll and only the organizer is required to have the FindTime add-in installed to their Microsoft Office 365 Account
• Saves time – Attendees can vote on what works best for them instead of emailing back and forth on various suggestions.
• Integrates with Microsoft Teams – FindTime gives you the option to create a Teams meeting when you are initially creating the FindTime poll. With this option, a Teams meeting link will be automatically sent once a time has been selected.
• Schedules the meeting for you – Once everyone has voted FindTime sends the meeting out on your behalf. You do not need to go back and send the invite out after the meeting has been scheduled.

With an add-in that takes care of the entire process of finding a time that works is your calendar, allowing attendees to respond with a time that works for, suggesting alternate times if necessary, and setting up the meeting and reminders it can save you a great deal of time.

As a reminder, even though this add-in is safe to use, check with your technology team before downloading to make sure it is setup properly.

If you are interested in learning more about how Microsoft Office 365 and the FindTime add-in can help your business contact us. We can help you implement the Office 365 suite for your business and be more a more efficient and secure company.