Return on Investment

Why Outlook Isn't the Best Facility Scheduling Software

Ever tried to use Outlook to schedule a meeting room or data projector? If you've got a lot of rooms and a lot of resources, like AV equipment, catering, furniture, etc., then it can be a real drag scrolling down an endless list and figuring out which room and resources to choose, then how to actually reserve them.

Ever tried to configure Outlook to make it able to schedule these things? This is an even bigger drag - just ask your IT staff. And it can get expensive - just ask your CFO.

Ever tried to run management and utilization reports from Outlook? Well, you can’t, because Outlook doesn't offer any scheduling reports.

Ever tried to manage true inventory quantities in Outlook? Alas, it doesn't do that either.

What about maintaining control and visibility in Outlook for those involved in management scheduling, or room management? No luck there. Outlook has insufficient user rights granularity, and no streamlined workflow or approval process for scheduling rooms and resources.

Outlook as a facility scheduling tool has numerous shortcomings, but most companies using it must of course continue to do so - at least for email. For companies that have outgrown the little bit of scheduling functionality available in Outlook, what next?

Robust, web-based scheduling software which integrates with Outlook and Exchange is the ideal, and that ideal is achievable. A solution which significantly extends and enhances what a company is already doing in Outlook can make all the difference when it comes to streamlining facility scheduling operations and empowering employees.

The learning curve is slight as long as users are able to access the new scheduling solution on an extra tab within the native Outlook invitation window - the standard Outlook invitation window which most Outlook users are already familiar with. The Outlook window gives the user visibility of the free/busy schedule for people who may be invited to a meeting or event, and the extra tab provides visibility into which rooms and resources are available. This allows one-stop shopping when a user needs to book a meeting with resources and invite people.

The user can reserve the room and resources and invite the people all at the same time, then send meeting invitations out directly. Since it’s all done in the native Outlook meeting calendar environment, Outlook users are able to learn quickly.

The new solution has sufficient searching and scheduling options to support a complex meeting environment with many rooms and resources, many layers of user and access rights, and many different people managing many different parts of the scheduling process, in both tightly-controlled request/approve scenarios as well as self-service settings.

For example, an organization may have several run-of-the-mill meeting and conference rooms, but just a couple of specially equipped Video Conferencing or Telepresence spaces. The meeting rooms are dealt with on a first-come/first-served basis, while the video conferencing space is more tightly managed (and may require use across time zones). The company may also have a boardroom and a large banquet room whose uses are more closely monitored or restricted.

The use of AV equipment may be a relatively simple request, whereas your catering group needs at least six hours advanced notice for all orders, and also has a strict cancellation policy involving cancellation fees. There may be an internal foodservice provider, but also some popular external restaurants and caterers that your employees enjoy using. The external restaurants and caterers may be location-specific.

There may be building-specific resources, such as a set inventory of AV equipment only available in Building 1, and a whole different set available only in Building 2.

There are lots of workflow policies, service group rules and notifications, usage policies and user access restrictions that surround all these different types of space and resources. Outlook cannot manage these rules and policies very well, if at all in many instances. But again, the best scheduling solutions deal with all of this with ease.

These types of feature sets are managed within the scheduling software itself, but through the integration to Outlook and Exchange, users experience a simplified and streamlined scheduling process, which includes all the steps required in order to create a complete booking or reservation.

AV staff can also count on true inventory management of finite quantities of resources such as data projectors or laser pointers, instead of having to deal with the kludgy processes in Outlook involving folders and calendars. Catering managers can count on clear and concise rules to control the ordering and cancellation process, as can any other resource managers.

Management and utilization reports are entirely missing from Outlook, but abundant in a good scheduling solution. Executives need to understand how their rooms and resources are being used, from a daily perspective to a more big-picture perspective, in order to offer convenience and accessibility to employees while also keeping an eye on the bottom line. Unused or under-utilized space and resources mean money wasted, especially on expensive real estate. Knowing what is being used, and how it's being used, is key to management when deciding between building more space or consolidating, or purchasing additional equipment or selling some off.

The ability to search for the right space and to be able to schedule rooms and invite people, coupled with the ability to select catering options and resources such as AV equipment, video conferencing equipment, extra furniture, and less-traditional resources such as technical or security personnel, parking spaces, shared or collaborative workspace and even cubicles, is all within easy reach of the Outlook user, right within the extra tab on the standard invitation window.

Ease of use and employee empowerment are important to your employee base. Accurate, detailed information and cutting costs are important to managers and executives. Increased productivity and a thorough but streamlined scheduling process are important to everyone. To achieve most of this, look beyond Outlook to a flexible, scaleable scheduling solution.

Scheduling & event management software