Scheduling Appointments

When scheduling appointments, make sure of the following:

Make room for routine work

Make agreements on the times your manager wants to keep free for routine tasks. Enter these in time-blocks in the agenda.

Allow for a little breathing time

Try not to book too many meetings on the same day and allow your manager some breathing room. You can be sure he/she will need to deal with some other matters.

Preparation

Make sure your manager has all the necessary information (files, documents, etc.) before a meeting starts. Put a reminder in your agenda to do this.

Communicate important information

Always note the name of the contact, the company they work for, and the reason for the meeting. This way, your manager will not have to search or ask for that information.

Keep an eye on the clock

Keep an eye on the time and, if necessary, subtly remind your manager that he/she has another meeting. If your manager wants to stay at the present meeting he will surely indicate this to you. It’s also a good idea to inform the person who is scheduled for the next meeting of the delay.

Know the priorities

Set priorities when booking meetings and make sure there are never any double bookings. This only leads to confusion.

Communicate and confirm

Always confirm the appointments with the various participants. This can be done by email or through a “meeting request” which most email programmes are equipped with.

Note the location

Make use of different colours to indicate meetings that are taking place outside of the office or abroad. Make sure you allow for travel times in your manager’s agenda.