With so many solutions available on the market, picking up the most suitable scheduling tool can be a challenge. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time going through comparisons, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.
Below you will find the most important features and aspects of scheduling tools that will make your choice easier – and more conscious.
The role of the scheduling tool in your business
Probably, you will be able to apply the scheduling tool across various business areas. It brings you two significant benefits: saved time and more clarity.
The first one is, without any doubts, the time you save on meetings-related actions. When you opt for a scheduling tool instead of regular email exchange to find the best date, you can spare yourself lots of messages.
The clarity will be equally important. You won’t have to add the meeting manually to your calendar or go through long threads to find out how did you set up the appointment. Also, you will know if it’s a meeting on Zoom or maybe in the nearby coffee shop. It will save you a lot of hassle.
Sales
If we had to point out one business area which involves the highest number of meetings, it would be sales and customer management. When you opt for quick wins, you should try out your scheduling tool first in sales.
You can use it in several ways. The most apparent option is dropping your clients a link when they want to connect with you. Yet, you can think about adding a button on your website that leads to your scheduling page.
In case you might be interested in learning how to make sales meetings more effective, we drop you a link to our blog post.
Recruitment
Did you know that the biggest challenge that recruiters face when scheduling an interview is to find a gap time which suits all the parties? A scheduling tool fixes that.
Recruitment processes can be strongly optimized by working on the scheduling part. Although it is a necessary part and you can’t skip it, it doesn’t bring business value. When you implement a scheduling tool, you can reduce the time spent on scheduling to a minimum.
The most important profit is that your recruitment process will be faster and more effective. It will prevent the situations when you lose your candidate to the competition because they were quicker in giving the offer.
Also, it will improve the candidate experience. Your candidates probably participate in various processes. When you allow them to pick the date of the interview with calm and their calendars at hand, it will be more effective for both sides.
If you want to learn more about scheduling tools in HR, and why is it worth to implement them, take a look at our blog post.
Internal meetings
A scheduling tool can also help you in managing your internal team meetings. Whether you need to hold a 1-2-1 or a project meeting, you can find a suitable moment in a blink of an eye.
What should you focus on?
With numerous scheduling tools available on the market, you can feel overwhelmed. Let’s talk about the features and options that you should pay attention to.
Easy to work with
We will start with the most important, yet so personal characteristic. Each tool you implement in your workflow should make your tasks easier and quicker, and shouldn’t require long hours of learning.
Make use of the trial period to check how the tool fits your way of working.
Integrations
When you already use some other solutions, it is essential to be able to join them. After all, tools work better when combined. When choosing your tool, take a look if it offers built-in or Zapier integrations.
Harmonizely lets you generate a link automatically to Zoom call and add it to your invitation.
CalDAV integrations
This feature allows you to connect different calendars, going further than the most popular solutions. In this way, you can schedule a meeting even when you use different calendar systems.
For example, when you use Zimbra, the CalDAV scheduling tool works like a glue. It allows pulling your availability so your invitees can book a meeting with you when you are free.
When you are looking for a workaround for Calendly to connect with a different calendar, maybe it’s time to change the tool?
Flexibility
Your tool should adjust to your current workflow. In the case of scheduling tools, several features give you flexibility. For example, check out how many meeting types you can set. You may also need to invite more participants to already scheduled meetings or reschedule them.
Reminders
Sending out additional notifications helps you make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Apart from confirming the scheduled meeting, you can set up a reminder to get a nudge exactly when you need it.
Time zone detection
There is nothing worse than coming late for an overseas online meeting – just because you messed up with time zones. Harmonizely gets you covered: you will always see your meeting time displayed according to your current time zone.
Removable branding
This feature is especially useful when you care about keeping all the touchpoints with your clients consistent. It allows you to provide a seamless experience and lower the risk of bounce caused by redirecting to another domain.
With Harmonizely, you can customize the aspect of your scheduling sites, and use custom domain both for the link and the email notifications. That is how you can maintain your brand, using an external service.
Customer support
Using a reliable tool means that even when something goes wrong, someone gets you covered. Before the final testing day comes, you can evaluate it basing yourself on reviews or asking current users.
Reviews
The web can be an invaluable source of information about the product. It holds true also with business tools. If you have several options on the table, doing your research can help you limit them. It will be easier to choose the most suitable for you.
When you want to find out more about Harmonizely and users’ opinions, start with Capterra or AppSumo.
Development
Look for a tool that is still being developed and perfected. Take a look at the releases of new features and try to find out if they have a public roadmap with planned features.
Harmonizely roadmap on Trello allows you to add your suggestions, vote for the most critical changes and comment. That is how you can stay up-to-date with new ideas and features.
Pricing
One of the crucial aspects of your calculation may be the pricing. After researching the market and evaluating the tools, you should be aware of their value. Then, the pricing can help you make the final choice.
The Pro plan of Harmonizely starts from $10 monthly with an annual plan. Don’t forget about the Free plan that will cover the most fundamental aspects of meeting scheduling process.
Trial period
As with each business tool, it’s important to try it on your own before you finally make the purchase. Harmonizely offers you a 14-day free trial period, which should be enough to evaluate the tool. Don’t worry about any hidden fees: you don’t have to give your credit card details until you decide for a paid plan.
Final thoughts
As you can see, choosing your tools is a highly personal thing, and there are no objectively good or bad options. Highlight the most important features and focus on how the solution fits your actual workflow. If the tool is right for you, you should notice how your daily tasks get easier. You will have more time to focus on actions that bring value.
If you want to give Harmonizely a go, check out the free trial period.