Best Practices of Meeting Invitations

This document is a guideline to create an invitation for a meeting or work session.

It is ideal to set work sessions a day or two out so that all attendees can prepare properly and have enough time to ensure they got the message.  If a work session needs to be rescheduled, please be sure to do it at least 30 minutes prior to the start to avoid wasted time of people waiting for attendees. 

Set the Appointment in Outlook and Send an Invitation

1.         Go to your Outlook Calendar

2.         Select New Appointment in the upper left hand corner of your screen

3.         Enter the title of the work session in the Subject field

4.         Content of the Body of the Invitation:

a.        Insert the Agenda and all documents into the body section of the new Outlook Meeting Request/Appointment.   A clear agenda is critical to make sure the time is optimized for all attendees.

b.        See the sample templates at the bottom of this page.

5.         Select Scheduling Assistant on the top.

6.         Click Add Attendees at the bottom left.

7.         Add each person that is invited to the work session.  You can start typing their name and hit enter once they show up.  This will move them into the required attendees section.  Once all done, click OK.

8.         Be sure to reserve a conference line or meeting room, if needed, and make sure it is available before you use it:

a.        Click Add Rooms at the bottom left.

b.         Select the room and/or conference line that you will need and click OK.

9.         Double check the availability for all attendees, lines, and rooms.  If any critical attendees are unavailable during the timeslot you selected, you will see that their time is blocked out by a colored bar.   You may need to move out a couple of days to find a time that everyone is available, depending on the size of the group you are inviting and their availability.  Keep in mind the timing of different time zones and try to schedule during regular working hours.  If you need to move to another date, you can change it easily by selecting the date in the Start Time area down below. 

10.    While scheduling, keep this in mind:

a.        Remember to give enough time for people to come prepared.  Shoot for the next day at the earliest unless an urgent need comes up to reduce last minute confusion, rushing around, and no-shows. 

b.        Be mindful of the amount of time needed.  You want to find a great balance between making sure the group is not too rushed while also not wasting time.  Having a lot of people in a room burns through a lot of collective time.

c.         If someone is “Busy” or has a solid blue line or “out of the office” with a solid purple line, don’t book the work session during that time without checking with them first.

d.        If someone is “Tentative” or has a dashed line, you can book during that time slot if another is not available that is completely free and fits in the time as needed.

11.    Once you are all done, double check everything, then click Send. 

12.    Be sure to follow up that you get confirmation from those you have invited, if their attendance is required.  You will also receive automatic email confirmations for rooms and conference lines.

Template of Content to Paste in Outlook

This is a suggested agenda but can be edited as needed.

Internal Meeting – Invitation Template

Please confirm if you have any changes to the agenda.  If you would like to decline the invitation and just be copied on the notes – let me know ASAP! J

Purpose of Meeting:            [insert purpose – elevate it!]

Agenda:

1.          Review progress on previously assigned deliverables (if none, delete this and input the agenda)

Due Date	Action Item (SMARTER: Specific, Measurable, Agreed Upon, Realistic, Time Bound, Empowering, and Reusable)	Person responsible (List one only)	Assignment Link	Progress since last meeting/document to review
				[Responsible person to send document prior to meeting]
				[Responsible person to send document prior to meeting]

2.          Gather feedback

3.          Review status of all other pending items (see Action Plan)

4.          Confirm when to meet next and what key deliverables are to be reviewed then

Important Link(s): 

·        Action Plan:          [Add Link]

·        Any other documents that are important

External Meeting – Invitation Template

Title Sample:                                  

(External Company) + (Internal Company) – Meeting Type

Content of Invite:

Please contact (Your Name) directly if any changes are needed to this appointment: (email) or (phone #)

Call information:

Please call into:  (Phone) Shared Screen Access:  (Link)   

Agenda:

1.       Product Demonstration

2.       Client Questions

3.       Discuss Next Steps

Attendees:

Internal Contacts List with Titles

(If in Office)

Arrival information:

(add in description of where to go)