Despite being a very simple service, CalendarBridge is very powerful and flexible in terms of supporting a variety of workflows for outsourced/external appointment setters (outsourced sales reps, recruiters, etc.).
Problem: An outside consultant is hired to set appointments for an internal employee; the consultant needs to see the employee’s up-to-the-minute availability to avoid double bookings.
Solution #1: Sync the employee’s availability to a sub-calendar on the consultant’s account.
Pros of solution #1: Consultant sees employee’s real-time availability and books meetings directly in Google Calendar or Outlook (whichever the company uses). Consultant only sees “free/busy” information for events originating on the employee’s calendar while the employee gets the full details of the set appointments directly in Google or Outlook calendar.
Cons of solution #1: requires setting up the sub-calendar on the consultant’s account. Other users on the consultant’s domain cannot see Pat’s availability since it is a sub-calendar and not a primary calendar.
How to implement solution #1:
Assume the consultant’s primary email address is jamie@outsideconsultant.com and the employee’s primary email address is pat@acmeco.com. First, Jamie creates a sub-calendar named “pat’s calendar” on the jamie@outsideconsultant.com account (which we will assume is Google but the same can be done for Microsoft 365 or an Outlook.com account):
Second, Pat and Jamie setup a sync connection from Pat’s work calendar (“Calendar” on pat@acmeco.com) to the newly created “pat’s calendar” on jamie@outsideconsultant.com. This sync connection is so that busy timeslots on Pat’s work calendar will be marked as busy on “pat’s calendar.” This sync connection is configured to only show “free/busy” so that none of the details of Pat’s other events are copied to “pat’s calendar.”
Finally, Pat and Jamie create a sync connection: from “pat’s calendar” to Pat’s work calendar so that events Jamie sets on “pat’s calendar” are synced in real time to Pat’s work calendar. This sync connection is configured to so that all details of the events are copied to Pat’s primary calendar:
Now, “pat’s calendar” always reflects Pat’s accurate availability and Jamie can book meetings there and have them sync back to Pat’s work calendar in real time. If Jamie needs to update one of the meetings, he can do so from “pat’s calendar” and the update will also sync back to Pat’s work calendar in real time.
Solution #2: A mailbox is created for Pat on the consultant’s domain, and that calendar is synced both ways with Pat’s work calendar.
Pros of solution #2: Anyone at outsideconsulting.com can see the representative’s availability directly in their corporate calendaring system (Google Find a Time or Outlook Scheduling Assistant), which means multiple consultants (not just Jamie) can set meetings for the representative.
Cons of solution #2: Requires creating a mailbox for the representative on the consultant’s domain.
How to implement solution #2: Basically the same as solution one, except “pat’s calendar” on jamie@outsideconsulting.com is replaced by the primary calendar on the new pat@outsideconsulting.com account.
Solution #3: Pat creates a CalendarBridge scheduler, and Jamie uses the scheduler for viewing Pat’s availability and putting meetings on Pat’s calendar.
Pros of solution #3: No need to create new sub-calendars or mailboxes.
Cons of solution #3: Jamie cannot view Pat’s availability directly in Google Calendar or Outlook (except with an Outlook add-in).
How to implement solution #3: Pat follows these instructions to create a CalendarBridge scheduler and then gives the link to Jamie. Jamie can then book appointments on behalf of prospects or just send the link to the prospects for them to book their own meeting with Pat:
Solution #4: Pat creates a CalendarBridge scheduler, and Jamie uses the CalendarBridge group scheduling tool for viewing availability and setting meetings.
Pros of solution #4: No need to create new sub-calendars or mailboxes. When booking a meeting involving 3 or more people, it reduces friction in finding a time that works for everyone.
Cons of solution #4: Jamie cannot view Pat’s availability directly in Google Calendar or Outlook (except with an Outlook add-in).
How to implement solution #4: Pat follows these instructions to create a CalendarBridge scheduler. Jamie logs into CalendarBridge (in a browser or outlook add-in) and creates a group invite as shown in this video: