Conference Room Scheduling using Exchange
This blog is to express the ideas of three ILTA members, Peter Prekeges, Frances New and myself, regarding the use of Conference Room Scheduling with Exchange. We also thought it was important to provide input from someone who uses a different program - Jane Weinold from Perkins Coie utilizes Resource Scheduler and compares it’s features against Exchange’s. We know there is a lot of conversation and consideration of many different formats for conference room scheduling, and if you have any input or have tried something different please continue the conversation below!
What are the main features for you?
Peter Prekeges: We have a shared “Resource Mailbox” for each of our 6 conference rooms. This allows us to book a room using scheduling assistant in Outlook at the same time we create the appointment for ourselves, or the attorney. We have the mailbox set up to automatically accept the appointment, assuming there is no conflict. We have notations in the “location” if the room is equipped with AV equipment. We also note in the capacity column the maximum number that would comfortably meet in the room.
Patrick Bozik: We also use share “Resource Mailboxes” for our 55 conference rooms, and are setup to allow the mailbox to automatically accept the appointment.
France New: Only for scheduling meetings in conference rooms. Users schedule the conference rooms through New Meeting Request.
Jane Weinold: We are using Asure Software’s Resource Scheduler to schedule resources and provide catering services for meetings for all our 19 offices. We currently manage over 1,800 resources which range from conference rooms, visitor offices, special purpose and work rooms, to equipment like AV equipment, easels, Tech Assistance and marketing conference supplies. In the configuration of each resource, we include characteristics (e.g., capacity, equipment installed in the room, picture) and other information which users review to identify a room which matches their meeting requirements. For each resource we also add required fields to be completed when making a reservation. Required fields are used for tracking information (e.g., client/matter number, # of attendees, Food Required, Coffee/Soda/Water) and provide important information to the hospitality and AV staff so they can successfully prepare the room for a scheduled meeting.
What is the ease of use?
Peter Prekeges: Most feel it is easy to use. Doing it in scheduling assistant automatically adds it to the Location in the appointment. If an assistant has full permissions on an attorney calendar, they can schedule it directly on that attorney calendar. They can also create the appointment directly on the conference room calendar, but this is not the most efficient or robust way to schedule conference rooms. Some basic training is very helpful in improving ease of use.
Patrick Bozik: Yes it is easy to use. Any issues users have is generally fixed with user training.
France New: We find it very easy to use. Users include the conference room in their meeting request. The conference room responds by email with an “acceptance” or “decline.” We encourage users to first check the conference room schedules so that they aren’t taking stabs at the availability. Some do that by “inviting” more than one conference room to see which is free on that date/time and then “uninviting” the excess rooms. Some users have the Conference Room Group in their calendar view and view the availability that way first.
Jane Weinold: Resource Scheduler is accessible through Outlook so users can reserve/change resources from within the Outlook appointment dialog box. Resource Scheduler also has a web client for those who would rather book through that interface. Basic training and tip sheets are available and users find it very easy to use as evidenced by the small number of “how to” support calls.
Discuss some of the features that Microsoft built in the Exchange Resource Mailbox.
Peter Prekeges: When using scheduling assistant, the conference room is automatically put in the appointment as the “Location” of the meeting. We have it configured so an individual can change/delete their own calendar items, but cannot change other people’s items. Our Receptionist has full ability to change any item on any of the conference room calendars.
Patrick Bozik: Same setup for user access and receptionist. We do restrict the length of time a resource can be booked and how far in advance. Both of these help prevent rooms being booked without a “real” need in place. We also prevent attachments from being part of the meeting request. This reduces unneeded size in calendar appointments.
Frances New: There are many ways to control the conference room schedules: (1) Allow/disallow repeating meetings (we allow); (2) set the booking window by days (we use 400 days); (3) set the maximum duration in minutes (we use 1440); (4) allow scheduling only during office hours (we don’t restrict this); (5) automatically add the organizer’s name to the subject line (instead, we have the organizer enter their initials before the subject line, as this takes up less room); it’s important to include some indication as to what the meeting is regarding, as we can usher clients into the room as they arrive; (6) you can customize the auto-response text; (7) each room lists the capacity and technology available.
Jane Weinold: We do not use Exchange Resource Mailbox but in reviewing the above answers, I note that Resource Scheduler does give us the ability to automatically add the room in the location field of an appointment when using the Outlook add-in, restrict who can make/change reservations and how far in advance a resource can be booked as well as provides email notification to the requester. Also, resources can be set up to require approval by local RS admins. This provides RS admins an opportunity to review the new reservations to ensure all information is available to set up a meeting successfully. Once approved, the requester receives an approval email.
Have you leveraged the new feature in Exchange 2013 - Resource Scheduler?
Peter Prekeges: Yes, we use it for more than just conference rooms. We use it for a resource room, Shoretel phone conferencing, and several other firm shared calendars.
Patrick Bozik: Yes we use this feature.
Frances New: We are currently on Exchange 2010.
Jane Weinold: We are just using Resource Scheduler at this time. We may be adding the Resource Scheduler hoteling feature in the future or perhaps handle hoteling through Exchange (review to be completed in the future).
While putting this into place, what roadblocks did you run in to?
Peter Prekeges: One issue with using scheduling assistant is the conference room often needs to be reserved for a period of time before and/or after the actual meeting for setup/takedown. This extra time is not wanted on the attorney calendar, so these are often scheduled directly on the conference room. Some users feel the scheduling assistant doesn’t provide fast enough or accurate enough information, so will look at the calendar directly before scheduling. When an update is made to the time of the meeting, if scheduling assistant is being used, an email confirmation is sent. This irritates some attorneys.
Patrick Bozik: I don’t recall any roadblocks when implementing. We went through a thorough testing process and made sure everything worked as expected.
Frances New: None, really. We had to figure out the best way to automate the process which took no more than a few tweaks over a week or two.
Jane Weinold: None. Resource Scheduler is very reliable and requires minimal ongoing support, besides the periodic addition and removal of resources which I manage for all offices.
Is there anything you’ve tried to use it for and it doesn’t work out? Would you consider this a basic scheduling program or have you used it in creative ways?
Peter Prekeges: Each person finds workarounds that work best for them. Just like any other program.
Patrick Bozik: I am not aware of any user having a need outside what this product allows.
Frances New: We’re not a big firm and have pretty basic needs as far as conference room scheduling. I guess if I had one wish, it would be a better way to view the room availability without having to invite and un-invite rooms.
Jane Weinold: We have been using Resource Scheduler for over 13 years and this software currently meets all the requirements of our user s, hospitality and AV staff. Resource Scheduler does provide a standard set of reports, including usage reports, however, this is one area where I would like to see improvements.