January 10, 2025
How to Schedule a Meeting with 10+ People
Coordinating a large group is hard. Here's a proven approach to find times that work without endless email chains.
We've all been there. You need to get 15 people together for a team meeting, and suddenly your inbox is flooded with "I can't do Tuesday" and "What about Thursday instead?"
Scheduling large groups doesn't have to be painful. Here's a battle-tested approach that works whether you're coordinating 10 people or 100.
1. Don't ask open-ended questions
The worst thing you can do is send an email asking "When works for everyone?" You'll get 15 different responses, none of which overlap, and you'll spend hours trying to find a common time.
Instead, propose specific options. Give people 3-5 date/time options and ask them to select all that work for them.
2. Use a polling tool
Email threads are where scheduling goes to die. Use a dedicated polling tool that lets everyone see the options and vote. This eliminates the back-and-forth and gives you a clear picture of availability.
Tools like WhatDate.Works let you create a poll in seconds and share a single link. No accounts needed for respondents, and you can see results in real-time.
3. Set a deadline for responses
Don't let the poll linger forever. Set a clear deadline: "Please respond by Friday at 5pm so we can book the conference room."
This creates urgency and prevents the endless waiting game of "I'll respond when I have time to check my calendar."
4. Accept that 100% attendance is rare
With large groups, you're unlikely to find a time that works for literally everyone. That's okay. Aim for maximum attendance, not perfect attendance.
A good rule of thumb: if 80% of the group can make it, that's usually good enough. You can share notes or recordings with those who can't attend.
5. Make it easy to respond
The easier you make it to respond, the faster you'll get responses. Choose a tool that works on mobile, doesn't require account creation, and has a simple interface.
If someone has to download an app or create an account just to say "Thursday works for me," you've already lost half your respondents.
The bottom line
Large group scheduling is a solved problem. Stop using email threads, use a polling tool, set clear deadlines, and accept that you won't get 100% attendance. You'll save hours of coordination time and a lot of frustration.