Tips for scheduling large groups successfully
Scheduling for more than 10 participants needs a fundamentally different approach from scheduling for 2-3 people. As the group grows, a day when everyone is free becomes exponentially harder to find, and coordination that chases unanimous agreement easily hits a dead end.
Chance of finding a day that works for everyone, by group size (model calculation)
Note: the probability that everyone can attend on at least 1 of 5 candidate dates, assuming each participant can independently attend each date with 60% probability (calculated as 1 - (1 - 0.6^n)^5 / approximate)
Above 10 people, a day that works for everyone barely exists in the numbers. That is exactly why you need approaches that do not assume unanimity, such as the step-by-step narrowing and the 80% rule described below.
The step-by-step narrowing method
With a large group, narrowing down in stages works better than asking everyone's availability at once.
Telling participants which stage you are in at each step makes it easier to avoid double responses and questions like "Has it already been decided?". Let the key people you consult in stage 1 know in advance that you plan to send options to the whole group afterward.
When to give up on everyone attending
If any of the following applies, stop aiming for unanimity and confirm the date by majority.
- A week has passed since coordination began and no day works for everyone
- 20% or more of participants have answered that none of the candidate dates work
- The purpose of the meeting is sharing information, and minutes can serve instead
Best practices for using tools
Scheduling tools that use the polling method suit large groups. The following settings work well.
- Use 3 response levels: "○ (available) / △ (possible with adjustments) / × (unavailable)"
- Set a reply deadline, and tell people in advance that unanswered dates will be treated as "△" after it
- Offer 7 or more candidate dates (the more people, the more options)
- Share results in real time, and move the deadline forward if a trend becomes clear early
The organizer's mindset
The most important thing in coordinating a large group is not to seek perfection. Accept that no schedule satisfies everyone 100%, and aim for the greatest happiness of the greatest number. The longer coordination drags on, the more of everyone's time is wasted, so deciding quickly ends up serving everyone. Organizer techniques for drinking parties are also a useful reference.