Calendly’s round robin event type offers 2 different ways to distribute meetings between hosts:
Maximize for availability - allows invitees to book meetings whenever a host is available. Use this to maximize the number of potential meetings booked and when the even distribution of meetings across hosts is less important.
Optimize for equal distribution - allows for the most even distribution of meetings across hosts. This can lead to fewer booked meetings overall as equal distribution is given priority over host availability.
How does "Maximize availability" work?
When maximizing a round robin event for availability, Calendly will show times on the calendar when one person or more is available. If multiple people are available, this is where the priority star setting will come into play. Here are a few key things to know:
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Calendly will only assign the meeting to an available teammate.
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Availability is determined by checking both Calendly-scheduled meetings and the connected calendar(s) of each teammate for conflicts. Check out this article for help troubleshooting availability and remember that round robin event types can leverage shifts.
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Calendly will assign the meeting to the team member with the highest Calendly priority relative to other available teammates first.
- If there is a tie, then the person that has not been scheduled recently is chosen.
- If a tie remains, then someone will be randomly chosen.
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The priority of each team member can be easily adjusted using the priority stars in the Hosts section of your event type settings.
How does "Optimize for equal distribution" work?
With this setting, Calendly will monitor how many meetings are booked with a round robin event for each individual. Calendly will then compare the teammates' meeting counts to determine the assigned host.
If someone on your team is at least three meetings ahead of other teammates, their availability will be turned off until other team members catch up.
When optimizing a round robin event for equal distribution:
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No team member can be more than three meetings ahead. If a team member is three meetings ahead, that team member cannot be scheduled again until other teammates have been scheduled.
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If you add or remove assigned hosts from a round robin event, this will reset the distribution algorithm and start every member at 0.
Example
If Jim has 3 meetings and Karen has 0 meetings, Calendly will remove Jim's availability until Karen has 1 meeting. Now Jim's available time slots will again show on the booking page. If Jim is scheduled again and the relative count returns to +3 (4 to 1), Jim's availability will again be removed.
Calendly tracks meeting counts based on the time all current hosts are part of an event type. If a team member is added or removed from an equal distribution event, the system resets the meeting counts to zero. Frequent changes to hosts may lead to uneven meeting distribution.
Use the Troubleshoot tool in your event type preview to troubleshoot why you or your team member is unavailable. The error “UNFAIR” shown below is due to unequal distribution:
What if I change my distribution method?
Changing your distribution setting will take effect immediately. The next booking will interpret the round robin availability based on your new setting. Calendly won't consider previous settings or scheduled meetings counts.
Reporting on meeting distribution
For more information on how to download an activity report for a round robin event, please check out the article on How to export event details.