Miscommunication sucks. It wastes time, it creates negative feelings, and it's always a pain to untangle and recover from. Sometimes, it can turn what should be a simple and straightforward matter into an event that's blown completely out of proportion. Often, these sorts of misunderstandings arise from wires getting crossed when it comes to things like appointments and meetings. That's why Cal.com comes with built-in features that help to reduce the likelihood of these types of occurrences. One of the most impactful tools we provide our users with is ooo.new. You might be wondering, what's that? Well, it's a unique out-of-office feature that helps to ensure the ball is never dropped.
The benefits of using Cal's out of office setting
We all have different priorities, and sometimes they shift. In an ideal world, we'd never have to adjust our schedule at the last minute, but that's not the reality we live in. There are going to be times when you have to make sudden changes. This could be due to personal reasons, but often, it's just business.
If you're in a leadership position and something happens at another branch, you might need to head over and hold down the fort. Sometimes, last-minute events are brand-new opportunities. What happens when the company receives a once-in-a-lifetime chance to secure a dream account? Are you going to pass it up in order not to change your schedule, or are you going to make the most of it?
Enabling Cal.com's out-of-office feature means that when these types of situations occur, you don't have to worry. This is because the out-of-office feature doesn't just mark you unavailable; it also lets you reroute your appointments. This means that you don't have to worry about client rapport or relationships being damaged. In addition, you can focus on what you need to do, knowing that leads and sales won't be lost because someone you've hand-picked is tending the crops while you're away.
How to set up out of office routing on Cal.com
There are two ways of enabling the out-of-office feature. We'll outline both of them in the paragraphs below, for the sake of convenience. You don't have to worry about committing to one method over another. No matter how you choose to access this feature, the end result is going to be the same.
Access option one
Make sure you're logged into your Cal.com account.
Visit any of your booking pages.
Type ooo.new in your browser's address bar.
You will now be redirected to your out-of-office settings page.
Access option two
Make sure you're logged into your Cal.com account.
Select the drop-down menu beside your avatar and username.
Click the item labeled "Out of Office." There's a moon icon beside it.
You will now be redirected to your out-of-office settings page.
How to add an out of office entry
You should now be viewing your out-of-office dashboard.
Click the "Add" button in the upper-right-hand corner.
This will open a pop-up that lets you select your out-of-office dates.
There is a field that you can use to add a reason, or you can leave it unspecified.
You will also see another field where you can add notes.
Anyone who is part of a Team, Organization, or Enterprise plan will see an additional option.
This additional option lets you add a link that will redirect bookers to a colleague you believe will be able to take care of the matter while you're away.
Once you finish making all your selections, simply click the "Create" button.
After this is done, if you ever need to delete or make changes to your out-of-office settings, simply click either the button marked with a pen or a garbage can.
As you can see, it only takes a few moments to set up an out-of-office schedule, and there's no limit to the number of out-of-office entries you can create. If you'd like to learn more about how Cal.com can help you save time, please check out some of the posts in the product feature section of our blog. Thanks for reading this article, and as always, happy scheduling!
Retell AI, a leading voice AI platform, handles over 10 million calls monthly, helping customers integrate advanced scheduling capabilities into their AI phone agents.
