If you’ve ever tried to set up a meeting with people from marketing, finance, and IT, you know the pain: endless reply-all emails, calendar confusion, and meetings that die on the vine because "nobody could find a time." This guide is for folks wrangling projects across departments—where calendars, time zones, and priorities clash. We’ll get into using Doodle to make scheduling less of a circus, and cover what it’s good for, what it’s not, and how to keep it simple.
Why Cross-Department Projects Are Scheduling Headaches
Here’s the deal: the more people you add, especially from different teams, the messier it gets. Siloed calendars, conflicting priorities, and different work styles all pile up. You need a tool that cuts through the noise and just finds a time everyone can meet—without three days of back-and-forth. That’s where Doodle comes in.
Doodle isn’t magic, but it does one thing well: helps groups agree on times to meet. If your org’s already bought into some big project management suite, you might not need Doodle. But if you’re cobbling together calendars from Google, Outlook, and who-knows-what, it can save you a lot of headache.
Step 1: Figure Out If Doodle’s Worth It For Your Project
Before you add another tool to the pile, ask yourself:
- How many people really need to meet? Doodle shines with 5–20 people. If it’s just you and Bob from sales, just send a calendar invite.
- Do people use different email or calendar systems? Doodle works best when you can’t see everyone’s calendar.
- Is this a one-off, or recurring thing? Doodle is best for one-off or occasional scheduling. For recurring meetings, it gets a bit clunky.
What Doodle won’t fix:
- People who ignore emails.
- Teams that don’t check their calendars.
- Vague meeting goals that make everyone avoid your invites.
Step 2: Set Up Your Doodle Account
You can use Doodle without an account, but you’ll hit limits fast (especially in big organizations). If you’re in charge of setting up meetings, it’s worth making a free account. Paid plans add more features, but for most cross-team meetings, the free version is fine.
Pro tip:
If your company has a Doodle subscription, use your work email. This keeps things tidy and can unlock some “enterprise” features (not always worth it, but sometimes helpful).
Step 3: Create a Poll That Doesn’t Suck
Doodle’s main trick is the poll—where you suggest times, and people vote on what works.
Here’s how to make it painless:
- Choose “Group Poll” (not 1:1 or Booking Page; those are for different uses).
- Pick more time slots than you think you need. People are busy. Give at least 4–6 options, spread out over a week if possible.
- Avoid lunch and end-of-day slots. Unless you want people distracted or skipping.
- Add a clear title and description. Don’t just call it “Meeting.” Say what it’s for.
- Turn on “Yes, if need be.” This lets people mark times that aren’t ideal, but would work in a pinch. Super useful for tight schedules.
- If it matters, turn on “hidden poll.” This keeps votes anonymous—sometimes handy for sensitive projects.
What to skip:
- Don’t bother with Doodle’s “suggested times” feature; it’s rarely helpful in big orgs.
- Skip custom branding unless you’re making a poll for clients. Internally, it adds zero value.
Step 4: Send the Poll (And Make Sure People Respond)
Copy the poll link and send it out. Email works, but instant messaging (Slack, Teams) gets better response rates. If you’re dealing with execs, you might need to nudge their assistants instead.
Tips to boost responses: - Give a hard deadline (“Please reply by Thursday noon”). - Remind folks once—don’t nag, but don’t assume everyone saw it. - If you’re the project lead, fill out your own availability first. Sets the example.
Reality check:
There will always be someone who doesn’t reply. Decide up front what you’ll do—pick the time that works for most, or chase the stragglers. Just don’t let the poll drag on forever.
Step 5: Pick the Time and Confirm—Fast
Once most people have responded (or your deadline hits), pick the time with the most “yes” votes. Don’t overthink it.
- Use Doodle to send a confirmation, or just send a calendar invite yourself.
- Double-check time zones. Doodle tries to handle this, but it’s not perfect. If you’ve got people in different countries, don’t trust auto-detection—confirm the times.
- Include the meeting goal in the invite. This isn’t a Doodle thing, but it helps avoid “why are we here?” syndrome.
Step 6: Keep It Simple For Recurring Meetings
Doodle isn’t built for recurring meetings. If you need a weekly check-in, use Doodle once to find the initial slot, then set up a recurring invite in your calendar app.
What doesn’t work:
- Don’t use Doodle every week for a standing meeting. People will stop responding.
- Don’t expect Doodle to sync or update recurring invites automatically—it won’t.
Step 7: Use Doodle For More Than Just Meetings (But Don’t Stretch It)
Doodle can also help with:
- Choosing project kickoff dates
- Planning cross-team workshops or training
- Picking volunteer slots for events
But don’t try to use it for tracking tasks, assigning work, or managing ongoing projects. It’s not project management software, and you’ll get frustrated if you treat it like one.
What Doodle Does Well (And Where It Falls Flat)
Works well for: - Herding cats (i.e., getting a dozen people to agree on a time) - Cutting down on aimless email threads - Getting a quick sense of team availability across departments
Falls flat when: - People don’t respond (no tool can fix apathy) - You need to coordinate complex dependencies or recurring tasks (use real project management tools for that) - You get too fancy—complicated polls just confuse everyone
A few honest downsides: - Doodle reminders sometimes land in spam (especially with corporate email filters) - Some folks complain about the UI, but it’s simple enough for most - Free version is limited if you need admin controls or integration with SSO
Pro Tips and Pitfalls to Avoid
- Don’t over-poll: Only use Doodle when you really need input from a group. For small meetings, just schedule directly.
- Keep polls open for as short a time as possible. The longer the poll, the more people forget about it.
- Clean up after yourself: Close polls once a time is chosen, so people don’t get confused.
- Beware “maybe” overload: Too many “if need be” votes can muddy the waters. If everyone’s a maybe, just pick a time.
Wrapping Up: Don’t Make It Harder Than It Needs To Be
Doodle is a simple tool for a simple (but annoying) problem: finding a time to meet with busy people from different departments. Use it when you need to, keep your polls clear and short, and don’t expect it to do more than it’s built for. The less time you spend scheduling, the more time you’ll have to actually get work done. Try it, tweak your process, and don’t be afraid to ditch it if it’s not working for your team. Simple wins.