Understanding Round Robin Scheduling

Round robin scheduling is a method of distributing appointments evenly among a group of team members. It ensures that hosting responsibilities are shared fairly, helping balance workload and preventing any single person from being overwhelmed with appointments.

The Round Robin Queue

In meetergo, both collective and round robin Meeting Types use a round robin queue. A queue member can be an individual user or a group of users. How the queue behaves depends on the Round Robin Mode you choose.

Round Robin Modes

meetergo offers two round robin modes that control how hosts are assigned to bookings:

Maximize Availability

1. On the booking page, the combined availability of all hosts is shown. Any slot where at least one host is available appears as bookable.
2. Hosts rotate in order — each new booking goes to the next host in line. After being assigned a booking, the host moves to the back of the queue.
3. If the next host in line is not available for the booked time slot, they are skipped and the next available host is assigned instead.
4. If a group is next in line, all group members become hosts. All group members must be available for the time slot, otherwise the system moves to the next queue member.

This mode shows the maximum number of available time slots on the booking page, making it easy for attendees to find a suitable time. However, because all hosts' availability is shown but only one is assigned per booking, hosts with more availability tend to receive more bookings than others.

Equal Distribution

1. The system counts how many bookings each host has received within the current distribution period (day, week, or month — default: month).
2. On the booking page, only the host with the fewest bookings is shown.
3. Each booking goes directly to that host — no other host can be assigned.
4. If the selected host has no availability in the displayed date range, they are automatically skipped and the host with the next fewest bookings is shown instead.
5. When a booking is cancelled, the host's booking count is reduced, so they are not penalized for cancellations.
6. If a host is too far ahead (configurable via Max booking lead, default: 3), their availability is hidden until others catch up.

Equal Distribution Settings

• Distribution period (day / week / month): Controls how bookings are counted. At the start of each period, counts reset to zero. Default: month.
• Max booking lead: The maximum number of bookings a host can be ahead of the least-booked host. If a host exceeds this, their availability is hidden until others catch up. Default: 3.

Using Buffers and Limits for Workload Control

If you have meeting types with different durations (e.g., small, medium, and large packages), you can use buffers and host meeting limits to prevent hosts from being overloaded:

• Buffer after (Meeting Options): Set a buffer time after each meeting. For example, an 8-hour buffer after a large package meeting effectively blocks the rest of the day for that host.
• Host meeting limits (User Settings): Set a maximum number of meetings per day per host. This works across all meeting types and prevents any single host from having too many meetings in one day.

When to use equal distribution:

• You need bookings split evenly across team members (e.g., 20 bookings across 4 hosts = ~5 each)
• Fairness in workload distribution is more important than maximizing available slots
• Each team member should handle a comparable number of meetings

When to use maximize availability:

• You want to offer attendees the widest range of time slots
• Getting booked quickly matters more than perfectly even distribution
• Your team members have varying availability and you want to maximize bookings

How to Change the Round Robin Mode

1. Open your round robin Meeting Type
2. Go to the Host tab
3. In the Round Robin section, find the Round Robin Mode setting
4. Select either "Maximize availability" or "Equal distribution"
5. Save your changes

Host Selection History

To provide transparency in the host selection process, you can see the Host Selection History. This shows the reasons behind each host assignment:

In maximize availability mode:

• Assigned as the next host: The host was the next person in the rotation and was available.
• Skipped ahead: The next host in line was unavailable, so another available host was assigned instead.
• Chosen by the attendee: The attendee selected this host (when host selection is enabled).

In equal distribution mode:

• Next host in rotation: The host had the fewest bookings in the current period and was assigned the booking.
• Skipped ahead in rotation: The host with the fewest bookings had no availability, so the system moved to the next least-booked host.

This history helps you understand the distribution of appointments and verify that the rotation is working as intended.

Tips and Best Practices

1. Choose the right mode: Use "Maximize availability" when you want to show as many bookable slots as possible. Use "Equal distribution" when fair workload distribution is your priority.
2. Equalize Availability: In both modes, hosts with similar availability get the best results. In maximize availability mode, hosts with more availability get more bookings. In equal distribution mode, hosts with no availability get skipped.
3. Add More Hosts: Adding more users to the round robin queue expands the pool of available time slots, increasing the chances of finding suitable meeting times.
4. Use Groups Strategically: Create groups for team members who often work together or have complementary skills. When a group is selected, all members become hosts for that appointment.
5. Review Regularly: Check the Host Selection History periodically to ensure appointments are being distributed as desired. If you notice imbalances, adjust availability or queue order.
6. Keep Availability Up to Date: Encourage all hosts to keep their availability current. This prevents unnecessary skips in the queue and ensures smooth scheduling.