This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
Long hours and hectic schedules are integral components of startup culture. Along with the fun perks, office pups and ubiquitous passion, startups are also known for countless team meetings, working lunches and out-of-office events.
Forgetting an obligation with a client or partner could be disastrous for a business (not to mention, embarrassing). That’s why small businesses and startups should embrace open calendars.
Shared calendar apps, accessible by mobile or desktop device, can help individuals manage assignments and appointments, or teams manage tasks and meetings. When calendar changes do occur, these apps save us time by eliminating the need for back-and-forth phone calls and emails.
An added benefit of using shared calendars is helping a busy organization balance out the work. At a startup, each employee typically wears numerous hats. With a shared calendar, managers get a better idea of employees’ current obligations and availability for new projects. They can optimally plan events and tasks with that in mind. Open schedules are also advantageous for scheduling group meetings and determining when most people are free.
Below are four shared calendar apps that can simplify work life at startups and small businesses.
1. UpTo
UpTo is an social calendar app friends and colleagues can use to track individual activity in real time. Planners can keep employee’s present priorities in mind when scheduling future assignments or meetings.
The free iPhone app (coming soon to Android and Windows phones) syncs with all the native mobile calendars you use. All events remain private until individual items are shared out by you to the network. UpTo makes selective sharing easy. Users can choose which groups of friends see individual items.
Build groups within the app for simple sharing — “Work,” “Family,” “Editors,” “Interns,” for example. Create circles from your Facebook friends list or with the contacts from your address book. Share event details with various UpTo groups when appropriate.
Users can invite Facebook friends to set up UpTo accounts. The program will also integrate Facebook Events you’ve accepted into your UpTo calendar. Within the app’s feed, users can select items, comment on events, confirm attendance and share location details. The social calendar app is also connected to Facebook and Twitter, so you can share details more publicly.
2. Skedj
How many times have you scheduled an important phone call or meeting, only to forget about the plans? If your calendar is brimming with tasks feverishly penciled in, this mobile app may help you stay on top of responsibilities. Skedj, an iPhone app launching soon, can ensure you won’t lose track of important plans.
Skedj is a smart scheduling platform that syncs events with your Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar or other cloud-based calendar (and is responsive to updates). Events created in the Skedj app will, in turn, automatically show in external calendars that have been integrated, including iCal, Outlook or Facebook. The resulting comprehensive stream displays events in chronological order. So, adjustments are seen across the board, and everyone stays in the know.
The app’s creators say Skedj wasn’t meant to substitute primary mobile or desktop calendars. Skedj can, however, help us better manage tasks while maintaining privacy. Events from external calendars will always automatically update in your individual Skedj stream.
The Skedj iPhone app will launch for public beta testing soon; the startup is also developing an Android app.
3. Kalendi
Kalendi is a digital product that helps small businesses centralize communication to avoid scheduling conflicts.
Users can share a calendar with anyone. Companies and teams can manage calendars online or on mobile. Kalendi’s digital calendar offers features that Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar are missing. The app’s unique features include the ability to add attachments to event invites, schedule individual SMS reminders, publish calendars online and set up unlimited calendars to share across groups.
Businesses can manage meetings, conference calls and deadlines. Other smart features include the prevention of double-booking events and event filters for quick calendar searches. Users can also sync Kalendi calendars with Apple iCal, Google Calendar or Microsoft’s Outlook.
Kalendi calendars can be viewed and edited within its Facebook app, Android app and on Apple devices (with a simple sync). After the free 30-day trial, small business owners can buy the Kalendi Publisher for $99 per month.
4. Google Calendar
Google Calendar is the go-to calendar client for small businesses for many reasons. The service is free, simple to use and syncs all company events to one place.
Sharing a schedule with coworkers on Google Calendar is simple. Employees will be able to share entire calendars with different users or invite designated employees to specific events.
Google Calendar users can share calendars with specific users by following the directions listed here. Users can also share calendars with friends and colleagues without Google accounts by sending a unique URL.
These shared calendar apps offer small businesses and startups an affordable way to track employee activity, share news of events and maintain balance throughout the company. What calendar system does your startup use?
More Small Business Resources From OPEN Forum
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– How to Master Social Media Like a Famous Comedian
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Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/20/shared-calendar-apps/
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