Team availability does the roll-call for you. Switch it on and everyone on your team gets an email before the events you care about, with three buttons — I'll be there, I can't make it, Unsure. One tap answers it, and the answers land on the event where you can see them.
You set this up once per team. After that it runs on its own.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”An administrator has to allow availability for the venue first, in Settings → Teams. Until they do, the availability section does not appear on your team at all — see Team availability if you are not sure whether it is on.
Switching it on
Section titled “Switching it on”- Open your team from Teams in the navigation menu.
- Switch on Request team availability for events.
- Set the options below to suit how your team works.
- Choose Save availability.
Nothing is sent the moment you save. Venvy starts asking as events come within the window you set.
The options
Section titled “The options”Ask about these event types
Section titled “Ask about these event types”Tick the kinds of event worth asking about. A team that only needs a headcount for performances can leave rehearsals unticked, and nobody gets an email about them.
Leave every type ticked if you want to be asked about everything.
Ask managers too
Section titled “Ask managers too”Whether the people who manage this team are asked along with everyone else.
Managing a team and being in it are two separate things in Venvy, so this is a real choice rather than a formality. Leave it on if you perform with the team you run — most people do, and it is on to begin with. Switch it off if you look after the team from the outside and only need the tally.
Turning it off does not affect anyone who is also a member of the team: they keep getting asked as a member.
Ask this far ahead
Section titled “Ask this far ahead”How long before an event the first email goes out — in days before or weeks before.
Set this to roughly the point where an answer is still useful to you. Ask too early and people genuinely do not know yet; ask too late and you have already had to make the call without them.
Remind non-responders
Section titled “Remind non-responders”A second email, to the people who have not answered yet. Anyone who has already replied is left alone.
Choose no reminder if one email is enough for your team. If you do set one, it has to be sooner than the first request — Venvy will not accept a reminder that would arrive before the thing it is reminding people about.
When an event is added at short notice — close enough that the reminder would already be due — the request and the reminder arrive as a single email rather than one today and another tomorrow. It offers I'll be there and I can't make it only, and says it's the only time they'll be asked. Nobody gets the same event twice in two days.
Recurring events
Section titled “Recurring events”For a series, this decides how the asking is spread out.
- One email per occurrence — a weekly team gets a message every week, each about one date.
- One email per window — a single message listing every occurrence inside the window, each answerable on its own line.
One email per window suits a team that would rather deal with a month of dates in one sitting. One per occurrence suits a team that answers as they go.
Who sees the answers
Section titled “Who sees the answers”- Counts only — everyone on the team sees the tallies and their own answer. You, as a manager, still see who said what.
- Full roster — the whole team sees every name.
Counts only is the gentler default. Full roster suits teams who coordinate among themselves and need to know who else is in the room.
Where the answers show up
Section titled “Where the answers show up”The count appears on the event's Quick look panel, so you can see the headcount without opening anything. The full picture is on the event's details.
Changing your settings later
Section titled “Changing your settings later”Save whenever you like — changes apply to future sends only. Nothing already sent is re-sent, and nothing already sent is retracted. Answers people have already given are never deleted.
Switching availability off stops the asking. It does not remove anyone from the team, and it does not erase the answers you have already collected.
What your team sees
Section titled “What your team sees”Worth reading once so you know what you are asking of people: How to use Team Availability. It covers the email itself, answering without signing in, and the settings each person has over how often they hear from us.