Sync Meetings and Calendar Events

Have full transparency over your team’s time by syncing meetings and calendar events into your Dialpad WFM schedule. Meetings are automatically taken into account when scheduling activities, ensuring agents are never double-booked.

Let’s dive into the details.

Who can use this

Dialpad WFM is available to all Dialpad users.

Contact your Customer Success Manager to discuss adding Dialpad WFM to your plan.

Ways to sync calendar events

You can sync calendar events into the Dialpad WFM schedule in three ways:

Tip

You should only use one method to avoid calendar clashes.

Using Outlook calendar integration

The Outlook Calendar Integration lets you sync Outlook meetings and their updates directly to WFM.

To set it up:

1. In Dialpad WFM, go to Settings > Communication

2. Select Outlook Calendar
   

3. Enter the email address of your dedicated Outlook mailbox.

4. Select Sign in

5. In Outlook, add the connected mailbox and the agents who should attend to the meeting

WFM matches attendee email addresses with active WFM agents. When there's a match, the meeting appears in the agent's schedule as a synced event.

Make sure the connected Outlook mailbox remains an attendee on the meeting. WFM uses the connected mailbox to sync:

• New meetings.

• Changes to the meeting title, time, day, attendee list, or recurring schedule.

• Meeting cancellations.

• Agent removals. If you remove an agent from the meeting, WFM removes the synced event from that agent’s schedule.

If an agent declines or is removed from the meeting, the event won't appear in their WFM schedule.

Note

The integration only syncs from Outlook to WFM. It doesn't send WFM schedules or shifts to Outlook. Meeting subjects are also visible as event titles in WFM, so consider using a separate event with a neutral title for sensitive meetings.

Tip

Outlook updates normally sync automatically. If a change doesn't appear, select Sync now from the Outlook integration settings.

Using Google Calendar integration

Each agent needs to connect their Google Calendar to Dialpad WFM.

Admins can manage which events are synced from Settings > Communication.

Tip

For more information, visit this Help Center article.

Using an email invite

For other calendars or existing Outlook setups, invite block@teamsurfboard.com to the calendar event.

Once saved, the event is added to the schedule within 15 minutes when the invite meets the sync requirements:

• The event is added to the schedules of invited agents who accepted the invitation and have a shift at that time, including the event creator.

• The email address in the invite must exactly match the agent’s email address configured in WFM.

• The event name appears in the schedule.

• Events are synced up to 56 days in advance.

• Only events with fewer than 100 invitees, including block@teamsurfboard.com, are synced.

• Synced calendar events take priority over scheduled breaks or activities and overwrite them.

• The schedule can display up to three overlapping calendar events at once.

• If the event is added to a published shift, it’s visible to agents immediately. You don’t need to publish the shift again.

Note

The email-invite method doesn't automatically sync changes after the initial Outlook meeting sync. For new Outlook setups, use the Outlook Calendar Integration instead.

How calendar events affect schedules

Synced calendar events appear as gray blocks with a calendar icon in the activity schedule.

They take priority over scheduled breaks and activities, and Activity Plans work around them to help prevent double-bookings.

Tip

You can't edit a synced event directly in WFM. Make your changes in the original calendar instead.

Note

If Calendar event removed or rescheduled schedule optimization is enabled, WFM automatically fills scheduling gaps when a synced calendar event is removed or rescheduled.

Remove a calendar event

To remove a synced calendar event from the WFM schedule:

1. Open the WFM schedule

2. Select the synced calendar event

3. Choose Delete

   1. Delete this meeting to remove only the selected occurrence.

   2. Delete upcoming meetings to remove the selected meeting and all future occurrences.

4. Confirm the deletion

Note

Removing an event from WFM doesn't delete it from the original calendar. The event may appear in WFM again if the original calendar event is updated.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if a meeting is updated or cancelled?

The Outlook Calendar Integration automatically syncs meeting changes and cancellations to WFM as long as the connected Outlook mailbox remains an attendee.

If you sync Outlook meetings by inviting block@teamsurfboard.com, changes don't automatically sync after the initial sync. You may need to resend the meeting invitation or manually remove the event from WFM.

What if an Outlook meeting update doesn't appear?

Make sure the connected mailbox is still an attendee and the agent's Outlook email address matches their active WFM email address. Then select Sync now from the Outlook integration settings.

Can I apply exceptions to out-of-adherence blocks for synced calendar events?

Yes. One-off adherence exceptions can be applied to OOA blocks created by synced calendar events. For the exception workflow, see Adherence Exceptions.

Why is the email domain teamsurfboard?

Surfboard WFM was acquired by Dialpad in Fall 2024 and rebranded to Dialpad WFM. The email address is a legacy feature and has not yet been updated.

Can I use this to sync time off, too?

No, these tools are only used to sync calendar events into scheduled shifts in the schedule. Adding time off in this method will result in incorrect reporting, affecting the accuracy of timesheets and adherence.

Time off can be synced into Dialpad WFM via iCal links, or added directly into the schedule. Refer to this help article for more information.

Why did a calendar event reappear in WFM?

If you use Google Calendar, a synced event may reappear in WFM after it's been removed if the original calendar event is renamed or rescheduled.

Removing an event from WFM schedule doesn't delete the original calendar event. Changes made in Google Calendar can sync the event back into WFM.

Note

Changes to Outlook calendar events don't sync back into WFM after the initial sync.