In the age of flexible, open-plan workplaces, there is a greater need than ever for workspaces to provide locations where groups may focus on critical projects, thrash out details, and communicate with stakeholders and clients. Though much has about the “death” of the meeting room (particularly in light of the pandemic), it is apparent that the meeting room serves an essential function in the workplace.
In fact, according to a recent Gensler poll, more than half of respondents stated scheduled or impromptu meetings and networking are the primary reasons they want to return to the workplace. It is up to workplace teams worldwide to make it happen for their employees. Meeting room scheduling solutions that are simple and effective are one approach to facilitate meetings.
In this article, we will examine some of the most common problems in planning and maintaining the conference room schedules, such as the benefits and features of using a meeting Room booking system to make meetings a reality for your employees.
Meeting room maintenance and booking issues
One of the most prevalent concerns in the open office setting is the difficulty of booking a meeting space when one is required. In an ironic twist, technology advancement has increased the prevalence of meetings, with hybrid teams and multinational clients using conference rooms as a bridge between offices. When anything is in high demand, its utilization presents difficulties, and the basic meeting room is no exception.
There are no shows.
The empty conference room may be the most challenging meeting room difficulty. These meeting slots and abandoned because the meeting, the terms of the meeting altered, or the parties skipped a recurring event. The most challenging aspect of no-show appointments is that they may affect every other booking in the company.
Other gatherings that might have made efficient use of the room are unable to do so (and may be forced to utilize a space that is too large or too small for their purposes).
Employees attempting to organize a meeting will do it outside the booking system (see “Theft” below).
Overall, usage of your conference rooms is decreasing, and the statistics you have on use may become biased.
Thef
When an office area isn’t accessible for booking due to a no-show, folks may take matters into their own hands by just “taking” the required space. Unfortunately, this generally involves evicting another party from the room by claiming need (“Sorry, we really need this space.”) or the cascading impact of previous meeting room robberies. (“Because someone stole ours, we must steal yours.”) is frequently due to a lack of hierarchy or project sensitivity. It can also lead to conflict amongst personnel or departments.
Going to sit
Squatting, like stealing, occurs when someone (either an out-of-town business guest or someone working on a time-sensitive project) cloisters away in a conference room to acquire the space and quiet they require. It’s not only bad manners; it also takes up a whole room’s worth of functional space to accommodate the demands of one staff person.
Road congestion
Scheduling a too-small conference room is a more serious affair than it used to be in the era of social distance and staged re-openings. Previously, congestion merely meant that latecomers had a spot, which may now encourage germ transmission within the office. As a result, developing and adhering to effective social distancing practices inside your meeting room environments is critical. A meeting room booking system with capacity constraints makes this much more manageable.
Washing
While bothersome in the pre-COVID era, the etiquette errors listed above take on additional relevance in terms of cleanliness. Enhanced cleaning standards will undoubtedly be part of any return plan, thus having the ability to “take a meeting space offline” automatically between usage is advantageous.
