Meeting room booking should be optimized for a seamless employee experience. This blog explores seven ways to optimize conference rooms with meeting room booking software and address the challenges faced.Â
About 25 million meetings are happening in the US alone daily. So, when it comes to collaboration, meetings are the most effective. Â
According to a study by Bain & Company , most employees spend 15% of their time in meetings. The number can go up to 50% for the upper management.Â
And all of this makes sense. In a hybrid workplace , employees come together to conduct meaningful discussions and fast-track the decision-making process.Â
Therefore, the significance of meetings has increased.Â
However, executives and employees see 67% of those meetings as failures. Why do you ask? Well, unfortunate management of meeting room bookings is one. Â
Be it double booking, no-shows, failed equipment, or lack of software, several hindrances cause meetings to fail. Now this affects the productivity of employees.Â
Worse yet, The US Bureau of Labor, in one of its studies, reported that poor meeting environments lead to a loss of $37 billion annually.Â
But all hope is not lost. The good news is that there are ways to make the meeting room bookings better. With the right technology, you can make your meetings productive and effective.Â
Here are seven ways to help you improve the meeting room booking experience and overcome the challenges.
Streamline the Conference Room Management SoftwareÂ
A report showed that employees face difficulty finding and booking meeting spaces 27% of the time . Most of the time, employees rely on others to find a meeting room. And these can be last minute.
However, if you want to optimize your meeting room bookings, you need to deploy robust conference room scheduling software.Â
Such solutions streamline reserving meeting rooms, and it simplifies the method of looking for spaces. These solutions list out the meeting rooms in a centralized dashboard.Â
So, employees can see which rooms are available at what time. This also reduces the errors often associated with meeting room scheduling.Â
Such a system updates the employees immediately when a booking is made. If there are changes in the meeting time or location, it informs the attendees.Â
This helps eliminate confusion and optimizes the meeting room booking process by ten folds.
Bonus Read: What is a Meeting Room Booking Software?Â
Enable Digital Signage for Your Meeting Room Bookings
When you enable digital signage for your meeting room bookings, you help your employees get oriented with the physical space. Your employees can easily find these places combined with unique meeting room names.Â
Also, digital signs outside each room can help notify employees about the place of the event. It can also display the name of the person who made the booking, the timings of the meeting, and the number of attendees.Â
So, if the room is booked but remains unoccupied, managers can reach out to the employees and cancel the bookings.
Remove No-Shows for Easy Meeting Room Bookings
This is particularly essential if you struggle to manage your meeting room bookings. Most organizations have a no-show average of 20-35% . This number is relatively high and contributes to a significant increase in costs.Â
Imagine someone else wanted to use the meeting room, but it remained unavailable at the time. So the room sits idle. Now, that is a waste of real estate.Â
Recommended Reading: Pros & Cons of Meeting Room Booking Software
Therefore, it is essential to prevent no-shows. And to do this, you need meeting room booking software . With such a solution, the meeting room becomes available automatically if no one shows up after a specified time.Â
This will free up the meeting room and ensure that no bookings are wasted.
Facilitate a Collaborative Meeting Room Experience
A hybrid workplace is characterized by its collaborative nature. Employees prefer hybrid work models because it is easy to collaborate with other team members regardless of their location.Â
A conference room is a suitable space to begin. It ensures that you can collaborate without any interference.
With meeting room booking software, you can improve the experience, especially for remote workers. For instance, a robust video conferencing solution and equipment will help remote employees feel physically present.Â
For on-site employees, the meeting rooms should have comfortable seating. Other amenities like a projector, whiteboard, or provisions for beverages and snacks can allow them to be more focused.Â
To optimize your meeting room bookings, you need to create a comfortable, collaborative space.
Also Read: Conference Room Reservation Guide Â
Track Meeting Room Booking Utilization
If you want to optimize the use of your meeting rooms, you need to know how your meeting rooms are being utilized.Â
Are employees more inclined towards booking a particular conference room? Does a few conference rooms remain empty most of the time? Are the small and big conference rooms being used at the same capacity?Â
Such metrics can help you with similar questions. And looking at the larger picture can be instrumental in optimizing the meeting rooms.Â
Install a meeting room booking software and automatically track such metrics. This may include room occupancy, room usage, the time of occupancy, attendees, booking schedules, no-shows, and much more.Â
By tracking the metrics in real-time, you can optimize the meeting room space utilization.
Integrate Your Meeting Room Booking Software with Communication Apps
Okay, this one goes without saying. But your meeting room booking software should integrate seamlessly with other communication apps like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Google Calendar, and more.Â
If you wonder why this is essential, the answer is quite simple. With this, you improve the employee experience. Your employees can sync their calendars and have clarity about their colleague’s schedules.Â
Bonus Read: WorkInSync is Available on Microsoft Teams
It is also helpful to track room reservations, avoid double bookings, and manage meeting spaces better.Â
A meeting room booking system that sits in a silo is of no use to your organization. Facility management is all about making every touchpoint in the office smooth.Â
By integrating your meeting room management solution with other existing apps, you just optimize your office management.
Train Employees for Proper Meeting Room Booking Etiquette
Workplace meeting etiquette matters more than we credit it for, especially in a hybrid workplace, where employees are scattered across different locations.Â
For instance, you were scheduled to join a meeting at 3 PM. However, you failed to do so. Your employees are already waiting for you. You came late, and the meeting stretched beyond the prescribed time.Â
You know that it wasted a lot of time. And somewhere, it may have also affected your employees’ productivity.Â
Simple actions like starting the meeting on time or closing the meeting room door can go a long way. When you book a meeting room, you ensure no interruptions. These are simple ways to show respect towards others.Â
If you want to optimize your meeting room bookings, you need to ensure that you and everyone follow proper etiquette.
To Conclude
To optimize your meeting room bookings, you need to follow the steps mentioned above. Remember that your goal is to create a smooth experience that makes meetings easy and productive.Â
Having the right meeting room booking software will help you improve how you conduct your meetings, ultimately elevating the workplace experience.Â
Are you looking for a reliable solution? WorkInSync is the ultimate cloud based hybrid workplace solution. Book rooms and hot desks and manage office spaces with optimal clarity with WorkInSync. Opt for a demo to learn how the solution works for you.Â
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