Why Traditional Meeting Rooms are no Longer Effective and What you Should do Instead

Traditional Meeting rooms are an essential component of a workplace. Multiple studies have demonstrated that teams throughout organisations are spending greater time in meeting rooms. These are places where ideas are generated, conversations are refined, and crucial decisions are made. Therefore, meeting places should be built to facilitate the interactions that occur within.

However, meeting spaces are also frequently neglected in terms of design. The architecture of the meeting space can have a substantial effect on the outcome of the debate. Design aspects like as the type and arrangement of furniture, conferencing equipment, lighting, acoustics, and room decoration have a significant impact on the course of a meeting. Yet, the majority of contemporary meeting room designs do not enable the types of interactions that occur inside. This is why:

Rooms of uniform size

On a regular basis, several forms of contacts take place in the workplace, ranging from one-on-one meetings and fast stand-up meetings to full-fledged client presentations. Therefore, meeting rooms should be built to accommodate various requirements. However, a common issue in workplaces is that meeting and conference rooms are typically of identical size and do not accommodate a variety of interactions.

Large and underutilised spaces

A considerable proportion of meeting rooms are frequently empty, even during meetings, which is a common issue for workplaces. According to statistics gathered by CBRE, JLL, and Density, a people count sensor platform, just 40% of meeting rooms are full during meetings. The proportion of participants who inhabit larger rooms per week continues to decline. For instance, Density observed that the larger meeting rooms were only occupied by seven individuals for 2% of the workday.

This poses a problem of suboptimal meeting room utilisation. When a smaller team uses a large conference room, a team that requires a larger facility will be forced to look for one.

Defective technology

Imagine that you are unable to connect your device to the projector or that the internet connection goes down in the middle of a meeting. Your time spent resolving the issue represents a loss of productive time. Multiply this time by the number of attendees awaiting the meeting's start or continuation. This is a substantial waste of everyone's valuable time.

Technology failure is a prevalent issue that hits meeting and conference rooms frequently. Poor Wi-Fi connections, malfunctioning projection or display systems, awkward conference calls and presentations, and incompatible technology that prevents participants from connecting their devices are examples of common technological issues.

Inadequate technology for reserving meeting rooms frequently leads to issues such as multiple reservations and missed appointments, which is a problem faced by many organisations. Without a good booking system, it is difficult for teams to determine whether a meeting place is available or not. Approximately 40% of employees lose up to 30 minutes per day or 3.5 hours per week searching for an empty meeting space, according to a Steelcase Workplace Survey. This indicates that the absence of a proper mechanism for arranging conference rooms might negatively impact staff productivity.

Additionally, no-shows might result in the waste of meeting room resources such as energy, Wi-Fi, and conferencing technology.

Outdated designs

Inadequate and out-of-date designs are another prevalent issue in conference and meeting rooms. Inadequate design can include inappropriate lighting, acoustics, screen size, and uncomfortable furnishings. According to a research conducted by the American Society of Interior Design, over 68% of people are unhappy with the lighting in their offices.

How contemporary conference and meeting rooms should be created

Create spaces according to their function.

Before adding a meeting room, it is essential to understand the various objectives a meeting space might serve. Spaces should be designed and constructed to accommodate the various group sizes and types of interactions that frequently occur. In addition, meeting room analytics and utilisation data can be utilised to acquire a reasonable idea of the optimal mix of meeting room sizes and types to be introduced.

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Experimenting with modular room ideas is prudent. This allows the meeting space to be expanded or contracted based on the requirements without compromising the meeting room experience.

Design for comfort

Everything you design for a meeting room, including lighting, air, acoustics, furniture, and mobility space, should convey comfort. The installation of the room's lighting, sound, and ventilation must be performed with sufficient attention. For instance, the lighting, air conditioning, and seating should be conducive to comfort so that participants can concentrate on the conversation without being distracted by the uncomfortable environment. Even if discussions exceed a particular time limit, individuals should feel comfortable enough to remain seated for an extended period.

Likewise, the acoustics should be built so that there is no echo, reverberation, or feedback between the speakers and microphones. For rooms without windows, adequate lighting must be given, whereas excessive natural light may need the installation of blinds.

Utilize user-friendly technologies

Consider the room's function when selecting meeting room equipment such as a video conferencing system. A space built for a fast meeting may only require a whiteboard, marker, and duster, whereas a boardroom may require a sophisticated teleconferencing system.