Optimize Conference Room Utilization with Flexible Meeting Room Booking Software

The average conference room is empty more than 77% of the day. The rest of the office is not much different as only 13% of the organizations utilize more than 80% of their space. The cost of the global unused office space runs into hundreds of billions of dollars. To handle the problem, companies are scaling down office space and using conference room booking software to create flexible meeting rooms and shared spaces. Here's how you can maximize office space using Lobbytrack's flexible space-booking software in combination with a hybrid work policy and workspace design.

Empty Office Space

Reimagine the Workplace

Efficient workspace utilization is one of the biggest challenges organizations face post covid. The pandemic proved that work from home is viable. Now, with only 28% of employees working from traditional offices on any given day, organizations must reimagine and redesign their offices. The concept is called a hybrid or flexible space that supports a mix of in situ and remote employees. With space-booking software such as Lobbytrack, it is easy to accommodate a larger number of hybrid employees in fewer square feet. Before that, however, you need to design a flexible workplace.

Design Flexible Meeting Rooms

Meeting rooms are hugely underutilized in most organizations. The reasons can range from oversized meeting rooms to meeting room no-shows to teams vacating the conference rooms before their time is up. In America, the average office space per employee has fallen from 225 square feet in 2010 to 150 square feet. When it comes to conference rooms or meeting rooms, most of them are designed for bigger teams than actually use them. A typical average-sized meeting room can seat 7 to 10 people, which is too large for most meetings and too small for bigger groups. Space planners suggest that, depending on their needs, organizations should design a variety of meeting spaces such as one-on-one spaces, huddle spaces for smaller groups, multiple small conference rooms of 150-200 square feet each, and large conference rooms that can comfortably seat 13-20 people. Companies are also turning to smaller office pods, booths, and modular meeting spaces to optimize space usage.

Sahred Meeting Rooms
Work Policy and Procedure

Create a Hybrid Work Policy

Before you start redesigning your office space, you need to formulate a policy that spells out where, when, and how employees can work. It should answer questions like who can work hybrid, who must come to the office on which days, what are the best practices to follow, and what are the rights of hybrid employees. The document will help clarify how much space you need on any given day, so you can plan your space accordingly.

How to Use Lobbytrack for Maximizing Meeting Room Utilization

Lobbytrack Visitor Management system has a customizable space booking module that you can use to easily manage hybrid work spaces including hot desks and bookable meeting rooms. Hence, you can manage guests, employees, and shared spaces from the same user-friendly interface. Here are the key features of Lobbytrack meeting room booking software.

Define Meeting Rooms, Conference Rooms, and Hot Desks

Once you are done planning your workspace and have a hybrid work policy in place, you can define any space as a shared space and make it available for booking through Lobbytrack Web App.

Add a New Space
Reserve a Space

Reserve the Type of Hybrid Workspace You Require

Employees can view the vacant hot desks, huddle spaces, meeting rooms, conference rooms, parking slots, and other shared spaces on their Lobbytrack portal and book the space they need for specific dates and times.

Take the Guesswork Out of Conference Room and Meeting Room Booking

Free up your facilities staff and let each employee view and book shared coworking spaces for themselves. Employees can view the spaces that are vacant at any given time and day and book the appropriate place in line with your workplace policy.

Select a Space
Mark Meeting Room as Vacant

Automatically Show Unutilized Meeting Rooms as Vacant

A lot of meeting room space is wasted when people don't show up at the time of booking or end their meeting and vacate the room before time. Lobbytrack's Automatic Space Release feature shows meeting rooms as available after a customizable time interval if people don't check in on time or check out before time.

Summing It Up…

Meeting rooms, conference rooms, and other workspaces remain vastly underutilized in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Companies have reduced their office space to save on real estate costs, but they now need to manage a larger workforce of in-office and remote workers from a limited space. The solution to the post-COVID workplace problem is three-dimensional. You need to reimagine the workspace, create flexible meeting rooms, and use smart meeting room booking software such as Lobbytrack.

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