Here are some tips on how to plan for small conference rooms based on new requirements.

Companies worldwide should consider best practices when making changes for hybrid conference rooms and meeting spaces to allow for employee group collaboration.

In the post-COVID-19 workplace, company teams and employees will need to provide the correct balance between conducting “business-as-usual” and continuing to leverage hybrid workspaces or remote work from home.

Conference rooms will require updates with video conferencing requirements to meet the remote workspace & hybrid demand. Using Density's vast amount of data and feedback from customers, it was set to address critical considerations around post-COVID-19 conference room use and social-distancing:

1. Are conference rooms utilized in a way that poses risks to social-distancing?

2. If so, what can the workplace provide to mitigate these risks?

3. How can your workplace team tell if these mitigations are effective?

Getting comfortable back in the Conference rooms is easier than you think

In our 2019 Workplace Utilization Index, Density data analyzed more than 10,000 hours of UC collaboration and meeting time over 6 months across 60 conference rooms. The data yielded insights into how conference room usage may or may not pose risks to social distancing.

Just one person routinely uses meeting rooms. According to the Density study and more than 10,000 hours of data and tracking, meeting rooms were occupied by a single individual 36% or less of the time.

1. This means that a significant amount of meeting rooms are not being used to their full potential. If a meeting room is only occupied by one person, it can be considered underutilized space. This presents an opportunity for organizations to better manage their meeting room usage and potentially make more efficient use of their real estate.

   2. Meetings that occur with between 2 and 4 people represented 40% of all meetings.

   This highlights the importance of having smaller meeting rooms available for use. These types of meetings are often quick and efficient and do not require a large space. By having smaller meeting rooms available, organizations can better allocate resources and increase the likelihood that these types of meetings will take place.

   3. Large meetings did not happen as often as most have thought. Only 6% of all meetings included more than 10 people. 85% of all meetings had fewer than 7 attendees.

   This is important because it dispels the myth that large meetings are a frequent occurrence. By understanding this, organizations can better plan and allocate resources for their meeting spaces. It may be more beneficial to have smaller meeting rooms that can be combined when needed rather than having larger rooms that are rarely used.

   4. The larger the room, the more often it was empty. Even the meetings with the most attendees typically only utilized 45% of the room's capacity.

   This suggests that larger meeting rooms are often underutilized. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as the perception that a larger room is needed or the lack of smaller meeting rooms available. By having a better understanding of how meeting rooms are used, organizations can potentially make better use of their space and reduce their real estate costs.

   5. The smaller 2 to 4 capacity room was more often over capacity. The room capacity was exceeded twice as often as rooms for 5 to 7 people.

   This indicates that smaller meeting rooms may be in higher demand than larger rooms. By having a better understanding of how meeting rooms are used, organizations can potentially make better use of their space and ensure that they have the appropriate meeting room sizes available to meet their needs. It may also be beneficial to have more smaller meeting rooms available to accommodate the higher demand.

The Importance of Room Scheduling and Reservation has become crucial in controlling capacity, cost and usage.

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