Weâve all been there. Youâre in a conference room deep in discussion with colleagues. Itâs a collaborative conversation and the energy is creative and productive. Everyoneâs participating, ideas are taking shape, and youâre assigning action items.
Then it happens: Someone knocks on the meeting room glass and the conversation comes to a halt. Theyâre standing outsideâa group of people from another teamâstaring at you. The conference room has been double-booked.
Do you hold your ground and make the other team find another room? If you do, an argument may ensue, ruining the dynamics of your productive meeting and possibly squelching your creativity. Worse yet, an argument can cause ill will between teams. But giving up the room means you would have to search for another oneâquicklyâor cut the meeting short.
6 ways to be mindful of conference room etiquette
Conference rooms are shared spaces in the workplace, but not everyone respects proper etiquette for reserving and using them. This can hamper meeting productivity and degrade the overall workplace experience for everyone.
Here are six ways to preserve proper conference room etiquette and avoid frustrating meeting interruptions, especially when meeting room space is limited:
1) Respect your co-workersâ time
Youâre probably swamped with work and busy putting out fires, but so is everyone else. Everyoneâs time is important, so respect it. Book your meeting room early, rather than just minutes before the meeting, to give others ample notice that youâll be using the space.
If you have to cancel, follow the same ruleâcancel as early as you can so someone else can book the room if they need it. Lastly, stick to the schedule. Try not to run over or boot people from the previous meeting out early. Always make an effort to start and end on time.
2) No squatting!
Empty rooms arenât necessarily available. Meetings donât always start on the hourâif you assume a room isnât booked because no one is in it and itâs a quarter past the hour, you may be interrupted and asked to leave when you least expect it. Impromptu meetings can be held in the lunchroom, common areas or outsideâwalking meetings are a healthy and fun alternative to taking up office space.
Before ducking into the nearest empty room, take a moment to check the schedule and make sure no one has already booked it. Also, watch out for double-booking mishaps. Some scheduling systems allow you to choose multiple rooms to see whatâs available and itâs easy to forget to unselect the unwanted rooms. Check twice to make sure you havenât booked multiple rooms.
3) Be aware of your surroundings
Close the door during meetings. In many of todayâs modern workplaces, people work in an open environment. Conference rooms surround the workspace, and if a door is left open, conversations during meetings can be distracting and annoying to people outside the meeting room. Not only is it distracting, but it also reduces the productivity of others working in the office.
4) Remember remote employees
Not all meeting attendees will be present. Make sure you have technology in place to make it easy for remote employees to not only attend, but hear and be heard so they can participate and contribute to the conversation. Conferencing software, such as Zoom, can provide a seamless experience for attendees who call in from a satellite office, home, or coffee shop.
5) Clean up after yourself
Make sure you leave the room as you found it (or better). Log off from your meeting and leave all video conferencing equipment in the room. Remove any trash or food and push the chairs in. You donât want to waste meeting time getting the room in order before you begin, so be considerate about others and leave the room in good shape so they can start on time.
6) Be mindful of the needs of others
This is good advice in any scenario, but when it comes to conference room etiquette, respecting the needs of others can improve productivity and the workplace experience as a whole.
If youâre meeting involves a small group, donât reserve the largest roomâleave that for larger groups that will need more space and chairs. If youâve accidentally double-booked a room, and you know your meeting isnât as critical or time-sensitive as the other personâs meeting, be gracious and offer to give up your spot. Courteous behavior goes a long way toward building trust and creating goodwill with co-workers.
Make the most of your meetings and everyone's time
Meetings are essential for collaborating and brainstorming effectively, as well as for helping to build comradery among teammates. But poor conference room etiquette can defeat the purpose. Remembering these simple tips will keep co-workers happy and productive, and help to foster a culture of teamwork in your organization.
Beyond proper etiquette, having the right technology can help make the most of your meetings. Check out this post by Envoyâs Head of Workplace Technology, Matt Harris, to learn how you can implement practical workplace technology in your conference rooms and other shared spaces.
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