Meeting Room Booking System Secrets

If there was ever anything that is a pain to handle and worse to coordinate, it has to be planning out the use of the company meeting rooms. Every company finds new ways to handle it, from white boards at the door to signify a meeting is in session to paper calendars for signing up for use. With the advent of computers, you would think that booking these rooms with software would make this a simple task. Unfortunately, that doesn’t take into account the human knack for messing things up. But there are ways to make sure that whatever type of meeting room booking system you have, it works to make the best use of that meeting space. Here are a few simple rules to follow.

Require a Reservation from Everyone

It doesn’t matter if the person is the hottest salesperson in the company or even the CEO, they have to book that room in advance. Nothing will get people hot under the collar faster then having their meeting moved so that the hotshot of the company has a quiet place to meet with a potential client. There is no reason to ever let anyone sneak in under the radar on this one.

Use the Goldilocks Rule

These rooms cost money when they are empty, so make sure they are booked for the right amount of time and are kept busy and used. Allocating too short a time for meetings means they begin to bump up into each other, causing chaos. But allocating too much time per meeting means they are left empty, and not paying their way. That is why the Goldilocks rule of not too little and not too much should always be adhered to when scheduling with your online booking system.

Meeting Rooms for Meetings Only

Some companies let their meeting rooms be used by individuals who want a quiet place to work on a project. While it is understandable, it is not good use of this valuable space. When setting up the meeting room for booking, make sure everyone understands that the room is for meetings, not for John’s private wool gathering sessions.

No Tickee No Laundry

Even if a meeting is planned at the last minute and the room appears empty, never encourage using the meeting room without first booking it. Reserving a room in advance has its advantages and cancelling when the meeting is cancelled is also important. If at all possible, have meeting rooms booked a day or two in advance. This is especially true of mid-day meetings between 10AM and 2PM. If you plan on doing a lunch meeting, say so on the schedule and plan it ahead of time. Meetings without a prior booking should simply be moved elsewhere.

Note Extra Needs, Especially AV Needs

Don’t wait until the last minute to let your AV Department know that you are going to need that screen or laptop for the meeting. By noting all your needs in the booking you will be sure that the meeting will get off to a smooth start and on time. This also means it has a good chance of ending on time as well. If you take the chance of not listing your needs, you may have to cancel an important meeting because the tools you needed for it just plain aren’t available. Always plan ahead of time.