7 Useful Tips for Ensuring Proper Meeting Room Etiquette

Meeting rooms are a key resource within any office, even coworking spaces, because they're versatile. Whether it's to conduct official meetings with your clients, have a brainstorming session with your team, or collaborate with another team on a project, meeting rooms can be used by all employees.

And it's this constant use by different people that makes it essential for you to establish ground rules to ensure the meeting room is used professionally.

■ Increase your employee satisfaction further with these steps

1. Meeting Rooms Must Be Booked to Be Accessed

Booking meeting rooms means that the use of the room for that specific timeframe is documented. This helps avoid clashes between multiple teams wanting to use the meeting room simultaneously. Meetings also don't have to be missed or rescheduled because teams couldn't access the meeting room.

2. Schedule Bookings Early & Appropriately

Book the meeting room as soon as your meeting is confirmed. You'll have a greater chance of securing your preferred day and time. Additionally, make sure you only book the meeting room for the time you need it. If you overbook, then another team could've used the meeting room during that time.

3. Cancel Bookings Punctually

If you need to cancel your meeting room booking, do it as soon as possible. Other teams can then access the meeting room instead.

4. Leave Promptly When the Meeting Ends

Once your meeting has officially ended, leave swiftly. You don't want to infringe on another team's time, especially if the meeting room is booked back-to-back.

5. Take Care to Leave the Meeting Room as Found

When the meeting is done, clean up any messes that were made. This includes putting away chairs and tables, wiping down the surfaces, and generally leaving the room as you found it.

■ Turn this tip into an advantage through hot desking (especially if you're a startup)

6. Be Considerate in Accommodating Others

When working with a group of people, be considerate of others. This includes keeping noise levels down, so you don't disrupt others in the office and being considerate of the schedule, so you don't keep people waiting.

■ Noise levels can also be disruptive in open office spaces

7. Use a Room Booking System to Avoid Double-Bookings

A room booking system ensures that all bookings are organized and makes it easy to view the schedule, identify open slots, and cancel any bookings—all in an effort to avoid double bookings.

Mind Your Manners

Following meeting room etiquette ensures everyone has a positive and productive workplace experience. A digital booking system can easily manage the entire process for you: employees can access the program from anywhere and share booking information directly with colleagues, while the system automatically updates bookings and cancellations.

■ Need a booking system solution? Consider POC System's booking app