In a recent Gartner survey of 127 company leaders, 82% of respondents said they intend to permit remote working some of the time once employees are able to return to the workplace. With so much work happening off-site, companies will have to rethink how they use their office space. To get the most out of conference rooms and huddle rooms, organizations will be designing spaces for a dispersed work force that isn’t on-site full-time. So let’s take a look at the four keys of hybrid office planning.
Evaluating Real Estate
Before you move forward with any renovations or equipment, get precise measurements of your rooms and use this information to make plans that maximize each room’s dimensions. Better yet... work with an integrator like, Solutionz to spec your space. This might sound like common sense, but companies who try to DIY their rooms often end up with screens that won’t fit their huddle room or speakers that aren’t powerful enough to reach the back of a large conference room. This is a job for a professional!
Collaboration Solutions
With so many employees working remotely at least some of the time, your conference rooms and huddle rooms will have to be equipped with video conferencing and collaboration solutions that bridge the gap between on-site employees and remote workers. A recent study found that 98% of meetings have at least one remote participant. That’s not likely to change. Give your on-site employees the tools they will need to see and hear their remote counterparts.
Smart Scheduling
When rooms are reserved far in advance, they often end up not being used, whereas rooms reserved when an immediate need arises almost always end up being used at the designated time. As on-site scheduling becomes less predictable due to hybrid work arrangements, the need for last-minute room reservations will likely increase. You want to be sure the teams making reservations far in advance are actually following through and using the rooms they’ve claimed, lest they needlessly deprive teams with immediate needs from accessing an appropriate work space.
Occupation Rates
As you move forward, continue to monitor how and when your rooms are being used. Keep a close eye on occupation rates, i.e. how many people are using each room at a given time. Are small groups using larger conference rooms when a huddle room might be more suitable? Are there ever meetings that necessitate a larger room? You might find that some rooms are always booked, while others never get used. As you collect this data, you might find that you are not optimizing your spaces. At which time you’ll want to rethink your apportioning of resources. With occupancy sensors powered by Density, tracking these analytics is so simple. Contact us to learn more.
Explore our wide array of conference room and huddle room solutions and please contact us if you have any questions. If you’d like us to help with a customized room design, drop us a line and we’ll work with you on making your A/V dreams a reality. Not seeing what you’re looking for? Use our Advanced Search tool to find it.
