How managing meeting room availability improves employee experience

Common issues workplaces find around booking systems include not having one at all, employees not knowing about or understanding an existing system, systems being overly complicated or difficult to access and navigate, or employees not understanding the importance of the system and disregarding it. As such, the first step to ensuring your team doesn't have to waste time when organising meetings is putting a booking system in place that’s easy to implement, understand, and use.

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The importance of meetings in a hybrid workspace

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With hybrid workplaces, being able to confirm you have a space to collaborate is key. With this workplace model, teams will likely be part remote, meaning any meetings will usually include someone working from home who will need to video call in. For the meeting organiser, being able to book a meeting room and have confidence that it will be available and ready when they need it is key to being able to run their meeting appropriately. It ensures the meeting can start on time, and that remote workers aren’t left waiting in the virtual meeting room for the in-office team to find a space to join. Meetings starting on time also helps staff manage their time better, helping prevent meetings from running overtime due to time wasted at the beginning of the meeting searching for a space.

Ensuring there are places to collaborate and meet in the office may also encourage teams to come to the office more often, which makes it easier for your staff to bond and form friendships. Ensuring there are enough spaces to meet to avoid people hosting meetings in the middle of the shared working space is also key, as an important part of hybrid working is ensuring your in-office areas are an environment where people can work productively.
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Meeting booking systems are so important because they help streamline the all-important employee experience. They help avoid the little tensions that can build up around team organisation, and help staff feel prepared and in-control at work, leading to them feeling empowered to succeed.
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The Nura Space meeting room booking feature goes a step further and lets staff find rooms with the right resources for them. Employees can search by room capacity, multimedia, whiteboards, and other accessories to help run effective, valuable meetings, the way they should be.

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How meetings have changed with new ways of working

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Eight in ten leaders fast tracked the introduction of new workplace technologies due to the pandemic. Covid changed the nature of meetings at work dramatically as workplaces pivoted to remote working during the height of the pandemic, and now transition to a hybrid workplace. The old considerations, like “is the air con working?” and “what’s the lighting like in there?” have been replaced by ensuring the room is equipped to host remote participants, and to give employees the space to socially distance appropriately as we work through the pandemic. Space and tech are now the priority for teams with new ways of working.

The adjustment to video technology being a standard expectation in meetings as opposed to a novelty or a nice-to-have also changed our expectations and attitudes around meetings. It introduced “You’re on mute” into our lives, and new workplace etiquette was formed, such as keeping your camera on during meetings, and not letting people see you were still wearing pyjama pants. This blurring of our personal and professional lives led to staff having to be more patient and flexible, as teams navigated home schooling, pandemic puppies who wanted attention, and staff mentally and physically adjusting to working in their living rooms and kitchen tables. During the chaos of Covid, a solid meeting organisation resource was invaluable to keeping teams connected and productive.

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Make meeting easy and improve employee experience

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Is there anything more uncomfortable than having to knock on the door of an occupied meeting room and awkwardly saying “Sorry, I think we’re actually booked to be in here”? These situations can cause conflict between team members and may make people anxious about having to confront their colleagues to leave the room. It disrupts the flow of both teams, and can also affect people’s confidence in the current meeting room booking system if they feel it isn’t working or being used consistently.

Having a strong system where staff have access to a live overview of current meeting room usage and the features of each available room will help streamline their experience of meeting organisation. This will assist with encouraging collaboration as the process is so seamless. Meeting booking workplace technology addresses all the pain points that manual meeting booking and inconsistent processes cause and provides a solution that integrates into people’s days seamlessly. Staff will accept and uptake things that make their life easier. Giving your team an easy to use solution to meeting room coordination and ensuring it flows into or simplifies their existing processes will positively contribute to the employee experience at your organisation.

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New workspace technology that can help you manage how you meet

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Ensuring you implement an intuitive meeting room booking system that staff can easily understand and access is key to encouraging them to uptake new digital systems successfully. In fact, around 92% of workers indicated that access to technology that helps them be better and more efficient in their job has an impact on their overall satisfaction at work. The Nura Space meeting booking system is easily accessed by smartphone app or the web portal, and can be integrated into your other processes, such as creating a Microsoft Teams link for those joining remotely. Single click invites can be sent to team members, letting them know when and where their next meeting is, and teams can monitor live usage of meeting rooms by the live floor plan.

If you’d like to know more about implementing a workplace management solution to improve your staff’s productivity and workplace experience, we’d love to talk to you about Nura Space.

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