There are a few things every week that are permanent fixtures on the typical employee’s calendar. It might be lunch with a co-worker every Friday, or a quick catch-up on a Monday morning to set the work agenda for the week. But many more formal meetings often take place on a fixed recurring basis, too, whether it’s every week, every month, or even every quarter.
Arranging these used to be simple: book a meeting room, fire off some calendar invitations and (aside from those who are busy), everyone turns up. However, in the age of flexible and hybrid working, this has become much more difficult. With employees working in different places at different times and attending either in-person or through video conferencing, there are many more boxes to tick to ensure these regular get-togethers run smoothly for everyone involved.
This might sound complicated, but with the right processes and technology in place, it really doesn’t have to be. In this blog, we’ll explore the five key considerations to planning for recurring meetings, and how tech can make it simple – even in the era of flexible working.
Check employee availability
The first thing to do is to check the schedule of everyone who needs to attend these recurring meetings. The more people involved, the harder it will be to find a mutually convenient time for all or most of the attendees. Without the help of technology, this would require contacting every person individually and waiting for their responses on what times work for them. However, if employee schedules are hosted within the cloud and are searchable, meeting organizers can do this independently in a matter of minutes.
Account for differing employee locations
Once you’ve established the best possible time to bring people together, you then need to consider where they will be attending from. Some will be in the office and so can come into the meeting room; some will be working from home or out in the field and will use video conferencing to connect; and some will have working arrangements so fluid that they won’t know from one meeting to the next. Understanding the likely numbers of in-person and virtual attendees at each meeting can help you plan for the following two points:
Find a suitable meeting room
With a confirmed number of in-person attendees (at least approximately), you can then search for and book a meeting room that’s suitable for the group. Getting a room that’s the right size for the number of people is more important than you might think: if a room is too small, everyone will be squeezed in and compromised; if it’s too big, then voices will echo around the room and may not be heard well by those connecting virtually. A good workspace booking platform should allow you to check the capacity of a room, look at its layout, and book for your chosen time.
Arrange for AV equipment
Ensuring that all the audio-visual equipment you need is in place is vital to providing virtual attendees with a good experience so they can make meaningful contributions. This not only means having the right software and collaboration tools in place but also deploying the right hardware such as cameras, screens, sound bars and meeting controllers to guarantee quality sound and visuals. When using a workspace booking platform to reserve a room, you can check the available equipment in each room and request with IT any other equipment to be put in place for your meeting time.
Ensure the meeting room is kept available
You might have all the arrangements in place, but sometimes the unexpected can happen, such as a co-worker occupying the meeting room you’ve reserved. This can easily occur by accident if the co-worker isn’t aware of reservation details, but meeting room screens connected to the workspace booking solution can remedy this potential issue. Your meeting details can be displayed on the screen outside the room ahead of time, helping ensure your room is clear and ready for you to start your meeting on time.
It’s not uncommon for teams big and small to have weekly or monthly meetings, so it’s important that the logistics and arrangements for these are settled so that the meetings can run smoothly. If your enterprise needs guidance on the best way to set up a meeting room booking system to organize your recurring meetings, get in touch with the team at Condeco by Eptura.
