Last Updated on April 18, 2024 by Umer Malik
Meeting Spaces – and any other flexible meeting space – are all those spaces that are designed for informal meetings that can be done colleague to colleague, for a more personal communication. Perfect for discussing ideas and delving into topics with colleagues or classmates. Meeting spaces are becoming a popular addition to every modern workspace. After being equipped with the right technology, a meeting space will become a powerful workstation for small work teams.
Learn more about meeting spaces and their benefits below
Small meeting rooms are the result of changing demographics and financial mandates to make efficient use of space. They continue to drive change in the way we meet. Traditional conference rooms continue to play an important role for larger meetings.
However, breakout rooms and spaces are proliferating as an important way to hold more immediate and up-close encounters. Finding the right balance between the two can produce an increase in productive work time and a decrease in wasted space.
Small Meeting Rooms: Who Needs Them?
Yes, huddle rooms are all the rage. However, they are more than just a design trend. Small meeting rooms offer attractive business benefits, especially cost savings. Breakout rooms are the antithesis of the formal conference room Dubai.
They are small, convenient meeting spaces that allow a few employees to get together quickly. They eliminate cumbersome booking processes. The priority is the specific conversation. Small meeting spaces ditch walls and serve the same purpose in open spaces. Either way, breakout areas facilitate casual closeness and encourage collaboration.
How to Set Up Meeting Rooms and Why You Should Use Them
In 2003 an IT management company named them this way.2 Today, these spaces that encourage teamwork spread like wildfire. Industry analysts estimate that there are 20 to 25 breakout rooms for every video breakout room. With an estimated 1.5 to 2 million video group rooms in the world, the number of breakout rooms is expected to reach 30 to 50 million.3
Breakout Room Key Features
Industry watchers agree: huddle rooms are on the rise. A few key features define huddle rooms. They contrast with the typical conference rooms. Regardless of installed furniture or technology, small meeting rooms are:
Small and private. In general they have capacity for between 2 and 5 people.
Informal. Do you need to have a short conversation with your colleagues? Breakout rooms let you use them when you need them. Freedom from planning is a key factor.
Versatile. Small meeting spaces are available when you need them to support any business objective. They have a variety of furnishings, equipment, and technology to support those needs.
The main thing is spontaneous collaboration. Breakout rooms allow for the spontaneous and collaborative flow of information.
They encourage productive work by offering an enclosed and quiet space for:
- Plan team meetings
- Meetings with clients
- Brainstorming sessions
- Staff meetings or individual meetings of managers and employees
- Give one-on-one or small group presentations
- Private space for traveling/remote employees
Why are small meeting rooms becoming more and more popular?
It is not new that entrepreneurs meet informally to generate ideas, strategies and plans. Today, however, several key trends are driving the desire to have a space to do so. Among them are:
- open plan
- Mobile technology
- Increase in collaboration workflows
- changing demographics
- Financial pressure to make efficient use of space
- open plan
Trend-setting Silicon Valley companies pioneered the open floor plan. It has open workspaces, free of partitions. There are no cubicles with raised walls. Open plans are a natural match for the mobile mindset: a preference to use personal devices and spend less time in the office. During the last decade they have been replacing cubicles. Today, about 70% of offices in the United States include some type of open floor plan.
The open plan is praised as it improves collaboration. It encourages the flow of information in the workplace. Adopted for cost-saving advantages, open layouts maximize existing space while minimizing costs. This is helpful in the age of increased telecommunication, when cubicles are used less.5 Open space also eliminates areas used for informal conversations. The private office. They are partially closed cubicles. Employees, in turn, were looking for closed spaces to meet with colleagues. The solution: the small meeting room.
Mobility
Mobile technology has revolutionized when, where and how we work. With more employees across all industries traveling or working remotely, there are fewer working all the time in the office. This leaves office spaces vacant.6 Those in the office often choose their own devices over a company-provided desktop PC. The breakout room offers a solution that increases productivity and saves costs. When remote workers and commuters are in the building, breakout rooms serve as offices that were once unused.
Increase in collaboration workflows
The value of collaboration continues to grow. Therefore, companies increasingly rely on geographically distributed work teams. Traditional conference rooms, in theory, can accommodate two or three groups working on different projects. However, this leads to distractions, loss of privacy, and reduced productivity. The alternative is to allow one group at a time to reserve and use this large meeting room. However, this can cause delays, rushed or incomplete conversations. Again, breakout rooms are the logical solution.
Changing demographics
Millennials, the 55 million American adults between the ages of 18 and 34, came of age surrounded by technology. They make up 30% of today’s workforce (the largest segment).7 They didn’t have to adapt to new technologies.8 They were born with them. This is having a dramatic impact on the American workplace. Millennials undoubtedly have different work styles and expectations than previous generations. They hope to take full advantage of the most modern technological tools.
Millennials are highly motivated by relationships with their peers. They crave collaboration, work better in teams, and like to receive frequent feedback. They are passionate about working with the latest technology.9 Millennials are expected to make up 40% of the workforce by 2020 and 75% by 2025. The need to support a team-based workplace climate will likely continue to grow.10 Small meeting spaces offer an ideal venue for this type of interaction.
Little use of premium conference rooms
By design, standard conference rooms are meant to hold large numbers of people. In general, they are equipped with the best quality audiovisual technologies. These rooms, often furnished to impress, represent the brand for meetings with important clients, suppliers and other partners. However, in the absence of breakout rooms, small groups of employees often reserve these rooms for internal meetings. With the advent of small meeting rooms, companies can better utilize facilities for presentations and conferences, while eliminating scheduling conflicts.11
Small spaces with big benefits
The forces behind the rise in huddle spaces and huddle rooms are clear. The benefits that these spaces bring are also clear and extensive. Benefits of small meeting space include:
- Preserve meeting rooms for proper use
- Allow efficient use of space
- Offer available space for a geographically distributed workforce.
- Offer focus areas within open floor plans
- Allow spontaneous meetings to satisfy immediate meetings
- Increase effective teamwork and collaboration
- Support the work style of today’s workforce
- Encourage creativity and problem solving
- Improve efficiency and productivity
How to Prepare and Equip Rooms for Effective Small Meetings
The qualities that make huddle rooms so valuable also make them difficult to equip. Small meeting rooms are often poorly understood, poorly organized, and underappreciated spaces.12 One of the biggest risks companies run is treating employees.
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