Meeting room size is an often overlooked aspect of the physical workspace. Most companies have a designated meeting room to fit as many people as the space allows. Typically, the only thought when designing meeting rooms is to make the room as big as possible in relation to the overall workspace. Maybe there is more to consider here than just maximizing size.
Why Meeting Room Size Matters
1. Space
A common complaint in the workplace is a lack of available meeting rooms. Employees waste on average 27 hours a year looking for meeting rooms. Even with all the searching, employees can’t find meeting rooms 45% of the time. Maybe your company really does need to build more rooms, but it’s more likely a space utilization issue. If you hear this complaint often, you probably have wasted meeting room space that could be used more effectively.
Every square foot of your workspace should serve a purpose. Maximizing meeting room size typically results in rooms that are too big. If the majority of the room is never used, that’s wasted space with no purpose. More than half of all conference rooms are underutilized. Think of the possibilities for that space that could boost productivity: more workstations, technology, storage space, you name it!
2. Cost
Wasted space means wasted money. The average cost for every square foot of space is $3 for utilities, $30 for rent, and $300 for payroll. If you have space that isn’t being used, you’re throwing money away. Every square foot matters! Also think about the expense of meeting rooms. Tables and necessary technologies can cost tens of thousands of dollars alone. Why waste money on these for space that will never be used?
Meeting Room Usage
Meeting rooms are typically occupied by 4 or less people. This makes up 76% of the occupied time. In fact, 36% of the time, the room is occupied by only one person looking for a quiet, isolated space. It’s obvious that this is the opposite purpose for a room used for collaboration.
The remaining 24% of the time, the room is occupied by 5 or more people. Out of that 24%, more than 10 people are in the room only 6% of the time. Even with this many people, over half of the room typically remains unused. This is the problem with creating the biggest space possible. This tactic wastes valuable space!
Now the question is: How do we use this information to create the perfect meeting room size? Before you change anything, keep track of how many people are in each meeting room and how much space is being occupied. Sensor technology makes this information available to us, so use it if you can. Your company might have different statistics, and the above facts are just averages. For the purpose of meeting the needs of the average usage data, we’ll go through recommendations for using your space effectively.
Meeting Room Size Plan
Standard Rooms
Based on the data above, standard rooms should fit up to 4 people. The majority of your meeting rooms should be this size. That sounds unusual, right? It might not be the standard workspace plan, but it is likely the most productive. The recommended number is 4 rooms. If you have 2 rooms for 10 people instead of 4 rooms for 4 people, you’re wasting time for 2 other meetings to be going on. Make sure you have as many of these standard rooms as you need.
“Phone Booths”
Remember that the 2nd largest usage percentage came from individual use. “Phone booths” are isolated rooms designed for one person. If you have an open floor plan for your workspace, these rooms are absolutely necessary. People need alone time to minimize distractions during difficult tasks. The recommended number is 3 rooms.
Modular Spaces
This room size is the hardest one to get right. You want to accommodate your largest possible groups without wasting space. You definitely want a 20-person room (or whatever your highest meeting number is), but you don’t want to waste half of that space for the majority of larger meetings. It’s a difficult balance. Why not make a way to split the rooms in half? Get a room divider that can split your 20-person room into two 10 person rooms. That way, all of your larger meetings are accommodated. Make sure furniture is also movable in these rooms. The recommended number is two 20-person rooms (or four 10-person rooms).
The “In Between” Space
A room for 5-6 people is almost never needed. Most companies opt to scratch this room entirely and put 5-6 people meetings in the 10-person space. Think about it: This wastes about half of the space! There’s no reason to waste a big meeting room with a 5-person meeting. Since a meeting of this size is rare, only have one 5-6 person room. But don’t skip out on this important in between space!
When tracking your company’s meeting room data, you might find that your results are different from the average. The most important recommendation is to have a room for every meeting size. Make those rooms proportional to your usage data, and you’re sure to make the most of your meeting room sizes.
Photo by Beata Ratuszniak on Unsplash