With the rise of work-from-home (WFH) and hybrid schedules, you might expect the demand for government conference rooms to hit historical lows. Surprisingly, the reduction in daily in-office traffic has only magnified the same challenges faced before the pandemic. Even with fewer employees on-site, finding an available conference room—particularly for last-minute meetings or calls—remains a persistent issue.
But is the problem truly a lack of rooms? Post-pandemic, it appears the challenge lies more in the types of meeting spaces available and how government employees are adapting to these changes. Addressing these issues requires a closer look at how conference rooms are utilized and whether they meet the evolving needs of a hybrid workforce.
Examples and Statistics
A lot can be learned about government conference rooms based on the analysis of private industry. Both public and private facilities share the same concerns in the post-pandemic hybrid work environment.
According to workplace analytics company Density, even with two-thirds of office space unused at peak times, 40% of employees still spend up to 30 minutes daily searching for a meeting spot. This is partly due to the rise in meetings—up 10% annually since 2000—and the fact that 65% of meetings are unplanned or ad hoc.
Another major factor in the perceived shortage of conference rooms is the mismatch between room size and the number of meeting participants. According to Freespace, a workplace technology company, 75% of meetings involve three people or fewer. In one case study, they found that most meetings averaged just two to three participants, even in rooms designed for 18 or more people.
To address this, their client chose to keep their largest conference room for client-facing purposes and branding, but they converted two 14-person conference rooms into five smaller rooms. This adjustment better aligned with the typical size of meetings, improving space utilization.
A 2023 article highlights key changes in conference rooms since the pandemic: more advanced technology, new reservation systems, and non-traditional meeting spaces. High-quality video and lighting equipment, reliable internet, and acoustic controls have become essential features.
Reservation systems are now critical for managing availability, especially with WFH and hybrid employees only in the office for specific meetings. Informal spaces like lounges and huddle rooms provide smaller groups with suitable options, reducing the demand on larger formal meeting rooms.
Issues and Abuses
If the number of people in the office isn’t a driver of conference room use, what is?
Unnecessary Meetings
Unnecessary meetings continue to drive up the demand for meeting spaces. A staggering 83% of employees spend up to a third of their workweek in meetings. Even before the pandemic, unnecessary meetings were a persistent issue, and not much has changed. In fact, there are now even more unnecessary meetings, many of which are Zoom calls to include remote workers. Yet, 55% of remote workers admit that most meetings "could have been an email."
With meetings dominating modern office life, it's no surprise that employees still struggle to find available meeting spaces. This remains true even with many WFH employees rarely coming into the office.
Simultaneous Meetings
Large conference rooms are like insurance—you don’t need them often, but when you do, they’re invaluable. The problem is under-utilization, with small groups often occupying rooms designed for 10 to 20 people. This usually happens when there aren’t enough smaller meeting spaces or when smaller rooms are fully booked.
The issue is worsened by the tendency for meetings to cluster on the same days and time slots, creating high demand and limited availability. Hybrid work schedules can make this even more challenging, as meetings are often concentrated on specific days when hybrid employees are in the office.
Booking Abuses
Booking abuse is a common problem. Some departments reserve the same room for months at a time, blocking others from using it. Other issues include double bookings, unused reserved rooms, cancelled meetings left on the calendar, and reserving multiple rooms for the same meeting. Outdated booking systems that don’t update in real-time or allow access to all employees only make matters worse.
While modern reservation systems can address some of these challenges, clear booking policies and proper employee training are often enough to solve the basic issues. Simple guidelines can go a long way in ensuring fair and efficient use of meeting spaces.
New Ideas and Possible Solutions
How should government departments rethink their conference room use?
There are three possibilities:
No Advance Bookings
Density conducted an experiment by removing advance booking for conference rooms. They found this increased availability and made room use more efficient, reducing one-person meetings and encouraging more four- to six-person ones. By addressing booking abuse directly, the approach was so effective it became their standard practice, though they still allow advance booking for high-profile, large meetings.
Outsource the “All-Hands” Meeting
From our experience programming government buildings and courthouses, small to medium-sized departments often focus on the "all-hands meeting," sizing their largest conference rooms to fit their entire team. However, in the era of WFH and hybrid work, how often are such meetings truly necessary? For very large groups, this approach isn’t practical and can be an inefficient use of taxpayer dollars.
A better alternative might be a limited number of large cross-departmental or county-wide meeting rooms, though these can still face significant booking abuse. Outsourcing large meetings to a nearby hotel, coworking space, or banquet room can be more cost-effective in the long run. It also supports the local economy and may provide a better experience for employees, potentially encouraging more WFH and hybrid staff to attend in person.
Conversion to Other Spaces
Of the three possibilities discussed in this blog, this is our strongest recommendation. Based on the statistics mentioned earlier, many medium to large conference rooms should be repurposed into smaller, more flexible meeting spaces. Huddle rooms, getaway rooms, work lounges, and other informal meeting areas are far better suited to the post-pandemic workplace. More importantly, these spaces address the issue of under-utilized conference rooms, helping to optimize the entire office floor plan.
Final Thoughts
COVID has reshaped how employers and employees hold meetings and use conference rooms. While fewer employees are in the office, the frequency of small meetings has increased, driven by the need to collaborate with WFH and remote team members. Yet, the persistent issues with conference rooms remain. Perhaps this is a positive development, as it brings long-overlooked inefficiencies from before the pandemic into focus.
The future of workplace meetings lies in smaller, more flexible spaces that encourage quick collaboration. Huddle rooms are ideal for impromptu team discussions, while getaway rooms offer a quiet spot for Zoom calls without disrupting others. Work lounges and informal meeting areas are equally valuable, especially with fewer employees in the office on any given day. When paired with clear reservation policies and sensible usage guidelines, these smaller spaces can help reduce booking abuse and availability challenges. Most importantly, they align far better with the needs of the post-pandemic workplace than traditional conference rooms, offering a more efficient and adaptable solution for modern work environments.
