September 6, 2018
7 Tips to Improve Your Conference Room Etiquette
By: Colleen Jilio-Ryan | Posted in: Conference Room
A conference room is a vital tool supporting your law practice. Your conference room etiquette says a lot about how you handle your business. As your primary meeting area, it is where you are always expected to put your best foot forward. It is also the place where much of your work is performed.
Keeping that in mind, the following tips are beneficial when it comes to maintaining proper conference room etiquette:
- Keep the Conference Room Clean
Always keep your conference room clean and ready for the next meeting. This means cleaning it thoroughly after every meeting, so it is ready at a moment’s notice. Clean all the mess such as coffee cups, bits of paper before you leave. You can ask the cleaning staff to wipe the conference table and dust off the computer monitors.
- Book or Cancel the Conference Room Early
Make reservations early; otherwise, it will be difficult to get the conference room you want. The same goes for a canceling a reservation. As soon as you discover that you need to cancel your reservation, don’t wait. This gives others an opportunity to book the room and will keep you in good standing with management.
- Schedule Your Meeting Time Accordingly
Schedule your meeting accordingly so that you have enough time for your meeting without rushing or infringing on another person’s scheduled time. Make sure you are not taking up another group’s time by extending your meeting. Vacate the conference room as soon as your meeting time slot ends. Running your meeting into others is not appreciated.
- Be Understanding
Be flexible enough to move to a different room if someone else needs the bigger space and you have a smaller group. If you have the largest room with only a few people, it’s better for you to move to a smaller room and allow a larger group to use that room. Be considerate and allow another group to use your room in an emergency situation.
- Don’t Resolve Conflicts Yourself
When conflicts arise, don’t try to hash it out yourself. Contact the receptionist and have a member of management handle the situation as they are the right people who understand all the policies and rules about conference room booking. This prevents any miscommunication or misunderstandings between the groups.
- Avoid Double Booking
Sometimes, you accidentally reserve more than one conference room while making the reservation. Make sure you are not making the mistake of booking more than one conference room. This can tie up multiple rooms and prevent others from using the space. Choose one room and double check it after you make the reservation.
- Never Use a Conference Room without Booking It
Never assume that it is permissible to use a vacant room without having a reservation. Conference rooms require a reservation for a reason. Having a reservation is key when it comes to conference room etiquette. It’s rude to turn away someone who has booked the room when you don’t even have the reservation.
Follow these conference room etiquette to ensure that the space is properly utilized and maintained.
Colleen Jilio-Ryan is the Owner of Jilio-Ryan, a Tustin based premiere law consulting firm. The firm along with its certified court reporters is dedicated to providing the highest quality deposition and litigation services to attorneys, insurance companies, and corporations. With her sincere efforts, Colleen is committed to meeting the highest standards of the legal industry, and is an industry leader when it comes to on-time court reporting and deposition scheduling.