Time is the only asset that never scales. Yet a disproportionate amount of it is lost in meetings that should be straightforward but are instead derailed by avoidable friction — particularly in videoconferencing. Poorly configured meeting rooms, inconsistent technology, and low staff confidence with tools quietly drain hours every week.

This article breaks down the top five biggest meeting timewasters seen in SME environments, why they persist, and how a properly designed modern meeting room solution eliminates them.

1. “Can You Hear Me?” — Audio Failures at the Start of Meetings

The single most common meeting timewaster is audio that simply does not work as expected. Microphones not selected, speakers muted, laptops fighting with room audio, or participants dialling in by phone as a workaround.

Five minutes lost at the start of every meeting compounds quickly across a leadership team.

Why this happens:

• Inconsistent audio devices between meeting rooms

• Staff unsure which microphone or speaker to select

• Poor room acoustics not designed for conferencing

How modern meeting rooms fix it: A modern meeting room uses dedicated, always-on audio hardware with intelligent microphones and echo cancellation. Users join the meeting and speak — no device switching, no guessing. Consistency across meeting rooms means muscle memory replaces confusion.

2. Screen Sharing Chaos and Cable Scrambling

Meetings stall when someone cannot share their screen. Wrong cable. Wrong adapter. Wrong display selected. Or worse — the screen shares but nobody in the room can see it.

This is not a user problem; it is a room design problem.

Why this happens:

• Legacy HDMI-only setups in USB-C and wireless-first workplaces

• Multiple screens with unclear routing

• No standard approach across meeting rooms

How modern meeting rooms fix it: Modern meeting room solutions support wireless and wired screen sharing, with clear, consistent behaviour in every room. One button to present. One screen layout. No adapters passed around the table. The meeting continues without interruption.

3. Camera Issues That Undermine Engagement

Meetings waste time when participants are effectively invisible. Poor camera angles, incorrect framing, or cameras pointing at empty chairs reduce engagement and force repetition.

In hybrid meetings, this creates a two-tier experience where remote attendees are second-class participants.

Why this happens:

• Fixed webcams bolted to monitors

• No consideration of room size or seating layout

• Manual camera controls that staff avoid touching

How modern meeting rooms fix it: Modern meeting rooms use intelligent cameras with auto-framing and speaker tracking. Everyone is seen clearly without manual adjustment. Hybrid meetings become genuinely collaborative, reducing the need to repeat points or re-run discussions.

4. Platform Confusion: Teams, Zoom, Meet — Pick One (Or Don’t)

Time is routinely wasted debating which platform to use, logging into the wrong account, or discovering the room only works properly with one application.

SMEs rarely standardise perfectly — and meeting rooms should not force them to.

Why this happens:

• Meeting rooms configured for a single platform

• Users unclear how to switch between platforms

• Personal laptops compensating for room limitations

How modern meeting rooms fix it: A modern meeting room is platform-agnostic. Teams, Zoom, Google Meet — all work in the same way. Users join meetings exactly as they do from their laptop, with the room enhancing the experience rather than constraining it.

5. Meetings Starting Late Because Nobody “Owns” the Room

When no one feels confident using the meeting room, meetings start late by default. Senior staff wait. Junior staff hesitate. IT gets called — or worse, bypassed entirely.

This is one of the most expensive timewasters because it affects the most valuable people in the business.

Why this happens:

• Overly complex room controls

• Infrequently used or unreliable setups

• No training because the system is unintuitive

How modern meeting rooms fix it: Modern meeting rooms are designed to be self-explanatory. One touch to join. One consistent interface. Minimal options. When rooms work every time, ownership becomes irrelevant — meetings start on time.

Why SME Directors Should Care About Meeting Room Design

Meeting rooms are not a “nice to have” — they are productivity infrastructure. Every inefficiency is multiplied by:

• The number of attendees

• The seniority of those attendees

• The frequency of recurring meetings

For SMEs, poorly designed meeting rooms silently erode margins through lost time and reduced decision quality.

A modern meeting room solution does not just improve videoconferencing. It restores confidence, consistency, and momentum to meetings that should drive the business forward.

If your meeting rooms regularly waste time, the issue is not your people. It is the room.