Today’s workforce demands a modern conference room. When you have the chance to create or redesign a conference room, take the opportunity to think beyond the necessities of a table, chairs, and projector screen. Here are some tips to guide you to a room that creates more productivity.
Invest in High-Quality Audio and Video Equipment
Your conference room A/V setup should be up to date and easy to use. It needs to be powerful enough that speed, connectivity, and resolution issues won’t cause problems for presentations or video conferencing. When your equipment is prone to failure, has connection problems, or is outdated, you’re not going to be able to use your meeting space efficiently.
If you have a large conference space, where you will be hosting large events, you also might want to consider wood acoustic panels to improve the acoustics in the room. There’s no point investing in audio if all the sound is lost around the room.
Respect Personal Space
Nobody wants to walk into a fifteen-person meeting in a conference room that is made to only fit ten. If your team members have to spend time working out how to sit comfortably without pressing their elbows up against the person sitting next to them, they won’t be able to devote their full attention to the meeting.
Make sure your conference room is designed to accommodate the number of people who will actually need to use it at the same time. Furnish it accordingly and in a way that doesn’t encourage people to fill it beyond the intended capacity. If your conference room can comfortable fit ten, find ten matching, comfortable chairs and put them in the room.
Choose the Right Colors
Your brand probably has its own signature colors. The interior designers who set up your office space were probably working with a specific color scheme as well. When it comes to the colors of the walls and furnishings in your conference room, it can feel like the big decisions have already been made for you.
However, if you can bring in some new ideas and choices to your conference room design, there are some more options. Bright colors such as white, light blue, green, and yellow can make a room feel larger. A small pop of color can help to boost creativity too, especially if the existing palette is drab and uninspiring.
Invest in Movable Furniture
Some meetings are more formal, where everyone will be sitting very still and quiet at the table. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, for some businesses, effective communication does require more energy. Being able to move around, rearrange the seating, act something out or bring some elements of physicality into meetings can make all the difference to how effective a meeting can be.
Choose furniture that is lightweight, reconfigurable, or on rollers if there is any chance that your meetings might break out into an activity, or if you want the ability to easily change things up.
