We all likely spend a lot of time in meetings. Workscape estimates that middle managers spend about 35% of their workday in meetings, and executives spend as much as half of their day in meetings. And where do the majority of these meetings take place? Conference rooms.
First of all, we aren’t huge fans of the word “conference rooms,” because they seem to have such a negative connotation (see some of our creative naming ideas here). These rooms should promote collaboration and efficiency in your office space, and recognizing them as such is key. The space is the core of your meetings and should enhance those meetings, not take away from them. It should be a comfortable place where people can actually get work done. And that all starts with design.
Think about what your conference room is used for the majority of the time. Is it internal meetings? To accommodate clients? Prospective clients? All of the above? Use this information as you begin to design and create rooms in your office space.
Once you’ve got the essentials (a table, the right number of chairs, a whiteboard, etc.), it’s time to start thinking outside the box.
If you are starting from scratch with your conference room, make sure you take sound and lighting into consideration. Small rooms that are designed to be more comfortable require softer lighting, while a large room utilized for large meetings might require more brightness. If you are using a projector or display, you might need a way to dim the lights. If you’ll be talking on the phone often conferencing people in, make sure your sound comes across ok on both ends. If you have employees right outside the room, or rooms that back up to each other, you might want to make sure they’re soundproof.
Here are 4 other things you likely haven’t thought of when it comes to your conference rooms:
- WiFi Password – You might think this seems like one of those obvious answers, but this is more than just the idea of having a WiFi password available. WiFi is a necessity for a conference room, but how many times do visitors walk into your meetings asking for the WiFi password? This should be visible and easy for anyone to see. Consider having it on the wall, on the table, or on the TV screen. Whatever it takes to stand out, while also matching the look and feel of the room.
- Personality – Think artwork, photos, decorations, etc. Your room needs a personality. Tie it back to your company culture and purpose. This doesn’t mean just plastering your logo on the wall. What subtle elements can you bring in that show who you are as a company? Is there a specific type of table you can get? What about the centerpiece of the table? Think about the color of the walls. There are so many things you can do to give your space an edge and some personality.
- Snacks – If your conference room is often used for long meetings, lunch meetings, early morning meetings, etc. you might want to consider providing some light snacks in the room. This may be something that’s stored away until you need it, or you might want to leave it out all the time. Whatever works best for your team. Just remember, when people are hungry and only thinking about food, your meeting may not be as efficient as it could be with some full of nutrition.
- Cables and Adaptors – Okay, once again, you’ve likely thought about the idea of having cables and adaptors in your conference room (or at least, your IT guy has). But what people likely forget is it’s not just about the adapters your internal team needs, but also what visitors need to connect, too. A display monitor on the wall is only as useful as the DVI, HDMI, and VGA adapters and other connectivity equipment that go with it. Make sure there is a sufficient number of cables and adapters, and that the excess wire is bound out of sight. You could also go wireless to get rid of those wires. Again, whatever works best for your team is fine, as long as you have the proper adaptors for anyone that walks into that room.
It’s extremely important to consider your meeting environment and processes when designing your conference room(s). You want something that’s well lit, thoughtfully decorated, comfortably furnished, and well staffed with technology (and snack!) needs. A well-designed and thought-out meeting space will help to significantly enhance the experience for your team and guests, and will surely get rid of the negative “conference room” feeling.