We are starting to progress into working in offices again, but the idea of remote working may bot fully go away. That’s why having meeting spaces that are comfortable for those working in an office, and properly equipped to communicate with remote workers and those outside of the office.
What does the perfect meeting space look like in 2020? Here are some considerations:
- Meeting room set-up
- Furniture
- Interior Design
- Communication and technology
Meeting Room Set-Up
A meeting room set-up will dictate the type of meeting hosted. It’s certainly encouraged to have multiple meeting spaces that are conducive for the different types of meetings that take place in corporate cultures. Here are a few common meeting room designs and set-ups used:
Decision-Making Meetings:
Conference Style – decision making, board meetings. These are formal meetings and because of that, the table set-up should be formal as well. This is also ideal for meetings like board meetings as well.
Team Building:
Small Groups, Circle – For team-building exercises where you break off into small teams, a small groups set-up is ideal. For a team-building exercise for larger groups, a circle may be the best set-up.
Small presentations
Chevron: The Chevron-style seating set-up is the best set-up for presentations with smaller teams within an organization.
Larger presentations
Theatre: For larger organizations, having a large presentation room will be key for department leaders to deliver information to a larger mass of employees. This is ideal for quarterly department meetings.
Collaborative and Innovation meetings
U-Shape, Semi-Circle: collaboration/innovation Table set-up for this requires an open setting that promotes easy communication with everyone at the meeting.
Furniture
Meeting room furniture goes beyond seating and tables. Here are some considerations for meeting room furniture.
Seating & Chairs for Meeting Rooms
When organizing a meeting space, there are a lot of options for seating. A lot of the seating options that are best for a specific type of meeting room. What should you consider for seating and chairs for corporate meeting spaces?
Style
The style should certainly be taken into account. Purchasing seats that can match or even upgrade the style of your office can help make your meeting room one that employees will love using.
Comfort
It should go without saying, but comfort matters when it comes to selecting seating for a corporate meeting room. This is especially important for meeting rooms that are intended to host longer meetings – for instance, brainstorming meetings or long presentations.
Type
Chair or seating type based on the style of the meeting (for instance, seating options for causal meetings may be couches or lounge chairs vs. seating for formal meetings)
- Lounge Chairs
- Rolling Chairs
- Couches
- Conference Chairs
Meeting Room Table Options
How do the shape and size of a table affect the meeting room? Here are some considerations:
- Material – What’s the difference between woods like Cherry, Oak, Rosewood, Mahogany, Maple? or what about non-wood, like Formica, stone, metals like steel, brass aluminum?
- Shape – the shape of a meeting room table can be important in relation to the dimensions of a conference room or meeting space, as well as the type of meetings hosted.
- Size – Size of the table relative to a meeting space
- Style – how does choose a table to affect the style
Interior Design
Styles for Conference Rooms
Creating a welcoming meeting room where employees and guest can feel comfortable can have a big effect on how a meeting goes. Adding decor can help make your meeting room more comfortable while adding some flair and pizza. If you’re looking for a few conference styles for inspiration, we have a few:
Contemporary Meeting Rooms
Modern-Style Meeting Rooms
Vintage Meeting Rooms
Decor
Adding wall decor be a nice touch for in-person meetings, and those who are using meeting rooms within an office. It helps add character and is a subtle way to reinforce company values.
Decor Ideas for Meeting Rooms:
- Plants
- Bookshelves
- Table centerpieces
Meeting Room Wall Decor Ideas:
- Paintings – helps add character and a sense of class
- Inspiration wall signs – helps to motivate employees and reinforce your organization’s values. You can get a customized vinyl wall decal with your favorite saying to display on your wall. Or, shop for a throw pillow to spice up the look for a company couch or chair.
Lighting
Lighting is an important feature that often overlooked. With hybrid remote meetings, lighting can be critical for communication via video conferencing.
- Lighting Style to fit the decor
- Types – overhead, lamps
- Natural lighting considerations
What’s important terms of lighting for meetings and conference rooms
Communication & Technology
With many people working from home these days, the idea of hybrid meetings, or meetings where members are split remote/in-office. Moving forward, hybrid meetings will become more common in the workplace, and because of this, technology needs to a work for team communication.
Whiteboards
The use of whiteboards in meeting spaces can help visually communicate. with those in the meeting room. For innovation and brainstorming meetings, having ample whiteboard space on a wall can help visualize ideas and processes. Some companies have whole walls that are dedicated to whiteboard space.
For hybrid meetings, consider using a digital whiteboard software to better communicate with remote workers.
Meeting room acoustics
Controlling the level of noise in the conference room can be helpful for many reasons. Meetings should not disrupt others working in the office, and using acoustics in a meeting room can help.
Meeting room booking apps
The question in offices after planning a meeting is where to meet. and if your office has others working, it can be tough to know when meeting rooms and spaces are booked. That’s why it’s important for organizations to have a meeting room booking technology to avoid overlap of meeting spaces during certain times.
Technology
Technology needs to work at all times for meetings these days. Remote workers will rely heavily on being connected to employees working in offices, and if the technology in a meeting room doesn’t work, it will affect meeting productivity. This includes screens and monitors, microphones, and wi-fi connection.
Run Better Business Meetings
We hope this blog post inspired you to upgrade your meeting room – from seating to design to technology.
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