Six tips for optimising your meeting room

A thoughtfully designed meeting room enhances participants' ease of use, increases productivity and enriches your company's Employee and Visitor Journey. In this blog, we will provide six tips for optimising your meeting room design and take a look at technologies that contribute to an efficient meeting culture.

When setting up a meeting room, it is best to consider the function of the room first. What meetings will be held there? Will the meeting room be used for formal meetings or creative brainstorming sessions? The function of the meeting room is a good starting point to determine the most suitable meeting setup (open or closed), the type of furniture you need and the technologies you want to use.

A modern meeting room has to meet several conditions to accommodate the needs of the New Way of Working. A high-quality video conferencing system and an intuitive presentation system have become indispensable, as are room booking displays for efficient room management.

Here is a brief overview of some of the technologies that any modern meeting room cannot do without:

Presentation system: digital presentation screen

Efficient meetings hinge on a well-functioning and intuitive presentation system. After all, a high-quality system improves your efficiency, while stimulating the creativity, dynamics and interactivity of your meeting.

Many companies opt for a digital presentation screen. The readability of your presentation is guaranteed, while your meeting room is infused with a modern and professional look ;-) An additional advantage of a digital presentation screen: when the screen is idle, you can use it to communicate dynamic messages to your employee, visitor or customer. This may include messages to highlight your company culture, as well as practical information such as the Wi-Fi password or explanations on how to use the video conferencing system.

An important final point to consider: go for a plug & play system so everyone can get started right away. The BYOD mentality is hot and everyone expects seamless integration with their laptop, tablet or smartphone!

Video-conferencing system

In this day and age, a well-functioning and intuitive video conferencing system in the office and meeting rooms is indispensable. We recommend selecting one system and implementing it throughout your organisation. This will help your employees become familiar with how the system works, lowering the barrier for actually using the system.

Other important parameters when choosing a good video-conferencing system are image and sound quality, a stable network and sufficient bandwidth. 

^{Oleon opts for Logitech's video conferencing system combined with the Logitech Tap for control}

Room booking displays

Finding an available meeting room or cancelled meetings where the room was not released: optimal space management can be a challenge. Once again, technology comes to the rescue.

Room booking displays are compact screens at the entrance to your meeting room that display the day's occupancy at a glance. If the meeting room is occupied, the screen turns red to prevent the meeting from being interrupted.

The room booking displays are linked to the calendar system requiring employee check-in at the start of the meeting. If no check-in is registered, the space is automatically released on the calendar and available for another meeting!

^{Etex is committed to roombooking displays at the entrance of each meeting room for optimal room management.}

Just like all the other spaces in your office, your meeting room should exude your brand identity. Translating your brand identity into the design of your meeting room will ensure employees and (potential) customers immediately know what your company stands for. A good office branding in other words, is crucial to immerse employees, visitors and customers in your corporate culture. In short: align the design and your meeting room with your corporate identity: that is how you make a difference!

Tip: be sure to use the presentation screen in the meeting room as an (internal) communication tool as well, see also above.

A general rule of thumb: provide a minimum size of 2 m2 per participant. Meeting rooms of 4 m2 are ideal for one-on-one meetings. Consider whether you prefer a closed or open meeting room and what the purpose of the meeting room will be (see tip 1).

^{Choose the best setup and technologies depending on the purpose of your meeting room and the number of participants. Source photo: Logitech}

It is important for meeting participants to be comfortable, so be sure to pay adequate attention to the process of choosing the right chairs and tables. Invest in durable and ergonomic desk and meeting chairs. The price tag might be a bit higher, but these sustainable variants tend to last longer, saving you money in the long run!

Be sure to consider the shape of the table as well. For a space where a lot of video conferencing takes place, a drop-shaped or oval table is recommended because it ensures that everyone is always clearly visible on camera.

Few things are more annoying than a video conference where the quality of the audio is lacking. Sound quality is determined not only by the quality of the speaker, but by the acoustics of the meeting room as well.

For the best capture of sound, go for sound-absorbing aids such as acoustic moss balls, ceiling panels and the right flooring.

^{The right ceiling and floor covering works wonders and also contributes to your brand identity. Source photo: Rockfon}

Ready to transform your meeting rooms?

Would you like personal advice or more information about the possibilities?

Wim is happy to help: wdebal@dobit.com!