Conference rooms are essential to corporate culture. You could even say conference rooms act as a kitchen for any business.
Allowing the right tools, such as a frying pan, olive oil, spices, and an oven could potentially cook up some great ideas (and potentially good chicken too!). But leave out some or all those tools, and your chicken comes out much worse, if at all. Here’s a list of essential conference room “tools” and elements.
Technology
The first thing to understand here is that conference rooms come in different forms. What's inside of a conference room encourages different kinds of collaboration. Are you trying to design a room that only parties on-site are using? Or do you want to include video conferencing capabilities? And if so, do you want the meetings to have a different device controlling it, or a display that anyone can connect to?
Conference room technology always starts with a display. Depending on how big your room is, you may not need a very large one at all. Regardless, you’ll need a display that’s big enough for everyone to see what’s on it.
If you want to leave it at only the display for a plug and present use case, that’s fine! Make sure to leave an HDMI cable in that room. You have many options otherwise! Use a room PC to control your meetings, an interactive touch panel with wireless connection, or a video bar with controller options!
Speaking of video bars, another key thing to note is if you want videoconferencing to be a feature of this room. If it’s something as simple as a meeting area in a company executive's office, it might be better off to not use it. But if it’s something like a huddle room or large gathering space, a video camera with solid audio capture is essential.
Audio is another thing to note as well. Again – how big is your conference room? If you're designing a training room, you’d be better off having microphones and speakers placed in the ceiling to ensure adequate coverage. Yet if you’re doing something like a huddle room or conference room, you’re better off having a video bar that will capture consistent audio to a given range.
Finally, make sure the technology is up to date and user-friendly. A sleek interface and fast connections are essential for any successful meeting. Having slow internet, outdated devices, or broken equipment won’t help the meeting go smoothly.
Hey you! If you're interested in more guidance on a conference room, you can check out our free meeting space guide here.
Feel
Technology may be a huge part of a conference room, but if your environment seems uninviting, that all goes out the window. A great conference room should be intimate and comforting, but also exude a feeling of professionalism. Here’s a few things that contribute to that:
- The lighting in the room should be well controlled and warmly lit.
- Privacy is a very big concern for conference rooms. Automated blackout shades and additional soundproof panels can be installed to help reduce noise and create a quiet, distraction-free environment for larger rooms. Sound masking can also be used here.
- Ergonomic furniture should be used to maximize comfort, but facilitate discussion and collaboration. This is essential if your meeting is going to be a long one.
- For a more intimate feel, keep the wall colors warm, but not distracting. You can also throw in a plant or two.
- Wall decorations help if you don’t have a large amount of windows for natural light. Consider artwork that is professional, but tasteful.
- Finally, amenities like water, snacks, and coffee can make the room more inviting and lived in.
