It may seem like a given but setting up a conference room can help or hurt both collaboration and productivity. The way a conference room is set up for a small or large meeting will impact how presentations are displayed (and how much they engage attendees), if speakers can properly be heard, if individuals are close enough to communicate but spaced out enough for personal comfort.
In this blog, we provide a quick guide to creating the ultimate conference room setup.
1/ Key Components of a Good Conference Room Setup
There are a variety of conference room setups, and you’ll likely encounter many of these within a single workplace. Below are five common setups to keep in mind before we dive into the key components.
a) Five Common Conference Room Setups
U-shape
This setup is ideal for presentations and video conferencingas it directs focus to the front of the room. This is the more traditional conference room setup where you leverage a large table and a video screen (placed at one end of the table).
Boardroom
This room setup features a large table with chairs arranged around it and is typically used for meetings, discussions, or presentations among small to medium-sized groups. It’s also often used for executive or formal business settings.
Auditorium
For meetings with a large number of participants, this conference setup is more typical when a single speaker is the focus. Usually this setup involves a wide-winged room with rows of chairs or tables with chairs (in case employees are wanting to take notes or need to work as part of the session), and a forward-facing layout where the seated individuals are focused on the speaker and their presentation (if applicable).
Banquet
Another large conference room layout, the banquet style is often seen when large conferences that combine entertainment and seated dining. Usually this setup is utilized for award dinners, company holiday parties and other food-and-connect type events.
Hollow square
Probably the most commonly encountered conference room setup outside a U-shape, the hollow square set up is the ideal choice for larger collaborative meetings where each attendee needs to see, hear, and interact with one another.
b) What conference room setup components are key to success?
When it comes to the elements of a good conference room setup, there are a few key things to keep in mind.
- Room Layout – This includes the physical design of the conference room itself. This element is key when evaluating personal space, focal points, activity and sound clarity. It’s also key to determine which rooms will or won’t work based on attendee volume.
- Furniture Layout – Size isn’t the only thing that matters. What is done with it is even more critical. Furniture and seating layouts are critical to comfort, personal mobility, keeping attendees engaged, and ensuring a conference room is setup to drive focus where it needs to go. When considering furniture layout this includes things like table shapes, the quality of the seating provided, seating arrangements, and where they are positioned. The great news is that executing the layout for a conference room setup is easy with Resource Central's booking software nd the Outlook add-in.
- Lighting – This may seem obvious, but if a room is poorly lit or it’s too bright, there is no way anyone will be able to properly engage with the meeting resources and other attendees. Investing in good lighting is key to ensuring the space is bright enough to make it easy to see video screens, read handouts, and see other attendees. It’s also important to consider adjustable lighting when a conference room may leverage TV screens throughout a presentation, to indicate when there are changes in speakers or meeting activities, and to support a sense of calm and positivity.
- Access to Power and Wi-Fi – Probably the most important element to a good conference room setup is ensuring access to outlets and sufficient bandwidth. In today’s world, the workplace is heavily powered by technology so it’s key to support any video or auditory tools with a safe, secure power supply, and have a good wi-fi setup for conference rooms. Some offices will opt to supply conference rooms with a wired internet connection, while others will leverage a separate SSID or a dual-band router.
2/ Space Optimization in Conference Rooms
With the above components in mind, it’s actually pretty easy to setup a good conference room space. And in many offices, modular furniture setups can make it easier to create a variety of conference room layouts in the same space. The importance of space optimization and flexible furniture solutions come into play here, and it’s why having multi-functional spaces in a workplace is a good idea.
Offices with an assortment of different room sizes can utilize the space in more than one way, allowing for greater optimization of resource and space usage long-term. Occupancy space sensors can actually be a really easy and efficient way to help determine if a room is ideal for multiple layouts and flexible furniture setups.
3/ Practical Tips for an Efficient Conference Room Setup
When using a conference room, the layout is key for setup but so too is security and accessibility. Some practical tips in mind to make a conference room easy to use are:
- Troubleshoot and check all technologies in advance
- Consider having IT support on hand during the conference to address any real-time issues that could arise, as well as to assist attendees who may be having struggles with Wi-Fi connection or any interactive elements
- Make sure guidance is clear and present to ensure attendees can get to the right conference room, as well as keep track of any breaks for lunch or special breakout discussion sessions. Digital conference room signage is an easy way to provide visual pathways and reminders.
- Plan ahead for any security considerations and ensure you have visitor management procedures in place to provide a safe, welcoming experience.
4/ How to Choose the Ideal Conference Room Setup?
Hopefully, this guide was helpful to understanding how to properly set up a conference room for an effective and collaborative session. At the end of the day, we like to recommend asking these five questions when determining which conference room setup is the right choice.
- How many attendees can you expect?
- Is group interaction and/or discussion important for the meeting?
- Will there be a facilitator, moderator, or key speaker?
- Does the meeting require any special technology capabilities like video conference, a presentation display screen or call system?
- Is it important to provide a power supply to attendees or do you just need a setup with outlets for a key presentation or video setup?
- What is the focal point of the meeting?
Ultimately, these six questions along with the best practices we walked through above should make it easy to choose and implement conference setups.
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