Top tips to consider when creating a meeting room in an office

We’ve broken down the top tips for creating a meeting room space in the office that will enable your team to output more work than ever, enjoy meetings and have a central meeting point in the office.

1. Quiet Quiet Quiet

This is quite a simple tip for creating a productive meeting room. The space should be in a quiet location and in a space that doesn’t disrupt the rest of the office. This allows everyone in the meeting to think at a critical level due to no noise distractions.

At Office Blinds & Glazing we offer soundproofing from up to 38dB and 46dB for types of partitions. Soundproofing allows private and confidential conversations and allows management to be sensitive towards the whole office. 

You might bring in a client who requires a space that they can also feel relaxed in too, this provides them with clarity to think and not feel like the whole company is listening to the conversation. Visa versa it allows the central office to not be disrupted by clients, meetings and private conversations and allows everyone to be productive.

2. Offscreen reading space

This is important as the majority of time is spent behind a screen, it can be easy to walk into a meeting with your laptop, and then continue to sit behind a screen which stunts creative thinking further. 

We recommend an offscreen reading space in the meeting room and using clipboards, flip charts and paper notes. This allows conversations to flow and not be blocked behind a screen. This is a great way to keep the team interested and on topic, it will also reduce the amount of time that you spend in a meeting room, thus making you and your team more productive. This time away from a screen can help a meeting feel like a distant break from work too. This allows work separation and a stronger level of focus in conversation.

3. Privacy if needed

This flows from the first point when talking about a quiet place, it is important to create a space that is private if needs be, this could mean that you have blinds in the room that keep the work you are talking about, private. 

Also, a great practice is to make the meeting room walls out of glass, as this way you will be able to get natural sunlight to come into the room. However, this creates another issue that most overlook when designing meeting rooms. When it is just glass the main office feels involved in the meeting too. At OBG we give the option of blinds too, If natural sunlight is an issue and the only option is glass, then we can enable private mode too.

4. Technology with multi-access

This helps prevent people from bringing their laptops into a meeting. When you have a screen that everyone can access via their work details it becomes a fluid meeting with no hiccups. Employees waste 15% of their time in meetings just setting themselves up. 

A good practice is to avoid having wired connections to computers. Also, have a screen that is already set up, so employees are not wasting time playing with cables and a screen to connect to. 

5. Internet speeds

This might sound simple, but many meeting rooms suffer from poor internet connection and is an issue for getting work achieved. Typically meeting rooms are located in quiet, private, and hard-to-reach locations for internet connection. 

We advise fitting your meeting room with a wired internet connection to make sure no internet connection is dropped. Also, test your connection via this website for the best speed.

6. Refreshments and Schedule

This is a minor tip but can be very important when having longer meetings about bigger projects, having a water station can help keep everyone hydrated and stock up with healthy snacks to keep them going. 

We’ve all been sat in a meeting and had our belly rumble. This is an indication that a meeting has gone on for too long or that you are not provided with the correct refreshments to keep you going. A small fridge can be a welcomed comfort break for longer meetings or awkwardly timed meetings during lunch or the end of the day. This tip will keep your team on task and working through the meeting without dissatisfaction. It is considered that ‘brain-friendly’ foods can keep you alert and increase productivity.

7. Options to sit and stand

This could be a new concept to most, but having the option to stand in a meeting room will allow people to feel comfortable. Sitting around all meetings can stunt creative thinking and people’s attention span will be vastly reduced if they are asked to sit for the whole of it. 

Getting people on their feet is positive to allow them to feel energised and refreshed during the meeting. In addition, most will have been sitting at their desks for a long time and the welcome new environment and option to stand will help keep their brains engaged. Rather than being uninterested and more likely to cause disruption. It is heavily researched that standing meetings can boost productivity and reduce time wasting.

8. Location, location, location

Your meeting room should be in a central location, that is accessible to everyone. This way people won’t have longer walks to get there or be restricted if they have a disability. 63% consider the accessibility of meeting rooms to be the determining factor in if it’ll go ahead or not.

9. Cleanliness

This is a great way to keep the office looking professional, fun and exciting to be a part of. Having a clean and good-looking office makes employees want to turn up every day as they feel they are part of a safe space. When you have a clean meeting room it allows you to be more productive, as you are spending less time cleaning after the meeting before you. 

A clean space is an organised space, if you are more organised then you are more productive. As a public space and a usual place to take clients, a good first impression is how your meeting room looks and feels to clients. Read more about the importance of having a clean office.

It is important to keep office space unique and clean, with spaces that are easy on the eye while having company branding on them. When it comes to your meeting rooms, it’s best to keep the canvas clear, as this way you can explore more ideas together as a team than before and you aren’t being influenced by your surroundings. Also, it stops the distraction from being high, and the main focus being the meeting.

10. Team pictures

This is a great way to keep the bigger picture in meetings. It is easy to get caught up in the task and decide what needs to be done. Having a team picture in the room can help remind everyone of company values and the overall direction of the company. It keeps everyone included and feeling a part of the team even when they are not necessarily included in the meeting. It is also great for when clients come into the office, as they will feel a sense of family and that they are joining a company with a family culture.

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