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The way in which we work and do business has continued to evolve over time. Trends have come and gone, technologies have advanced, and we no longer need to be chained to our desks. However, one thing remains constant: people need to meet, network and share ideas. They need a space, which is designed to provide utmost productivity – the meeting room.
Why Are Meeting Rooms Important?
These spaces are ideal for physically uniting a team of people. They are designed to keep confidential information and conversations behind closed doors, and can act as collaboration stations for creating and brainstorming new ideas, discussing ongoing projects or taking care of sensitive business topics. As more and more people are choosing to work remotely, they also serve as a great way to create a more connected culture in the workplace – having great video-conferencing technology is a must to enable online meetings with both employees onsite and off. They also allow for less emails to go back and forth and can be the go-to space for teams and departments. Meetings rooms can also empower you to make a great impression. However, for a meeting room to be this productive space, it’s important that it’s well-designed, with the right equipment and technology and appropriate furnishing that creates an atmosphere to be so. This leads nicely onto our next discussion point.
How To Design Great Meeting Rooms
The first important steps to ensuring a well-designed meeting room for more effective and creative meetings, is to understand the needs of the people who are going to be using it, and to consider the room layout and equipment required.
The most important rule of the design, is that one room does not fit all. Depending on the purpose of the meeting, you may need a focus room, for one-on-ones and conference calls, or a huddle room, for information meetings and brainstorm sessions with small groups, a small meeting room, for official internal meetings or a large meeting room, for bigger meetings. Each of these rooms serves its own purpose and should be reserved accordingly. There is an increasing trend toward more interactive meeting ice breakers with shorter programs, frequent shifts in activity and more breakout sessions. The IACC’s recent research report, Meeting Room of the Future, showed that 66% of co-working spaces to become a key part of the office space selection process.
Other important elements of flexible meeting spaces to consider are: having larger open spaces to people have the freedom to move around for more hands-on activities, have moveable furniture so that participants can feel free to move things around as needed, have a more casual and homely design to appear less stuffy and formal, and, importantly, have digital unity. Broadband connections should be in every room and accessible from everywhere to live stream content, give presentations or connect with those working remotely. One type of workspace in particular, which is making it easier for freelancers, entrepreneurs and smalls businesses to have all these elements readily at their fingertips, is coworking spaces.
Why Meeting Rooms In Coworking Spaces Work
Coworking spaces are great to work in a non-traditional setting, as opposed to the traditional office of a single organization. They tend to be more collaborative, designed to be homely and are growing in popularity with emerging benefits. As rental and property prices continue to sky-rocket around the world, coworking spaces pose to be a solution to the many challenges faced by startups and freelancers. They provide an all-inclusive workspace, with meeting rooms, wifi, networking opportunities and all the necessary amenities. Most coworking spaces use an online tool to book rooms. Once you become a member, you will have access to that tool and the booking tools will show you what others have booked, as well as your own bookings, providing a seemingly easy way to host and join productive meetings.
The workplace landscape is evolving fast. Millennials are moving into the decision-making positions, and more businesses are likely to benchmark from the likes of modern workplaces, Google and Facebook. Workspaces and meeting rooms are set to become less formal and more flexible to mirror the new millennial generation of workers. More people are looking for the freedom to work remotely. However, with flexible meeting rooms that provide both the functionality and design for creative and productive meetings – these spaces will continue to encourage a more collaborative nature and collective culture between employees in person, and people in general. This is so important as we become ever increasingly distant with the use of technology, and social media, in our day to day lives.
