The Best Ways to Set-Up Your Conference Room

Conference Room Solutions

Raise your hand if you love a good meeting!

No one? That’s unfortunate because here’s the hard truth: meetings are an essential and unavoidable facet of professional life. Big, important decisions are made in meetings. Ideas are shared, relationships are formed, and deals are made around a conference room table.

If you have a job, chances are you will go to meetings.

That also means if you own a business or are an employer of any size, you’re going to host meetings. In fact, you’re going to host meetings that folks are less than excited to attend. There’s considerable skill involved in hosting a successful meeting, but did you know that getting your conference room right is part of the equation? Let’s take a closer look at how conference room solutions have an impact on the outcome of meetings and how Indoff can help.

Location, Location, Location

The location you choose for your meeting needs to suit the number of people attending, the topic, the time of day, the format of the meeting, and many other factors. Here are just a few examples of the impact of location:

  • Creativity. Some locations simply aren’t conducive to creativity. If the purpose of your meeting is to generate ideas, collaborate, and create, you don’t want to hold that meeting in a dungeon where good ideas go to die. You’ll want a dynamic, light, bright space that fosters
  • Space. If the room is too big for your group, participants feel lost and disjointed, making it difficult to collaborate and encourage participation. Conversely, if your space is too small, folks feel crowded, antsy, and anxious to leave. Your location needs to be right-sized.
  • Technology. We’re going to address tech more later, but you’ve got to keep tech in mind when you choose your location. If you’re expecting a long meeting where all attendees have their laptops present and you’re also bringing voices in remotely, your conference room must be able to smoothly accommodate all the tech required to pull that off. That means plenty of power outlets, generous bandwidth, good lighting, and all the rest.
  • Participation. Is this a meeting where one facilitator is simply sharing information with attendees or is this a meeting where folks will participate heavily? Will there be moving around or will people just sit and listen?
  • Mood. What will the general tenor of the meeting be? Is the topic serious? Do you expect conflict or intense debate? Choosing a familiar location on your home turf is often preferable for these types of meetings.

Getting the location right might not guarantee a successful outcome, but getting it wrong spells trouble for any meeting before it’s begun.

Layout

Once you’ve selected your location, it’s time to think about how you plan to set up the room. You’ve got several choices for setting up the furniture in a conference room, including the following:

Boardroom

Boardroom style involves one large table surrounded by chairs on all sides. Everyone seated around the table has good visibility, participation and discussion are easily accommodated, and it’s not hard to integrate tech or visual aids into presentations. Attendees can write and use laptops on the table. The larger the table, the more difficult things become, so it’s best to keep the table size down and limit participants.

U-Shape

U-shaped style is similar to boardroom style, but rather than one large table, the layout features at least three tables set up in a U shape. The U-shape draws attention to the open end, making it especially effective for video presentations or single-speaker events.

Hollow Square

The hollow square layout involves four tables setup in a square shape. Attendees sit along the outside perimeter and a facilitator may work in the middle. This layout is often used for small meetings that involve even smaller groups and the facilitator can easily move between all sides of the square from their position in the middle. A hollow square layout works best with a meeting of fewer than 20 people and is not the right choice for video conferencing or remote attendees.

Classroom

A classroom setup involves placing tables in rows with chairs all facing the same direction, placing the focus at the front of the room for speakers or visual presentations. This layout is good for participation, but collaboration is difficult.

Banquet

The banquet layout is basically like classroom with several tables, but instead of orienting chairs only on one side to all face the same direction, chairs are placed all around each table, creating individual groups at each table. This layout is often used in large spaces and offers considerable flexibility. It’s also more casual than other layouts.

Auditorium or Theater

This is just what it sounds like: many rows of chairs set up to face a stage or screen. This setup works for one-way sharing and large meetings. There are no tables with this setup, only chairs.

Your business may want to have multiple conference rooms that feature different layout possibilities so you can accommodate different types of meetings. The team at Indoff will get to know your business and help you create meeting spaces that work for you and your team.

The Other Stuff

Regardless of location or layout, all conference rooms have these common elements:

  • Comfort. Meeting rooms need to be comfortable. That starts with good chairs that roll, swivel, and provide plenty of back support. Other features such as good lighting, temperature controls, windows and shades, and possibly extras like a coffee station also contribute to comfort.
  • Quiet and a measure of privacy. Important stuff happens in conference rooms. You don’t need your conference room to be shut up tight like a vault, but you want to ensure that what happens there can stay there.
  • Flexibility. The more flexible your space can be, the more it will get used. Indoff can help you find furniture and fixtures that will maximize the flexibility of your common areas so that you can make the most of them.
  • Scheduling. A room scheduling system will help your team share the space seamlessly.
  • Tech. A modern conference room needs to be equipped with everything you need to communicate with folks inside and outside. Your conference room tech should include video conferencing monitors and equipment, screen sharing, digital displays, adjustable lighting, lots of power outlets, and generous bandwidth. An IT professional dedicated to supporting your conference rooms is also helpful, as is backup tech for when something goes wrong.

Are You Ready for Better Meetings?

Meetings are inevitable. Make yours better by upgrading your conference rooms with the help of your Indoff partner. We’ll help you determine your meeting room needs and set you up with the right furniture, lighting, and tech to make it all happen. Find a local Indoff representative and get started today.

Courtney Brazell

Courtney joined Indoff in 2010. She brings years of experience in project management and tech solutions and is responsible for supporting our Partners’ sales efforts.

Phone: (314) 997-1122 ext. 1291
courtney.brazell@indoff.com

Josh Long

Josh joined Indoff in 2013 as part of the acquisition of Allied Appliance, a nationwide appliance distributor. He is responsible for the day-to-day management of our appliance division that is comprised of Allied Appliance and Absocold, a manufacturer of refrigerators and microwaves that Indoff acquired in 2017.

Phone: (314) 997-1122 ext. 1107
josh.long@indoff.com

Jim Malkus

Jim joined Indoff in 1988 after spending 5 years at Ernst & Young, where he specialized in audit and accounting for privately-held businesses. Jim is responsible for the day-to-day management of Indoff.

Phone: (314) 997-1122 ext. 1203
jim.malkus@indoff.com

John Ross

John’s background includes the start up and acquisition of several successful business ventures, and he provides strategic planning and overall corporate governance.

Phone: (314) 997-1122 ext. 1201
john.ross@indoff.com