Whether your company is large or small, at some point, as your meetings evolve, you’ll need to set up some sort of conference room (be it onsite or remotely). Implementing some sort of A/V solution to allow your employees to be able to easily connect with each other & the outside world. Here are some tips to help you craft the perfect conference room.
1- Picking the best A/V Solution for your needs
Conference rooms are only as good as the audio/video solution you implement. One that’s too advanced or cumbersome to use can cause issues for simple meetings while ones that are too simple can be obstacles to your meetings. The ideal conference room allows you to connect easily & seamlessly all while being functional & feature-rich without being overbearing.
Now the best solution depends on a few factors:
-
Features
-
Budget
-
Ecosystem
Take a moment to consider what you need out of the A/V system. Do you need it to integrate with Google calendar, be able to call out to landlines, be compatible with Macs & PCs, and so on? Once you’ve developed a set of features you need to shop around with some of the top services out there & compare pricing based on your budget. It’s worth investing both in the hardware & service you go with as it’ll go a long way & help assure your employees are happy when it comes to their meeting experiences. Lastly, consider your ecosystem are your users primarily mac based? Is there a need to present mobile devices, and so on? There’s not necessarily a silver bullet for this as many factors come into play, but here are some of the top solutions currently in the market to give you an idea of what’s out there.
Network Right recommended A/V solutions
-
Zoom Rooms (All-in-one solutions)
-
Google Hangouts (If you are heavily invested in the Google space)
2- Out of sight out of mind
It goes a long way to ensure your conference rooms are tidied & efficiently set up so that cables are accessible when needed & out of sight when not. Cable management such as zip ties, cable runners, and so on are great ways to tuck away cables from your A/V system while also making the room cleanlier & safer for anyone coming in. Having simple hardware such as laptop & phone chargers also go a long way when it comes to conference rooms since people can be in said rooms for some time. It’s about providing convenience in a neatly packaged way. Ideally, it’s simple enough for anyone to come in start their meeting, connect their laptop if needed, and carry on with their day/presentation.
Tips:
-
Leave a box full of chargers or adapters on the table readily available
-
Invest & consider cable management when building out the A/V system (how cables will run, where are wireless components an option, etc)
3- Room booking systems
A great complement to your actual conference room system is room booking tools. These can be achieved, for instance, by using tablets such as iPads mounted outside the rooms to showcase when conference rooms are opened or booked. While some A/V systems offer this, there are plenty of 3rd party tools that integrate with Google Calendar, for example, to display your meeting times outside the room so there’s no confusion around the room availability. This simple but effective investment goes a long way in assuring the flow of meetings goes well & organized.
Some we recommend looking into:
4-Decent network connection
A great A/V system is only as good as the network it relies on to take the high-def video & calls. If the network connection feeding the A/V system—be it wi-fi or hardwired—isn’t great, to begin with, you’ll experience lag or, worse yet, dropped calls. Technical difficulties are no fun during a presentation so assuring your source connection is decent is always a good start. Even for local or in-house meetings where an A/V system may not be used it is ideal to ensure the participants have decent wi-fi in said conference rooms & so on to conduct their in-person meetings.
(See why your office wi-fi sucks)
Network Right Tip:
When possible, hardwire your A/V hardware. Wired connections tend to provide a more reliable network connection
5-Get Creative!
The best part about conference rooms is you get to customize them to match the theme of your office. Whether you’re going for minimal & professional vibes or something more on theme with your company. Getting the right furniture, decor, and even optimizing the A/V setup to match your space is key. Having fun & creative space for meetings goes a long way & showcases some personality for the business. Every conference room is different just as is every company so build your rooms to reflect that.
Now you’re five tips closer to building out a great conference room!
Need a consult & recommendations toward building out your conference rooms? Feel free to reach out to the Network Right team to have us come out & help implement the perfect conference room for your business!
