If you run a team or a business, we bet that you’re constantly trying to stay on top of the most innovative and unique ideas.
Keeping track of the trends and incorporating new technology when possible can help you to stay in touch with what’s new and ensure that you’re being as productive as you can!
Modern meeting spaces are some of the best business investments you can make. Having a fresh take on meetings can help your employees stay engaged, whether they are remote or in the office.
In this article, we’ll look at nine innovative and unique meeting spaces and describe how you can make them work for your company or team!
There are a few reasons why you should make having an innovative and modern meeting space a priority.
Firstly, the workplace of the future is all about digital transformation and collaboration. And meeting spaces are where people collaborate the most!
However, more old-fashioned meeting rooms don’t inspire collaboration or productivity. Perhaps they’re too focused on the chairperson or maybe they don’t have any ways to interact with remote workers.
By having more innovative and unique meeting spaces, you’ll ensure that in-office and remote workers interact more and make their ideas heard.
Secondly, meeting rooms are where you can speak to employees directly. Having spaces where employees feel included and valued can help them with voicing any concerns, which helps the team deal with issues head-on.
Finally, productive meetings can have a knock-on effect on the rest of the workplace. If meetings provide employees with a clear vision, they’ll usually go back into the workplace with a fresh outlook, enabling them to be more productive.
If employees feel lacking in motivation but know that they’ll have a meeting that they will be involved in the next day, they could be propelled to work harder.
Here are nine fantastic ideas for innovative meeting spaces!
Before workplaces evolved, boardrooms used to be the only type of meeting space. While they have declined in popularity over the last few years, due to a shift toward hybrid working and other meeting spaces popping up, they can still be effective for particular types and styles of meetings - as long as they’re modernized a little.
Modern boardrooms usually accommodate around 10-15 people, with the option to have more attendees joining remotely. However, it’s important to have an immersive way for virtual attendees to join a meeting, so they feel as if they’re actually involved, rather than watching it from an outsider’s perspective.
One of the best ways to do this is by using an interactive display, like the ones we sell at Avocor. These devices connect with video conferencing software to display meeting participants in high definition, with excellent sound and microphone capabilities.
With Avocor interactive displays, you can also write notes and collaborate in real-time with all participants using the touch screen with office applications and internet browsers. They definitely add another dimension to boardrooms!
There are other ways that you can modernize your meeting space too. Power sockets, high-speed WiFi, U-shape tables and comfortable seats can all stimulate creativity and collaboration.
For less sizable groups of ten or fewer people, a smaller meeting room can be more effective. You can be really creative with these, trying tables in different configurations to work out the best layout to stimulate creativity.
For example, you could lay out the tables in a way to ensure that everybody sees an interactive display screen; this helps remote workers stay connected.
Think about walls as well. Many smaller meeting rooms have large windows instead of walls, which permit a lot of light. Or you could opt for concrete walls. These don’t allow natural light but give meetings a much more private, intimate feel.
If you want the space to look innovative and unique, think about interior design too, potentially adding features like plants or paintings. These can make the space look welcoming and inviting, which in turn boosts creativity, involvement and productivity.
One of the most important types of meeting spaces in 2022 and beyond is a virtual meeting space!
Virtual meeting spaces can be anything from having a group call on WhatsApp to your own bespoke virtual meeting platform. While these can be a bit more challenging for connection, having the right hardware and software (like interactive displays and collaboration platforms) can help you to have effective online meetings that are just as productive as in-person events!
Zoom and Google Meet are popular applications, but there’s some other software that you can try too. For example, Toasty has creative in-app activities including polls and icebreaker questions. Jitsi Meet is another fully customisable programme.
An employee lounge is an even smaller meeting room layout. The room accommodates less than five people.
These rooms typically come without a table, where employees can have a more informal discussion. It usually has sofas or comfortable chairs, almost reminiscent of a living room in somebody’s house.
Although this is a slightly more informal meeting space, it’s still possible to mount an interactive display on one of the walls to ensure that it’s still collaborative.
Employee lounges are quite casual, but some informal meeting spaces take it to a new level! These spaces feature casual furniture like beanbags or even games tables.
The idea is that, while you may not be going through reports or breaking down budgets in these spaces, you’ll still be able to bounce ideas off of each other, talk about any workplace issues or make plans for the week ahead.
Easing some of the meeting pressure could even help colleagues think more creatively and come up with solutions that they might not have considered in their usual environment.
Huddle rooms are small meeting rooms where people gather quickly. They are often used at the start of the day to go over daily objectives or for quick recaps. Often, they don’t have any seats and are used for standing meetings.
Generally, huddle rooms are partitioned off from the main workplace, but they could also be a corner of one of the main office rooms. Because people only gather here quickly, they may not have as intricate designs as other meeting spaces, but it’s a good idea to ensure that they can stimulate productivity!
However, some of these meeting rooms still have features like interactive displays; they could be particularly useful if the huddle meeting focuses on setting out goals or requires other note-taking.
For a completely innovative meeting space, why not opt for a cafe or restaurant outside of the office? You could purchase food or drink and discuss any workplace matters without the distractions of the office.
Extracting the team from the workplace can be really beneficial to help you deal with any blocks. Hosting meetings in this more casual space can help to ease any pressure and enable you to get to know your employees on a more personal level.
If your office is able to, why not have outdoor meeting space? You could position garden furniture on a balcony or rooftop and host meetings there. There are plenty of mental health benefits to being outside, and you might find that your employees seem less stressed and more relaxed when they’re in the fresh air.
Make sure that you’ve got enough furniture to accommodate everybody (including cushions to make sure everybody is comfortable!) and potentially some plants to enhance the feeling of being outside.
Of course, you won’t be able to host meetings that need any kind of technology here, but outside meetings are great for collaborating or setting out goals.
Lastly, modern conference rooms have many of the features of a modern boardroom. Many have interactive displays at the front, with plenty of power sockets and USB outlets for every participant.
Tables should be sleek and modern, and each seat should be comfortable enough for longer conferences. Ideally, the tables are spaced out well enough to encourage conference collaboration too.
In 2022, creative meeting spaces like these are all but essential. New technology can help a meeting space run effectively, beautiful decorations can entice productivity and the proper layout can enhance collaboration, even if the team is working on a hybrid basis. Try out these innovative meeting spaces and see how they can help your business grow!
Keep up to date with all the latest from Avocor and partners and get information on upcoming events and exciting product news.
