It’s a commonly posed statement that the heart of a business is its people, but this heart doesn’t beat on its own – it needs the arteries of space to work properly. People thrive in workplaces that provide air, freedom, and comfort, and businesses thrive when their people are able to work independently whenever needed or meet effectively and productively when required.
Depending on the nature of the work, these meetings might form a significant portion of daily work for many members of staff. So, how can you ensure that they go as smoothly as possible? We believe that the key to great meetings is a suitable meeting room.
Looking for quality meeting rooms in London? Here are some key considerations for choosing the perfect room for your business needs.
What do you need the meeting room for?
Of course, a meeting room can just be a meeting room, but if we’re trying to find the perfect meeting room then you need to have a clear view on what “perfect” means to you. It’s crucial, therefore, to have a firm idea of what you want to get out of a meeting – what’s the end goal?
If you need the room primarily for private, round-table discussion, for example, then you’re likely to not find a large conference room very effective. Conversely, you’ll need a room with adequate layout, seating, and screens if you need the meeting to primarily look at informational videos or as a more conference-like event space.
Is it adaptable?
Some meetings need adaptability, they need to use large, single-reference screens for sections of the meeting as well as facilitate easy communication for other parts of the meeting. This usually means movable chairs or rearrangeable desks, but can also be as simple as a manageable round-table positioned with a large screen off one end – such as those in The Lounge.
In other situations, you may actually want the room not to be adaptable. You don’t need to go as far as the cliché power move of the single director’s desk in the middle of the room (and no other seats), but a decidedly fixed layout and more austere setting might be particularly helpful for a disciplinary meeting or to convey information with gravitas.
Is it comfortable?
Especially important for longer meetings, as well as for hosting clients, prospects, and business partners is the comfort of the room. There are few things worse than needing a 2-3 hour meeting and being stuck with torturous chairs. And comfort doesn’t have to be to the level of king-sized beds and plush carpets, the chairs, desks, layout, and lighting need to be appropriate for the meeting and help everyone to actually spend the allotted time in the meeting – rather than waiting for it to end so that they can stretch their legs.
Essentially, a ‘comfortable’ space doesn’t necessarily need to feel comfortable, it simply needs to not be uncomfortable. In other words, the most comfortable meeting room just lets you focus on work rather than get distracted by aches and pains.
A key note here is lighting, especially when having to look at wall-mounted screens. Overly glaring lighting, overly bright lighting, or even overly dim lighting can force us to have to spend more energy fighting the glare or squinting to see – and that energy would be better spent on making a productive meeting.
Does it need to inspire?
Sometimes, a meeting room only needs to provide enough privacy to convey some information that might best be conveyed in person rather than through emails or chat systems. But many modern businesses thrive on creativity and the organic, natural innovation that happens through great group sessions.
This is certainly related to our previous points on comfort, certainly, but the need for inspiration goes a step further. It is, of course, not inspirational to put motivational quotes or staid City imagery on the walls; but it certainly can be inspirational to have natural plants, good views of the outside world, and non-prescriptive, beautiful artwork.
What’s more, inspiration can’t be forced but can come a lot more freely when facilitated. So, things like seating layouts, even visibility (that is, being able to see everyone in the meeting equally), and the ease of physical collaboration go a long way to facilitating creative work. If you have to stand up and walk around the room to pass a sketch to a colleague, for example, you’re likely to both be kicked out of your flow state much sooner than if you can simply slide it across the table.
A room for inspiration is, above all, a room for connection.
How big do you need the room to be?
This last option may seem obvious, but is one that’s often overlooked simply because it seems so intuitive. In other words, the size of the room doesn’t necessarily automatically equate with the number of seats because some meetings need extra space for the attendees.
A 12-person boardroom, for example, is likely to be perfect for a 10-person meeting requiring primarily discussion and digital collaboration, but the attendees are likely to run out of space quite quickly if working on physical mediums.
In these instances, a room with a larger table surface area is likely to facilitate easy creativity much more effectively. Additionally, you may have attendees with access requirements, using wheelchairs or other mobility aids. As such, your ideal meeting room will still be small enough to remain intimate and foster connection, but should be spacious enough to accommodate everyone entering and leaving comfortably.
Explore our meeting rooms in London for the perfect meeting
To see which meeting rooms in London are available at our office locations and book them, browse our meeting rooms page – or, alternatively, if you’re interested in making a Myo office your business’s permanent home, get in touch with our helpful team today.
