A well-designed conference room setup optimizes knowledge sharing and learning among attendees, encourages collaboration and makes everyone comfortable. Most importantly, the right conference room setup supports meeting objectives. Let’s explore conference room setup ideas that enable highly productive meetings.

The Impact of Conference Room Setup On Meetings
Every conference room has various meeting types, but how can layout impact the meeting? The first step in setting up a conference room is determining the type of meetings you plan on having. This affects the style of your room. Understanding the most common types of meetings will help you identify the goals, structure, and activities best suited to your room layout.

Informational: These meetings focus on sharing facts, and related knowledge, with others. The room should be outfitted to facilitate presentations, panel debates, keynotes, and lectures.

Sales: The goal of these meetings is to foster trust and reach a commitment between parties. The room’s technology should facilitate easy, open and hassle-free meetings – so potential customers sign on the dotted line.

Decision making: These meetings have one goal: achieve consensus and solve problems. To do this, the facilitator must control the meeting’s flow. Keeping an agenda and identifying meeting highlights lead to better focus and well thought out decisions.

Innovation: Brainstorm new ideas and solutions. Let every attendee express their thoughts in a room designed to facilitate productive conversations.

Conference Room Equipment and Technology
With video calls commonplace, organizations need conference room equipment and technology to support meetings with clients, partners, and remote employees. That means having a conference room setup that’s reliable, secure and provides a consistent user experience–regardless of location.

SaaS-based meeting platforms, featuring interoperability, create a conference room standard–including join processes, interface displays, along with video and audio that work for everyone. It’s also important to ensure your meetings platform offers easy scheduling by integrating with popular work tools like Outlook and Google. One-touch join is also a key option that helps not only encourage adoption, but support conference room setups that are easy to use.

Standard Equipment for Conference Rooms
Conference room equipment failures are frustrating and costly. Room utilization drops when employees don’t trust the room technology. Before long, they’ll start meeting in other ways, and in different places. Make sure you invest in room technology that provides a simple user experience. The following components are standard in a conference room setup:

  • Displays: The first thing people notice in a conference room is the “visual” part of conference room. Ensure your display is centrally located for easy participant viewing.
  • Audio: Quality microphones and speakers are critical. They are usually on-table or a sound bar located below the display. Above all, the better the sound quality, the better the meeting.
  • Camera: A conference room camera is important. They range from small, huddle room cameras to more sophisticated ones in larger, more elaborate spaces.
  • Control Panel: The control center for the conference room’s audio-visuals and user interface, finding one that’s easy-to-use and well thought-out is key. Today’s systems let you transition from screen sharing to video conferencing–all with a single touch.

Types of Seating Styles: Four Basic Configurations

  • Boardroom: A classic configuration–frequently used in video conference room layouts–this a single table with attendees seated on all sides. It’s suited for interactive sessions that require workspace for participants and clear sightlines to encourage communication.

  • U-Shape: Best suited for 25 attendees or less, a U formation has chairs placed on the outside of the table. This style is ideal for presenters with video presentations.

  • Classroom: The preferred configuration for attendees who will be working or taking notes. Rows of tables and chairs face the front of the room facilitating dialogue between presenter and audience.

  • Theatre: Ideal for large groups listening to a speaker, with little interaction, this configuration involves row seating, without tables, and faces the front of the room.

One way to realize your conference room setup ideas and save deployment time is to use BlueJeans Rooms with Dolby Conference Phone. Designed for users, built for IT, and powered by BlueJeans and Dolby Voice, this plug-and-play room solution delivers an easy to use, in-room experience.

Remember, a highly effective conference room setup provides simplicity and convenience. When room meetings run smoothly, employees’ jobs are easier and more productive.