What Should Be In A Conference Room?

Fitting out your office with a brand new conference room? This kind of facility can be a major asset to your company, giving you a dedicated, fully equipped space for formal meetings, presentations and training. This professional setting is also great for boosting your company image with clients and customers, as well as boosting morale within your team. 

But what exactly should you include in your new meeting space? Here, we’ll run through how to set up a video conference room, including all of the essential equipment you’ll need.

In order to fit out your new conference room, you’ll firstly need to decide what it’ll be used for. 

Is it primarily a space for internal meetings and collaboration, where ideas are exchanged and decisions made? Or will it be client-facing, where high-level external meetings will be held? Many companies also use conference rooms for strategy sessions, training and workshops. 

It’s likely that you’ll want your new conference space to do all of the above, to be a multi-purpose space you can use for a wide range of activities. In this case, you’ll need to make sure that all bases are covered in terms of equipment. 

What you’ll need will depend on:

• Room size and capacity
• The type of meetings that will be held there – for example, if you’re holding virtual meetings, you’ll need video conferencing technology
• The type of work being done – for example, presentation and training spaces may need equipment such as whiteboards and projector screens
• The technology standards and growth plans of the business
• Budget – while funds will always be a factor in how you kit out your new conference room, it’s best to think of it as an investment in the future. It could be worth spending more now to future-proof the space in terms of technology and equipment. 

At a minimum, a conference room should be comfortable, functional and equipped with tools that allow anyone using the space to collaborate easily – no matter where they’re joining from.

Essential Conference Room Equipment

When considering what should be in a conference room, it helps to break requirements down into a handful of  core categories. 

Furniture and Layout

Every conference room needs:

• A conference table – sized appropriately for the room
• Comfortable, ergonomic chairs
• Clear walkways and adequate personal space

Flexible, modular furniture is increasingly popular, as it allows rooms to be reconfigured for different meeting types such as workshops, training sessions or presentations.

You’ll also need to decide on the layout. There are quite a few options available – we’ll run through these in just a moment. 

Presentation and Collaboration Tools

Visual collaboration equipment is essential in conference rooms, even in digital-first workplaces. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Whiteboards or glass boards for brainstorming
• Flip charts for workshops or breakout sessions
• Writable walls or mobile boards in creative environments.

These tools support idea sharing and spontaneous thinking, and help to keep meetings engaging.

Lighting and Acoustics

Any effort, thought and care you put into designing your new conference space could be ruined by poor lighting and acoustics. It makes more difference than you think, so it’s worth putting some careful consideration into your choices. 

Here are a few key things to think about:

• Adjustable lighting – this helps to avoid glare on screens and ensures all participants are clearly visible on video calls
• Acoustic panels, carpets, and soft furnishings – these can reduce echo and background noise
• Blinds or curtains – these give you control over natural light during presentations.

Power and Connectivity

Tech is essential in any modern meeting space, and the place to start is with power and connectivity. You’ll need:

• Table-integrated power and USB outlets
• Easily accessible wall sockets
• Reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi coverage.

If your company is investing in a professional AV environment, integrating these elements into a cohesive solution is key. 

Specialist providers such as our team here at Avoira offer tailored video conferencing and AV solutions for businesses of all sizes. With the right setup, your new conference room will be professional, practical, user-friendly and future-proof. 

How To Set Up A Conference Room

With your equipment list in hand, it’s time to think a little more about the layout and setup of your new conferencing space. A good place to start is to define how the room will primarily be used, or decide if it will need to be a flexible, multi-purpose space. 

You can then choose a suitable layout, with common options including:

• Boardroom style – ideal for decision-making and leadership meetings
• Classroom style – best suited to training and presentations
• U-shape or cabaret – this layout encourages discussion and collaboration.

Whatever you choose, it’s important to ensure that everyone using the space will have a clear sight line to displays and cameras.

You’ll also need to make a plan for tech integration, which is where a specialist in meeting room AV solutions and video conferencing can help. You’ll need a professional design if you want meetings to run smoothly day-to-day as tech failures can cause costly delays.  

Lastly, you’ll need a system for managing conference room booking and availability. This may be a simple diary-based booking system with a designated person, or it could be a self-service digital workplace management system.

Conference Room Technology Best Practice

Here are some final tips to remember on how to set up a conference room and ensure it works well for all users: 

• Install the highest grade (ideally professional grade) cameras, microphones, and speakers you can afford. 
• Design the room and tech layout so that hybrid meetings feel natural and inclusive for both in-room and remote attendees.
• Keep systems simple and intuitive, allowing meetings to start quickly without the need for technical assistance.
• Standardise technology across meeting rooms (if you have more than one) to reduce confusion and minimise the need for user training.
• Use reliable, enterprise-level platforms and hardware to avoid disruptions during important meetings.
• Plan for scalability and long-term support so the conference room can evolve as the needs of the business change

 

Ongoing AV support is essential to keep your conference room running smoothly. Hardware and software issues, updates, configuration changes and user questions can all disrupt meetings if there is no clear support in place. Having a dedicated AV support partner ensures problems are resolved quickly and systems stay up to date. Avoira provides conference room AV support services with a range of support packages, giving businesses ongoing assistance, maintenance and peace of mind throughout the lifetime of their solution.