Is your meeting room making the right impression?

When it comes to your business, first impressions count. Your reputation is important, so it’s vital that you’re doing what you can to portray your company in the best light at all times. This can involve anything, from producing high-quality marketing material to ensuring your employees dress smartly. It can also include getting the look and feel of your office space spot on - especially your meeting room. It’s likely you use this space for a range of different reasons, such as conferences with prospective clients and interviews with potential employees, so it’s crucial that you’re making the right impression on these people. Fortunately, giving your meeting space a facelift doesn’t have to be difficult. All it takes is some time, effort and an eye for improvement. To help you work out if your meeting room is ticking all the right boxes and what you can do to update this space, keep reading. Furniture In order for your meeting room to be functional, you’re going to need the appropriate pieces of furniture. If your furnishings aren’t up to scratch, you may fail to impress those who step into this part of your office. Ideally, this room should feature a large, spacious table, as well as a suitable number of comfortable, supportive chairs. When it comes to choosing your furnishings, try not to skimp. You might be tempted to save yourself some cash by going for cheaper designs. But, since it’s likely these pieces of furniture will be used on a regular basis, you’ll need to make sure that they’re able to withstand wear and tear. If not, you could be left with some tatty-looking furnishings sooner than you expect, which isn’t going to create a good image. So, if you want your meeting room to look on point now and into the future, it pays to go for high-quality, well-made pieces that are guaranteed to stand the test of time. At Furniture At Work, we offer a broad range of quality furnishings, from meeting room tables to chairs, storage solutions and much more. We have a wide range of different styles and colours too, meaning you won’t struggle to find the perfect pieces for your meeting space, regardless of whether you’re after traditional pieces or something a little more modern. Technology If the technology setup in your meeting rooms consists of nothing more than a dated whiteboard and an old computer, you might want to rethink your approach. The truth is, visitors to your office space could judge your lack of tech and assume that your reluctance to be up-to-date with the latest gadgets and gizmos is a reflection of your company’s ethos. So, to avoid this pitfall, it pays to put some effort into kitting your space out with a range of technology solutions. There are a whole host of innovative and useful tech essentials that you could incorporate into your space. For example, if you regularly communicate with external clients, you might benefit from installing high-quality audio equipment or a video-conferencing system. For internal meetings, perhaps you might find it useful to have an interactive whiteboard. Moreover, if you’re keen for your employees to get more out of their training sessions, you could even invest in tablets for workers to use to ensure they stay engaged throughout. You could also introduce features such as wireless screen sharing or a wall-mounted 4K TV. Regardless of the gadgets you go for, upping your tech game in your meeting room is bound to make heads turn for all the right reasons. Decor You can’t expect to make the right impression if your meeting room isn’t decorated to a high standard. While you may turn a blind eye to scuffs and scratches, your visitors might not. So, if your space is looking a little tatty around the edges, it might be worth investing some time and effort into giving it a much needed spruce up. For example, you could start by giving the walls a fresh lick of paint, paying attention to any areas that have peeled or cracked over time. You could even touch up the ceiling, skirting boards, window ledges and door frame too. This also gives you the perfect opportunity to switch up your colour scheme. If your current decor theme is looking tired and worn, why not totally transform the feel of the space with a new hue? To guarantee a perfect finish, you might want to hire a professional painter and decorator to take care of this for you. Lighting Let’s be honest, there’s nothing impressive about a dark, shadowy meeting room. Unless your space is well-lit, it’s likely you will give off an unwelcoming and uninviting vibe. This is a huge no-no if you’re holding a meeting such as an important client pitch or interviewing a potential employee, so it’s worth making sure the room is appropriately illuminated. Ideally, you should make the most of your natural lighting. If the room has windows, allow the sunlight to seep in by keeping your window dressings open. Aside from helping to brighten up the room, letting the sunlight into the space could help to keep people engaged and alert during even the longest of meetings. However, you can’t just rely on the sun to illuminate your space. As a result, you should make sure that the room is fitted with bright, high-quality lighting too. The good news is, there are a whole range of different designs you could go for, from stylish low-hanging pendant lights to traditional spotlights built into the ceiling. The truth is, creating the perfect meeting space doesn’t have to be difficult. From choosing suitable furnishings and upping your tech game to freshening up the decor and fine tuning your lighting situation, there are a number of things you can do to improve the look and feel of this part of your office. In doing so, you shouldn’t struggle to totally transform your meeting room into a place that’s bound to impress.