The office décor of tomorrow: COVID-19 has changed the meeting culture forever

The technology failed, the kids made noise, and the lighting was bad. But the video meeting culture is here to stay.

Let me guess. You currently have a couple of meeting rooms in your company, and there is room for at least 8-10 people. Because that is how it was done before COVID-19. Large meetings with exclusively physical participation that took at least an hour because there had to be snacks on the table and people from near and far had to socialise both before, during, and after the meeting.

And one person could never find a parking space, so you always had to wait for them. But that was probably all good, because you would still need 5-10 minutes to get a PowerPoint presentation ready on the screen with a damaged HDMI connector.

Then COVID-19 hit, and we found out just how easily an effective meeting can actually be held online with participation from all corners of the world. But this does not come for free. You need to adapt the office landscape to the new needs and demands.

The meeting room no longer brings people together – video does

 The meeting room will never have the same function as it used to. Before COVID-19, the meeting room was the rallying point where we all showed up when a discussion was to be had. The meeting room was not a quiet space, but a place with space for exchanging ideas and physical socialisation with both internal and external partners.

But COVID-19 has changed the way we communicate. Video and chat tools have gone from being secondary to primary channels. A stable internet connection has proved to be enough to shut down a customer and close a successful deal.

The growing need for online meetings, with just a few participants from each company, has changed our requirements for meeting rooms. We do not need oceans of space. We just need to be able to immerse ourselves and focus on what is in front of us: the screen that binds us together with the other participants.

In fact, you do not need more than 2-5 square metres, as long as the basic ingredients to have a professional video meeting in a practical environment are there:

•       Peace and quiet
•       Comfortable seats
•       Ventilation
•       Good lighting
•       Desk space for computers and notes
•       A screen with a video connection
•       Room for 1-4 people

Invest in 3-4 small meeting rooms instead of one large one

I mean, you can obviously still use the large meeting room, as it’s great for gathering the whole office for briefings and chats. But when you need to work in small groups or have one-to-one meetings across cities, countries, and companies, the need for space for immersion arises. And that's pretty often, right?

The vast majority of meetings, conferences, and seminars today can be attended via a video connection. Of course, the physical togetherness is not dead, and after COVID-19, we may see a minor return to past trends, but video meetings will, to a large extent, still be the dominant meeting method.

Video is just easier in every aspect, and it is your job to make sure your employees have the best conditions to be able to have effective video meetings. You need to think about this in your office landscape, so that your company's employees, customers, and partners get the best possible meeting experience.

It’s not just about the conditions under which your employees work. It’s just as much about what impression you give to a potential customer. You will simply appear more professional with the right setup, and we all know what a good first impression can do for a collaboration. In these times, it is not a given that you see each other physically at all before you put your signature on a big deal.

With three or four smaller meeting rooms instead of one large one, you can prevent overbooking and disruptions in the office and, at the same time, contribute to better working conditions and a strengthened brand experience with your partners.

Is your company ready for people not to work from home anymore?

Your employees have had their own private meeting room at home during COVID-19, but now that we have returned to everyday life in the office, do they have the same opportunities to immerse themselves in meetings?

At MuteBox, we really want to help your company adapt to the modern trends in the workplace. We offer transportable meeting rooms with space for 1-4 people, which only take up a few square metres. You have the opportunity to both lease and buy, and we would love to have a non-binding talk with you about how your company's needs can be met.

Thanks for now.

Video chat to you soon.

Read our 5 tips on how to maintain a good meeting culture online