We’ve witnessed teams fumble through project meetings in unsuitable spaces one too many times. Either they have to squeeze together around someone’s desk or awkwardly occupy a huge conference room for a relatively small task.
Thankfully, a new middle ground is being presented in the form of huddle rooms. Gone are the days of hunting for a corner to discuss the details of a project or host a video call away from the hustle of the main office.
We’re on to bigger (kind of) and better things!
What is a Huddle Room?
Huddle rooms, also known as huddle areas, are small meeting areas for team members to meet quickly and easily. They’re a great way to foster collaboration and team building. Designed to hold about five people at a time, it has all the tools necessary to conduct a productive sync-up without it feeling like a boring, corporate meeting.
Gaininging in popularity, huddle rooms are being viewed as the future of collaboration.
Huddle Room Benefits
The great thing about this new trend is that there are so many perks to introducing huddle areas into your office space.
Versatility
The greatest advantage to having huddle rooms is just how flexible they are in terms of purpose. Whether team members need to discuss the details of a project, host a conference call, or give a demonstration, these multi-functional rooms are meant to provide them with the space to excel.
The fact that they’re open for use without reservation makes them even more versatile. There’s no need to put a bid in for the huddle area weeks in advance. If the room is unoccupied, it’s up for grabs.
Of course, it’s important for team members to be respectful and conscious of the needs of their coworkers, so task priority should always be considered when it comes to temporary ownership.
Improved Collaboration
Companies know that there’s nothing more inefficient and ineffective than unproductive meetings. Large staff meetings often lend themselves to wasted time and delayed progress on projects.
Huddle rooms solve this problem by creating a more intimate environment for small groups to meet and communicate more effectively. Smaller groups in a controlled space allow for team members to be more active in the conversation and keep on task. This leads to better collaboration and better project development as a whole.
Budget Friendly
It’s a lot less expensive to equip a huddle room than it is to furnish a full-sized conference room. They don’t need large, expansive tables and multiple chairs. They don’t require a lot of expensive communication equipment either, being perfectly operational with only a few tools, like conference phones or monitors.
For businesses that are seeking to be more budget-conscious, huddle rooms are a great investment. Along with being inexpensive to equip, they also optimize the use of office space, which increases the return on investment of your office.
Essential Huddle Room Design Elements
In order for your huddle room solutions to be effective, there are a few key elements that you’ll need to implement.
TVs and Monitors
Having some sort of display, like an LCD or LED monitor or television, provides a bit more functionality for team members who may require a second screen. They can display presentations, notes, and web pages that may supplement the meeting, making the conversation more productive.
It often helps to mount the TV in order to save room for seating and furniture.
Central Tables
Having team members all stand in an empty room looking like a tin of sardines may be a bit awkward. We mentioned that you don’t have to go all out with furnishing a huddle room, but it is important to provide some type of focal piece for participants to congregate around.
We recommend a table for the center of the room that people can either sit or stand around. This makes sharing ideas and project deliverables easier.
Video Conferencing Technology
If your company has remote team members or works with other businesses that aren’t able to physically come in, video conferencing tools are a great solution for keeping everyone in the loop.
The scale of necessary huddle room technology depends on an individual organization’s respective needs, but the most basic setup consists of a camera and microphone combination that will make communicating easy.
If your team members have laptops, there’s a high chance it comes with its own camera and mic set, but adding in a conference phone to the room as backup at the very least is a smart move.
Decor
In order to foster an atmosphere of collaboration and creativity, you’ll want to avoid making your huddle room feel too formal. Otherwise, it feels like just another conference room and attention spans will wander.
We’re not saying you have to hire an interior designer (although you totally could if you wanted to; send us pictures!), but adding a few decorative pieces to really get team members in the mood to hustle can make quite a difference.
You can put in anything from fake succulents to inspiring quote posters from favorite celebrities or thought leaders in your industry. You want to make the huddle room feel like it’s the spot to get things done.
Renting Event Pods
If you’re planning a large event and realize that having spaces for attendees to meet would be beneficial, you can actually rent huddle rooms. Called event pods, these mobile meeting pods are easy to set up and allow extra floor space to be productively used. You can offer them as bookable meeting spaces and create revenue with underutilized space, while still providing incredible value to teams that come for conferences, workshops, or presentations.
One Way Can Meet Your Huddle Room AV Needs
As industry professionals in audio, visual, and display systems, One Way Event Productions can help you find the right technology for your huddle rooms. We prioritize ease of use, low cost, and getting the best results possible for you and your team. Contact us today!
