Make your conference room a meeting of the minds

Omniture’s conference room designs are clean, simple, professional, distinct and fun. “Omniture” is spelled out on glass walls (in binary code, of course) and each conference room bears the name and poster of an Adam Sandler movie (top executives meet in “Big Daddy”), Will Ferrell movie or “Seinfeld” character.

The Bank of American Fork’s main conference room tells its company’s focus as well. The bank’s modest interior design and versatile accessories — including a portable training room — indicate the bank’s focus on people.

C&A Construction’s conference room serves a dual purpose — it’s both a meeting place and a sampling of their work. Potential clients see C&A’s customizing abilities, attention to quality woodwork and recognizable branding techniques before they ever meet a representative.

What are your walls saying about your company? Do they suggest “conventional” or shout “party time”? Whatever your company’s style in décor, a few things are always in good taste. The best conference rooms are recognizable, flexible and practical.

Recognizable
Your company’s brand is your company’s reputation, and you should carry it all the way through to the conference room. C&A Construction used its logo to inspire the interior design of the company’s headquarters, even imprinting the logo in the conference room table. They also brought in their bright, signature shade of red for the ceiling panel and carpet.

“Using our brand helps bring everything together,” says Brian Bird, president of C&A Construction.

Jessica Bennett, Omniture’s design consultant, also used branding to bring things together — the entire worldwide company, actually. Omniture’s international offices shine with the same shades of green and gray as the company’s Orem headquarters.

“You have to spread your team’s colors around so everyone knows what company they’re playing for,” says Bennett, who owns Alice Lane Home Collection in Orem.

Flexible
While the design of your conference room should reflect the image of your company, the best conference rooms are versatile, too.

Ken Burnett, training director at the Bank of American Fork, knows all about versatility. The bank’s training room is used for luncheons, conferences, meetings and even local community events.

“The room isn’t going to win any design awards,” he says of the room’s conservative blue color scheme, “but the beauty is in the flexibility. Conference rooms should be flexible, especially for small businesses.”

The training room at the bank’s headquarters has a projector, laptops, tables, chairs, VHS and DVD players, microphones and several speakers. And it’s portable — all tables, chairs and laptops can be removed in half an hour.

Nathan Walker, manager of Omniture University’s internal training, says a training room’s technical flexibility is essential to a good learning experience.

“You need good network connections. If something isn’t loading fast enough, it’s distracting. With quality technology, employees can concentrate on what they’re learning instead of focusing on the barriers to their learning,” Walker says.

Practical
New technology and furniture are fun, but keeping conference rooms practical is key. Take functionality and your company’s bottom line — whatever it may be — into consideration when sprucing up your office space.

While the Bank of American Fork’s main conference room is clean and functional, it hasn’t received a full remodel in decades. It sports a table from the ’90s and chairs more than 20 years old. Because the room is used mostly for internal meetings, the bank’s officials aren’t too worried about its dated furnishings.

“We’re more concerned with functionality than décor,” says Christopher Liechty, vice president of communications at the Bank of American Fork. “We’re more focused on what’s really important to us — customer service. As long as the room is designed so people can have good experiences, the room is doing its job.”

Dave Thurman, facilities manager at Omniture, says employees have a better learning experience if companies spend money on the right things. Every company has a budget, but allocating funds to helpful tools can help a room’s functionality.

“In bigger conference or training rooms, we’ve put microphones in different places in the ceiling. That way, everyone can hear no matter who in the room is making a comment,” Thurman says.

PAINT THE OFFICE RED (or any color, really)

Ready for a change, but don’t want to break the bank on a face lift? Try a little makeup instead.

Jessica Bennett, design consultant for Omniture and owner of Alice Lane Furniture Collection, says a fresh coat of paint works wonders for dated office spaces.

“People underestimate how valuable a paint job is,” Bennett says. “It brings out the corporate look and branding of the place. I’ve bid design jobs for companies that have nothing but light gray walls. They feel like jails. Paint makes the biggest impact for the least amount of money. It’s like the room’s makeup — a little bit helps a lot.”

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