Generally speaking, most businesses around the world will have a conference room, usually a large boardroom-style place for staff to conduct presentations or meetings. But trends can change and, over time, there has been a shift in the design of the conference room. With the focus on collaboration and working more closely with others, conference rooms are now shrinking and becoming quick meeting rooms that have the equipment required to enable contact with others in remote locations.
The huddle room is essentially a small conference area that includes video and audio technology, usually a video screen attached to a microphone. An office may have multiple small huddle rooms as opposed to one large meeting room; most offices are also open plan and may require a more intimate, private space. But why are companies moving towards this new collaboration trend and how can it benefit your company?
More often, employees may be working from home, travelling from one location to another or a colleague may not be in the office at the precise time they are needed. In this instance, the huddle room allows a connection between people in various locations. Similarly, if you need to hold an impromptu meeting to discuss, brainstorm or show others a presentation, the huddle room is a great space for this.
Aside from this, one of the main reasons for having a huddle room is to allow for collaboration and to encourage the idea of teamwork amongst colleagues. Due to the nature of the room itself, it should be kitted out with equipment to allow people to work together, whether they are all based in the same room or not. Allowing people to communicate with those in various locations can ensure more work gets done and working together could result in better progress on particular projects.
With the huddle room typically being a smaller, more intimate space, it is easier to be more productive and concentrate on what needs to be done. Creating an efficient workspace, the huddle room is a trend that provides an enclosed area to get things done away from the busy and sometimes noisy office. Due to its connectivity through a large screen, you can discuss and review documents, ideas or issues with just the people in the room or bring in others depending on what you need.
In an open plan office with multiple desks and lots of people, a space to communicate with those outside the office can be very important. While a phone call can sometimes suffice for communicating with clients or other colleagues, it would potentially be more useful and beneficial to communicate visually through video and audio visual equipment. Creating a sense that you are all in the same room could make meetings more constructive. This is why the huddle room has grown in popularity and continues to be a useful part of office environment. 
This article comes courtesy of Viju, a global visual communications specialist.
