Meeting room installations require more than simply connecting wires and fulfilling orders. It’s the practice that brings project plans to life but is also the time when unexpected problems often surface. Things like incompatible equipment, unforeseen roadblocks and other challenges can quickly derail installations and bring customers more headaches than help.

To minimize potential difficulties and ensure a successful and timely installation, we recommend following these three time-tested best practices:

1. Conduct a thorough meeting room assessment

The saying, “measure twice, cut once,” is the purpose of the meeting room assessment. Intentional first steps help clearly define the current state and avoid extra work later. The assessment examines existing equipment and space to determine how to optimize what’s available and integrate it with new hardware. It also helps to identify any end-of-life equipment that needs to be replaced.

Doing this audit helps ensures that everything in the space is accurately documented. Only then can the best game plan be developed for either using or replacing existing equipment to optimize the space. Customers are often surprised by the equipment that ends up in the rooms. Over time, it’s easy for things to be added or removed for immediate needs that crop up.

2. Create a flexible plan

With an assessment in hand, integrators should create a plan that accounts for unique situations and potential hiccups. Questions to customers include but aren’t limited to:

• How do you plan to use the room(s)?
• Other than meetings, what will take place in the room(s)?
• What systems do you think you will need?
• How many people will the room(s) need to accommodate?
• What capabilities do you envision that you don’t currently have?

These answers help set the stage for the next step.

3. Assemble meeting room components prior to the install

Before setting foot into an installation, component assembly must be completed. While some may deem it unnecessary, this critical step ensures that all problems and bugs are addressed before the install begins, effectively removing potential headaches at the client site.

Additionally, by doing the assembly off-site, many components can arrive to the client site fully assembled, thus reducing the installations time and, most importantly, the client’s downtime.

Setting the stage for installation success

Meeting room installations are so much more than a mere plug-and-play where teams come in and just get the job done. Customers rely on integrators to make recommendations and go above and beyond simply making meeting rooms work.

Meeting clients’ needs is critical, but so, too, is enacting a three-step process that makes us strategic visionaries and not just equipment installers. This practice has served RoomReady well and has enabled us to grow our business. And it can work for other installation teams, too.

Interested in learning more? Check out our Meeting Room Assessment sheet to learn about the steps installers should follow to properly assess and fine-tune meetings spaces to ensure they are optimized.