Your office meeting room is where the magic happens. Connections are made, deals are done, and hard work pays off.
Presentations, pitches, reports, interviews, and staff meetings all happen in your meeting room. It’s one of the most important places in any office, so making sure your office cleaning service reaches the very farthest nooks and crannies of your meeting space is super important.
Whether you’re impressing potential clients, developing new strategies, or training your team, a clean meeting room is a powerful business asset.
The flipside? You’ll turn everyone away with a dirty, messy, chaotic meeting room.
Spaces piled up with old delivery boxes; mounds of paperwork; spare computers and screens – basically, dumping grounds that also get used for meetings. And believe us, nobody wants to see that when you’re trying to impress.
But there are all sorts of other ways meeting rooms can let you down.
There’s the stuffy ones, air filled with the scent of stale coffee and old lunchtime sandwiches. There’s the dusty ones, untouched by a cloth, with old tea rings still on the table. There’s the multipurpose rooms, walls and skirting marked and dirty from being used as storage.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. With regular cleaning and TLC, even the dankest of office meeting rooms can be brought back to life – and stay that way for the moments that matter.
1. Meeting room centrepieces
The centrepieces of your meeting room will be the table, your presenting screen, and your whiteboard. Your table and chairs need to be absolutely spotless, as these are what your visitors will interact with directly.
So, make sure the table is completely clear of paperwork, notes, mugs – and that it’s polished to a flawless, smear-free finish.
We recommend dry dusting your meeting room table first, followed by a wipe down with a suitable furniture polish. Then, give it another go around with a clean, dry cloth (this works wonders on mirror-like, glossy surfaces like glass). Chairs should be hoovered and wiped down (especially along the tops where dust loves to settle), making sure they’re inviting and not off-putting.
Any stains on your meeting room chairs’ fabric need to be addressed – check out our post on cleaning office soft furnishings for guidance on this.
Your presenting screen (be that a TV or projector) has to be totally free of distracting marks. Projector screens are quite delicate, and we’d advise consulting the manufacturer for information on how to clean yours – but TV screens can generally be cleaned with multisurface cleaner and a cloth. Again, check the manual’s cleaning instructions, just to be sure – and never spray moisture directly onto an electrical item!
Ahead of an important meeting, your whiteboards should be completely clean, with nothing left over from previous uses – and the markers should be brand new. Learn how to clean grubby whiteboards here.
Last but not least, if there’s a conference phone or a speaker in the middle of the table, give it a good wipe to remove any fingerprints and dust. If you’re planning to use it during your meeting, give it a test to make sure it’s working, to avoid any unnecessary dead air.
Speaking of which…
2. Clear the air
A major casualty of modern office design is a lack of windows in certain spaces, especially meeting rooms – which are sadly often second-class spaces compared to the areas assigned for productivity.
But a stuffy meeting room can make it difficult for everyone to stay alert and engaged. If your meeting room doesn’t have windows or HVAC, then leave the door open, maybe with a fan, to ventilate and circulate the air.
If you have a coffee machine in your meeting room, it can be made more inviting by running a cup or two before the meeting kicks off – or you could consider adding a subtle plug-in air freshener or reed diffuser to your meeting room (as long as it’s not too overpowering).
If your meeting space does have windows, then air the room out an hour before any visitors arrive – and to make sure the space smells inviting at all times, make it a food-free zone.
3. Clear the space
A clean meeting room is one thing – a tidy one is another.
Make sure you keep the table free of surface clutter, but also the shelves and any side furniture. And encourage your team to pick up after themselves after each meeting, so that it’s ready to go for the next session.
If you like to show clients your awards, then make sure they’re placed back safely and visibly, not in an untidy way. Keep them clean, and clear of dust and fingerprints.
If, like many small offices, your meeting room is also a storage area – then do your best to make it presentable. Move anything you can out of the room, and if there’s simply nowhere else for things to go, consider getting some proper storage in the room itself; like a table that can open up to store stuff, or some cabinets – anything to make the space for meetings first, storage second!
4. Pay attention to the details
Sometimes, during especially long meetings, one’s eyes might wander – giving them time to really scrutinise the room.
That’s why it’s important not to keep an eye on the details. Is there mildew on the inside of your window frames? Bundles of wires hanging out? Dust built up in one particular corner? Pay attention to these little things – because your guests are likely to notice them all!
You can always do more to help each session feel like a fresh start.
Try adding welcoming touches, like fresh flowers, cool bottled water, and a bowl of snacks. These little extras can really make a big difference to how people feel when they visit your meeting room.
It’s an all-encompassing experience that you need to create. Because even if you’ve got a killer slide deck, an incredible pitch, or an offer a candidate can’t refuse, the feeling they get when they enter your meeting room is what ultimately sells it. Nail that feeling, and you’ll be more successful.
And if you want to make your office cleaning simpler and better than ever, get in touch with The Abbey Cleaning Service – your expert partner in office cleaning!
Read this next – Where You Need to Focus Your Office Cleaning for a Client Visit
Keeping your office meeting room clean
Keep your meeting room clean and ready for visitors, any time. With regular, professional office cleaning from The Abbey Cleaning Service, we’ll get your office clean, without disrupting your work day. Call 029 2067 9323 today to get started.
