Your office lobby may need an acoustic booth (or two)

Office lobby – tl;dr

• A well-designed reception space can profoundly influence an organization’s outcomes. After all, it serves as the gateway to organizational culture and values. The first point of contact for visitors, it forms perceptions and sets the tone for one’s experience at your workplace. And functionally, it can improve operational efficiency by facilitating smooth interactions, managing visitor flow, and ensuring security protocols are met.

• Creating a positive first impression is crucial for a highly satisfying visitor experience. Acoustic booths in the reception area specifically can play a key role in achieving this by providing a welcoming and controlled environment that lets guests feel at ease in their surroundings. Notably, booths greatly improve the acoustic soundscape of any environment they are placed in.

• Mobile acoustic booths like Hushoffice are a strong choice because they solve many of an office lobby’s unique and tricky acoustical challenges. Implemented as a reception desk, a 4-person booth like hushMeet answers the front desk worker’s need for discretion with guests. Implemented as a phone pod, a 1-person booth like hushHybrid answers the visitor’s typical need for a discrete call space. Implemented as an enclosed waiting space, a multi-person booth like hushAccess.L affords guests a peaceful waiting space that is noise-free and calm.

The reception area is a crucial touchpoint for a hybrid organization. It can drive fruitful run-ins on in-office days and, ultimately, smoothen business in little ways with visiting customers. To really realize its potential, it must succeed on multiple fronts. Making a positive impression on clients, for instance. Offering privacy and security to sensitive discussions where possible. Welcoming to visitors, of course. It should too be pleasant for employees passing through each morning and simply conducive to a productive day’s work. Through and through, a lobby reflective of a company’s heart – one that conveys the core values at play – is an asset. Like the handshake of a building, offering the first sense of warmth and professionalism, yours is well worth a look over

– says Mateusz Barczyk, Senior Brand Manager, Hushoffice.

Why does the reception environment deserve special attention?

The lobby is the face of a company. It is also presented with special acoustical challenges that, unsolved, can turn visitors away or harm employee morale. It must elegantly tell a team’s offering while affording speech privacy by way of acoustic design and careful thought.

The reception area’s design conveys symbolic meanings, impacting visitor perception.

To illustrate with detail, a comprehensive look at the topic helps. Bullet points from Suzyn Ornstein’s study, “First Impressions of the Symbolic Meaning Connotated by Reception Area Design,” spell it out clearly.

• A reception area’s design nonverbally communicates. It conveys messages about the organization’s values, culture, and professionalism. Elements such as color schemes, furniture style, lighting, and layout thus play important roles in shaping these meanings.

• Visitors form immediate impressions about an organization based on the design of its entrance. A well-planned, aesthetically pleasant entrance thus greatly enhances perceptions of a company’s credibility and attention to detail.

• In particular, the reception space shapes the level of trust and confidence visitors feel towards the company. A welcoming, clean, and organized space signals reliability while an unfriendly or disorienting space seeds doubt.

• Different design styles connote different cultural and social aspects. Traditional or classical design features convey heritage. Modern or minimalist features, on the other hand, suggest innovation and forward-thinking. Understanding these connotations is crucial to branding your welcome area’s look and feel properly.

• The entryway’s design significantly decides the lingering emotional and psychological state of visitors as they work or meet within your office. Comfortable seating, calm acoustics, natural lighting, and pleasing colors can create the desired sense of ease. Discordance among these spatial elements can mean anxiety.

How does office noise affect guests waiting at the reception desk?

Noise is paramount in the reception space. It is enveloping and physiological, working on peoples’ mental/emotional states the instant they set foot in your building. Gentle and harmonious, acoustics allow for relaxed focus and clear thought. Harsh and interruptive, they derail effort.

Acoustic booths in the lobby give visitors an impression of modernity.

Lobby office booths give every guest a sheer sense for an organization’s thoughtful and progressive approach. Finely soundproofed, these freestanding, acoustically impeccable structures show that a company is invested not only in their team’s privacy but that of all guests.

How do acoustic booths improve the comfort of those waiting in your reception area?

They are havens of noise-free speech privacy that dignify sensitive discussions. While one booth gives guests a secure space to check-in, another gives guests a pleasant environment to wait.

With reduced distractions comes restored concentration.

Guests must be able to relax to feel respected and at ease while they wait. Whether to prepare for a meeting or take a moment of pause, a spacious acoustic booth like hushAccess.L in the lobby accommodates any visitor’s universal desire for quietude while they pass time in the reception space.

Beyond silence. Office waiting room booths are purely ergonomic.

Implemented as an all-in-one reception desk, a 4-person booth like hushMeet gives your front desk worker and their guests premium comfort. Such a booth also has adjustable lights and airflow and is available with high-quality furniture, supporting a cozy seating position.

Call pod. Front counter. Acoustic booths have many places in an office lobby.

Whether set up as waiting room seating, a reception counter, or a call space (see: the hushHybrid call pod), the right office pod or booth supplies the “peace and quiet” that every typical lobby function benefits from.

An office pod is a fully outfitted (and portable) reception desk.

Inside, visitors can be greeted by staff, check in, and get help in quiet, without distractions. Visitors and staff enjoy privacy throughout their correspondence. This is especially important when dealing with sensitive information.

Set up in the lobby, a pod is a convenient meeting space for busy clients.

At a building’s entrance, booths make perfect locations for brief consultations or interviews, avoiding the need to spend time escorting visitors to other parts of the building. Equipped with video call technology as with hushHybrid, easy video calls are also a possibility.

How about a private call space for visitors?

Guests and employees often use lobby booths for private calls, enjoying guaranteed confidentiality. Used this way, booths also reduce noise pollution in the reception area, creating a more serene and professional atmosphere.

A lobby office booth makes a perfect document and form-filling space, too.

Inside a booth, guests are perfectly insulated from the lobby’s commotion and can fill out their paperwork — or simply sit tight — in peace.

Acoustics. Privacy. Image. Office booths bring many benefits to a front desk area.

While pods and booths are often specified for work areas, they are as exceptionally functional in lobby spaces as well.

Reduced background noise; bettered communication.

Booths are sanctuaries of quiet in a bustling space. They keep conversations secure. Contained, these conversations no longer irritate others passing through the space. Ambient noise is reduced, and a more serene atmosphere made.

Confidentiality — foundational to a quality guest experience

Implementing private phone booths in a building’s waiting room or reception area for visitors to use freely makes good sense. For anyone taking a call, the booth is a quiet, dedicated space promising privacy free of distractions. Having a designated spot to take a quick call turns idle moments into productive opportunities. Meanwhile, for others nearby, the phone booth acts as sound barriers, saving other visitors from having to overhear intrusive or distracting conversations. A more peaceful and comfortable environment is created for everyone

– says Mateusz Barczyk, Senior Brand Manager, Hushoffice.

A competent image in the eyes of prospective business partners.

Lobby booths prove a company’s commitment to privacy. Because they are effortlessly mobile, they demonstrate the greatest priority given to flexibility, as well, showing an organization’s readiness to invest in future-smart solutions and, in turn, a readiness for the future itself.

What to consider when integrating office booths in your building’s reception area?

The sweet deal with office booths (like the Hushoffice line) is mobility. They can be quickly relocated in minutes, responding to change. And in choosing the right model for your space, you are free to pick the colors and features fitted to your team’s brand and needs both.

Tailoring a booth’s aesthetic and functional features to your company’s needs…

Hushoffice booths feature fabric-lined interior panels which can be specified in a variety of colors. Moreover, they can be ordered with or without a selection of contemporary furniture. Aesthetically and functionally, they can be customized to fit your reception space’s needs.

Check out the Hushoffice line of acoustic office booths here.

More than function… Thinking of booths as branding tools…

Built worlds have more visceral impact than digital, making the office an terrific branding tool. Tuning its details so communicative of one’s brand, a team refines the one asset which everyday sings ethos and abilities. Perfectly, the reception space is the first checkpoint for everyone.

Office lobby – summary

• A well-designed reception space can profoundly influence an organization’s outcomes. After all, it serves as the gateway to organizational culture and values. The first point of contact for visitors, it forms perceptions and sets the tone for one’s experience at your workplace. And functionally, it can improve operational efficiency by facilitating smooth interactions, managing visitor flow, and ensuring security protocols are met.

• Creating a positive first impression is crucial for a highly satisfying visitor experience. Acoustic booths in the reception area specifically can play a key role in achieving this by providing a welcoming and controlled environment that lets guests feel at ease in their surroundings. Notably, booths greatly improve the acoustic soundscape of any environment they are placed in.

• Mobile acoustic booths like Hushoffice are a strong choice because they solve many of an office lobby’s unique and tricky acoustical challenges. Implemented as a reception desk, a 4-person booth like hushMeet answers the front desk worker’s need for discretion with guests. Implemented as a phone pod, a 1-person booth like hushHybrid answers the visitor’s typical need for a discrete call space. Implemented as an enclosed waiting space, a multi-person booth like hushAccess.L affords guests a peaceful waiting space that is noise-free and calm.   

Office lobby – frequently asked questions

How do I set up an office reception area?

The reception desk is the first thing visitors notice, making it a vital focal point. Ensure it is spacious and not overcrowded. Comfortable, clean, ample seating is essential for waiting guests as well. For colors, muted tones with vibrant pops of brighter hues that align with your brand will help to create a balanced, recognizable environment that is welcoming.

How big should an office reception area be?

As a general guideline, the reception area should be spacious enough to comfortably accommodate visitors while allowing for easy movement and access to reception desks and seating.

What are the important features of a reception area?

An inviting reception desk, comfortable seating, and high-quality lighting are some of the most important features of an office’s lobby area. The space should also be intuitive to navigate and acoustically treated — it should draw visitors into its oasis of peace and order, setting a positive tone for productive correspondence.