Five Solutions to Successful Safe Business Meetings in London

With restrictions finally easing and life returning to some kind of normality, the world of business has also seen its many cogs spring back into action over the last few months. Activities which have been on hold for over a year are finally coming back into the picture, including a whole host of business meetings, conferences and functions being penciled in diaries for later in 2021.

If you’re looking to plan an event for your business, you’ll no doubt be weighing up how you can do so safely and with the full confidence of everyone attending. Thankfully, there’s plenty you can do to ensure your meetings, socials and pitches happen in a Covid secure manner – and here are just a few options to get your planning started.

Be adaptable

If the last year or two have taught us one thing, it’s to be adaptable. Thousands upon thousands of businesses had to think on their feet in March 2020 and rapidly adjust to an entirely new way of working and communicating.

One of the main outcomes of this was the adoption of remote working. And while many businesses will be looking to a time when this is the exception rather than the rule once again, it’s important to retain the offer of flexibility to your employees, clients and partners. While the pandemic remains in the public consciousness, many would-be attendees may be weighing up their own circumstances and wondering whether travelling to – and attending – your event is worthwhile. That’s why it’s a good idea to provide alternative ways of engaging with your event for those who would prefer it.

Consider keeping some measures in place

Though the UK looks set to formally shed its social distancing requirements in the coming weeks, it’s only natural that businesses would want to remain more cautious than that for some time yet. No company wants to put its employees at risk, so retaining some of the measures we’ve become accustomed to over the last year or two is a great way to manage this risk and show attendees that you’re acting with their health in mind.

What measures can be reasonably implemented will depend on the scale and nature of your event. If you’ve the space, you may want to ensure attendees are sat a safe distance apart. Meanwhile, you could provide hand sanitiser at entry points and ask that masks are worn at any time that those attending your meeting aren’t at a table and engaged in discussion. You could even offer attendees lateral flow tests which return Covid results in as little as 15 minutes, there and then.

Prepare your attendees

If you are going to be sticking with protocols like testing, sanitising and social distancing, it will be helpful for all your attendees to be aware in advance. Confirming everyone knows how to behave on the day will ensure the event goes smoothly and that risks are minimised in the process.

Ideally, you’ll want to give your invitees plenty of notice, providing a short bulleted list via email that details what will be required of them beforehand and how things will run when the event kicks off.

Host your event off-site

If you’re meeting with a range of attendees from outside your company, such as for a client pitch or industry networking event, you could reduce the risk to the wider employee base at your business by hosting your meetings at a venue other than your own office.

By doing so, you may even be able to take advantage of a range of facilities not available to you at your usual base. That could include everything from catering and table service refreshments, through to screens, stages and sound set-ups. Particularly if you’re pitching to or entertaining clients or customers, these are touches that could make all the difference.  

Increase the size of your venue

If hosting the event off-site is a viable option for you, you can also reflect on how to use this opportunity to make your event even safer. By making use of a bigger space than is typically available in even the largest office boardrooms, you can ensure social distancing is adhered to and there’s no crowds or bottlenecks, helping each of your attendees feel comfortable at all times.

This brings with it plenty of opportunities to make your meeting or conference a much more memorable and impactful one. From quirky function rooms in bars that offer pool tables and mini games, through to smart and stylish hotel function rooms that provide bespoke set-ups on request and catering for your event, there’s lots of upsides to upscaling your plans.  

If you’re looking for a well-equipped space in London to host your business meetings and functions, the conference facilities at our Leonardo Royal Hotels are among the best in the capital. Our stylish rooms are available in all sorts of sizes to suit your needs, and can be configured to fit the particular nature of the event you’re hosting. Each room is served by a dedicated team who’ll be well aware of your plans and will be ready to respond with anything you need on the day. What’s more, our rigorous charter outlines and reinforced our commitment to the safety of all guests and events hosted at our hotels during the Covid-19 Pandemic.