Custom Built for Unboxed: What A New Office Means for Our Team
Shifting from nice-to-have to need-to-have, office design is now a top tool in recruiting and retaining talent. In fact, a quarter of employees would go so far as to take a pay cut in exchange for better workspace. Today’s candidates expect to work in an environment that allows them to maximize their potential, a fact that hasn’t been lost on us as we continue to grow.
Movin’ On Up
This March we said goodbye to the business park we’d been in for the last five years and said hello to downtown RVA. We were in the land of fluorescent lighting, dark tinted windows, and limited lunch options and we knew we needed a change. We kept our team informed throughout the entire process, sharing details as we scouted locations, asking for input on flooring and wall options, and polling employees to find out the amenities they wanted most. As our moniker alludes, we think outside the box. Custom is the name of our game, and that requires our team members to be creative on demand. Light-filled and airy, our new space in The Bookbindery building on Broad Street was designed with those needs in mind. A stone’s throw from the Fan and Scott’s Addition, the office blends and embraces both the history and evolution of our city. The dining options are unmatched, and the potential for walking meetings only sweetens the deal.
Beyond Free Beer and Bean Bags
From the moment you walk into our new space, you’re met with collaborative energy. We have whiteboard walls to capture ideas and intentions, and a café that’s perfect for lunches with team members or weekly all-hands meetings, and plenty of spots to settle in for a quiet afternoon working in the sun.
For the floor plan, we opted for an open setup and took steps to ensure the creative process didn’t suffer as a result. We included huddle spaces and breakout rooms throughout the office to limit distractions—areas that also help account for changes in technology and mobile working preferences. The result is a diverse environment that allows employees more freedom and flexibility in where they work, think, create, and engage with one another.
See for yourself—with high ceilings, plenty of natural light, and Instagram-worthy exposed brick, the space is beautiful. We’ve got the requisite bean bags, leather couches, and fridge o’ (craft) beer, too. However, these features and perks do more than check the boxes of the latest list of office design trends. They allow us to work in a space that reflects who we are as an organization.
What Matters Most
We know that it’s not the office itself that makes our employees love the work they do and the business they do it for, though. That comes instead from finding satisfaction and progress in their roles, purpose in our products, and lasting and fulfilling connections with their colleagues and clients; those are the differentiators that matter the most. Despite what awesome layouts and bonus amenities can do for talent retention, the reality of hiring smart, ambitious people like those that fill the four walls of Unboxed is that one day they may move on. That’s why whether it’s the first or last time an employee feasts their eyes on our exposed beams or sidles up to one of our standing conference tables, we want them to know they’re trusted, valued, and vital to our mission. This new office is just another way to reinforce that message.
