Nov 15, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Interstate Office Products.

Before the pandemic, more than 110 people worked in the Sioux Falls downtown office of RAS, the state’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance.

About two years later, the firm has grown by nearly 30 people, moved its office within the same building at Cherapa Place and redesigned its space – to house only about 40 people.

“With the success we had in work from home, a lot of our team members were really happy and thankful to be able to continue with that, and as we continued to poll people, it became clear we could be able to survive in a smaller space and continue to with that work-from-home option,” said Rob Hollan, senior vice president, secretary and general counsel.

Across town, Interstates had contemplated needing more space before the pandemic but ended up redesigning existing space to replace full-size workstations with “hoteling” workstations, reflecting an increase in employees who wanted to continue working from home. The company delivers electrical engineering, construction, instrumentation and control-system solutions to industrial and commercial clients.

“With the pandemic, it allowed us to embrace a hybrid workforce and utilize office space even differently than anticipated,” asset manager Michelle McCord said.

Both companies are among a growing number of businesses working with Interstate Office Products in designing new spaces that reflect their changing needs.

“Companies have pivoted from retrofitting and reconfiguring to full-on rethinking the office completely,” said Marcia Young, who designed the spaces for both companies with Abby Tufvesson.

“This is the new normal. We’re not putting Band-Aids on floor plans any more. We’re creating spaces people are going to want to come back to. We want them excited about coming to work.”

That leads to the broader goal of retaining employees, Young added.

“It’s not the forceful hand of saying you have to come back to the office. It’s a balance between getting workers back into the office and feeling like a team again, while still allowing that flexibility and mobility to choose where you’re working.”

Office for the future

When RAS changed offices at Cherapa Place, the new space offered a blank slate for creating its office for the future.

“It’s a whole new ballgame, so they took things to a higher degree than many businesses have so far,” Young said. “Not every customer had the freedom and ability to change their whole floor plan over the pandemic, so they’ve adapted in different ways, but this definitely is an example of what’s possible and the direction many could be heading over time.”

At RAS, a focal point of the new space is the Steelcase Air3 acoustic pod, which is a freestanding meeting room with its own fire detection and air circulation system.

“It has a ceiling that closes with a sensor that recognizes when it’s occupied, and closes the ceiling for more privacy,” Young said. “That’s their main meeting room, and it can seat up to seven.”

The Air3 pod can even adjust so that information on presentation screens can’t be read outside of the pod, Hollan said.

“So those on the outside can’t see sensitive information,” he said. “It’s a pretty neat way to capture some private space in a smaller office space. And there’s sound buffering, so you can easily present or visit in a confined private space.”

Other features of the office include hoteling workstations with height-adjustable desks and a benching system. They include screens and a pull-out storage wardrobe and come in two configurations: a corner unit and a straight one, which allow the floor plan to vary.

“We’ve got them spaced out nicely, and they’re not packed in by any means, so it’s a nice open floor plan,” Young said. “We removed all the offices by the windows and opened that up completely, so they get a ton of natural light.”

At first, Hollan said he wondered if the smaller space might not feel roomy enough.

“But when you’re in the space, it feels quite spacious,” he said. “And we’re seeing more activity as far as people coming in. Our concern was culture and preserving that, so we’re doing things on a quarterly basis to bring people together whether it’s socially or philanthropically and lunch-and-learns.”

The hoteling spaces are “definitely being used,” Hollan said. “We’ve had staff up from Omaha and Minneapolis and in from the field, so we’ve used these flex spaces in a number of different ways.”

The design also includes many movable floor-to-ceiling walls with full glass and sliding doors.

“They give us flexibility should we want to move or change an office or have additional space to grow,” Hollan said. “We can use all these again in a more flexible fashion.”

There also are a variety of enclaves designed for those times “you need to meet away from your desk and not in the middle of everything,” Tufvesson said. “They’re small, for one or two people or even a phone call if you want to get up from your hotel station.”

While RAS is still navigating who is in the office more permanently versus flexibly, the leadership team has dedicated spaces, and employees are enjoying their continued flexibility, Hollan said.

“Interstate has been great to work with throughout,” he added. “We had a relationship from when we moved into Cherapa, and the products have come a long way since our first office here. They’ve been responsive to our needs and know our business and the balance we want to strike between the aesthetics and the functionality. We ended up with a great balance.”

Learning from experience

At Interstates, a project a few years ago in Sioux Center, Iowa, created the foundation for redesigning the Sioux Falls office.

The company’s philosophy is allowing people “the best place to do their best work,” McCord said.

In Sioux Center, more than a year before the pandemic, the company had deliberately integrated hotel workstations within or near full-size workstations and near collaboration areas.

“We wanted to provide ample options for success depending on how each person or team does their best work for our clients,” McCord said. “We recognized an opportunity within the Sioux Falls office to ask how we can do even better for our people and apply lessons learned from the Sioux Center project.”

That resulted in removing about 40 full-size workstations and replacing them with space for 70 hotel stations.

“They were able to fit more people in the space, and it gave more flexibility to space people out,” Young said. “One of the hotel stations is enclosed with more privacy and panels, and the majority of them are going to be ‘free address,’ so storage isn’t needed beyond a place to put a bag, purse and other personal items.”

Stations are set up with two monitors, and “they come in and plug in; it’s easy and seamless,” Young said. “They don’t need to bring a full bag of cords to connect.”

And for employees working at home, Interstates set up a custom work-from-home online store. Working with Interstate Office Products, they curated a selection of office products and gave employees an allowance. Everything from trash receptacles to mouse pads and pencil holders has been shipped to homes nationwide.

“We are shipping things all over, and it’s not just supplies,” Young said. “They had the option of ordering office furniture, from chairs to height-adjustable desks and monitor arms to make sure their home office is fully functioning.”

Feedback from employees has been positive, both inside and outside the office, McCord said.

“Being innovative in the way we work and striving to be a leader in the industry is reflected by the tone and type of office space we provide for our people,” she said. “The feedback has been so positive, in fact, that retrofitting our other offices to match the Sioux Falls office is a regularly discussed topic.”

IOP helped Interstates work through the project and standardize its approach to furniture, which has resulted in greater pricing and efficiency, she added.

“IOP has helped capture our needs as we continue to navigate the many different ways success can look, while being agile and building lasting relationships both with our clients and within Interstates. Being able to focus on people and our space promptly is accomplished because of our partnership,” McCord said.

“It’s always a pleasure to engage with IOP. When initially researching a furniture manufacturer, we were not solely focused on the product side. The service aspect was just as important. We are not the least bit dissatisfied in our interactions with IOP, and they continue to deliver each time we reach out.” 

Are you ready to move your office space into 2022 and beyond? Visit i-o-p.com, or call 605-339-0300.