InsideTrack’s New World Trade Center Office Serves as a Model of the Modern Virtual Workforce Hub
“In the end…it all comes down to trust,” says Pete Wheelan, CEO of InsideTrack. “Trust the organization and its people to do what they’re tasked to do. Hire the right people for the job, measure and manage them on the basis of results, and don’t worry about controlling where and when they do their work.”
This is the guiding vision that led InsideTrack, a leading national student success organization, to fully revamp its workspace in Portland’s World Trade Center. In an effort to better serve its clients, attract and retain highly talented people, and control costs, the company is embracing workplace flexibility in a profound and meaningful way.
The new office is organized into zones to accommodate different activities and work styles. For example, there is a high energy game room and living room, as well as group working areas for team members to draw inspiration and motivation from their peers. There are pop-in quiet rooms and full whiteboard wall collaboration areas. There are also a variety of special purpose facilities, including a video studio, podcast rooms, wellness room, and group training facility.
Instead of assigned cubicles, each team member has the opportunity to work from any location at any time, including working from home or another location outside the office. To provide space for personal items, the office has areas for personal plants in the living room, community shelves for displaying individual and team awards, and private lockers located throughout the space.
“We wanted the physical space to be adaptive, inspiring and collaborative so that our team members feel invigorated and productive when they’re in the office,” says Mandi Cannon, director of facilities operations at InsideTrack. “We’ve also invested heavily in the technology, tools and training they need to work effectively from anywhere.”
To facilitate mobility, InsideTrack has rolled out portable computing across the company and moved its communication and information technology systems to the cloud. From their laptop or other mobile device, team members can make phone calls, participate in video conferences and securely access company systems and files.
“While roughly two-thirds of our 300 plus team members are here in Portland, we have people working all over the country,” says Joe Donato, InsideTrack’s vice president of human resources. “Everyone is remote from someone and we owe it to them to provide a best-in-class virtual workplace experience in addition to a great office environment.”
Beyond vibrant workspaces and flexible work location policies, InsideTrack also provides a variety of other benefits to its team members, including ongoing professional development, individual learning grants and up to 31 paid days off annually after one year.
“Lots of great people come to work for InsideTrack because they believe in our mission of helping students succeed,” says Donato. “We want to reciprocate, to show our team members that we care equally about their success and happiness. Providing a flexible and supportive work environment is part of that process.”
InsideTrack works with colleges, universities and others dedicated to supporting students in making the most of their educational experiences, including Ivy Tech Community College, Columbia University and Arizona State University. In cooperation with their partner institutions, they design and operate student support programs that are proven to increase enrollment, graduation, career readiness, institutional effectiveness, and overall satisfaction with the student experience.
The organization’s more than 250 professional coaches also work directly with students at more than 850 programs nationwide to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs that lead to long-term fulfillment and success. To date, InsideTrack has coached more than 1 million students.
The new office, which opened on August 10 is designed to support anywhere from 50 and 175 people on any given day. InsideTrack’s San Francisco headquarters was similarly redesigned last year.
About InsideTrack
Society thrives when students succeed. Since 2001, InsideTrack has used a proven combination of coaching, analytics, consulting and technology to unlock potential in 1 million+ students and 850+ academic programs. We invite you to join the leading colleges, universities, foundations, and others working with us to enhance the transformative power of higher education. Please visit us at http://www.insidetrack.com and follow us on Twitter @InsideTrack.