By Matt Magrann, co-founder & CEO of PROJEX Inc.
Over the past year and a half, our lives have been flipped upside down. COVID forced us into a new “normal” that would significantly impact our lives personally and professionally. With the vast majority of us working from home, business owners had big decisions to make with large implications. As workplace specialists, time and time again we got hit with the same questions: Should we deploy a permanent work-from-home model and get rid of our office altogether? Should we develop a hybrid model? Should we shrink our footprint? If we remain committed to the office, when should we return? How should we outfit the space, given what just happened?
Our client, Uplight—the technology partner of energy providers transitioning to the clean energy ecosystem—remained committed and bullish on the importance of the office, and, we’d like to share why we feel they made the right call.
1. Without an office, how can you possibly create and sustain an attractive company culture?
2. Without an office, innovation will lack, and serendipitous conversations will cease.
3. Without an office, where will you find the passion, excitement, and fulfillment for what you are building together? It’s tough to feel that behind a computer screen in your home.
4. Where will our young up-and-comers receive true mentorship? How will they learn and grow?
5. What’s going to stop me from taking a job offer from the competitor down the street?
When I moved to Denver more than eight years ago, a similar discussion was occurring in the commercial real estate community: How do we attract and retain millennials? How do we cultivate and sustain great company culture? As a millennial myself, I know through first-hand experience the importance of the office and the impact it has on the atmosphere and energy of the organization. It is my opinion that the vast majority of companies will realize the importance of getting back to the office and things will normalize sooner than we think. Kudos to our friends at Uplight for staying ahead of the curve!
Project Details:
Square Footage: 30,534
Products provided: workstation benching, meeting spaces, soft seating, and another ancillary.
Industry partners: Rand Construction Corporation, Acquilano Interior Architecture, Cresa.
Manufacturing partners: Teknion, Studio TK, Bernhardt, Andreu World, Sit on It, Boss, Hightower, OFS, Allermuir.
Matt Magrann, founder and CEO of PROJEX, a certified Teknion furniture and architectural wall dealer in Denver. Matt Magrann has a demonstrated history of leading complex customer-focused businesses. As a former collegiate athlete, Matt brings a high energy level, competitiveness, and all-around infectious tenacity to everything he does. He has a passion for strategic thinking, creative vision and positively impacting the lives around him.