Clark Insurance

Happy Employees = High Performance

Clark Insurance is a forward-thinking organization in an industry where employees are aging out and retiring at a rapid pace. After residing in an office park building for a couple of decades, the company made a strategic move to a newly constructed building which would reflect their image as a modern employer. We used our inclusive survey and workshop process to invite all employees to imagine a future workplace that would allow them to do their best work. One of our employee workshops focused on aspects of current culture, including visible artifacts, espoused values, and shared working assumptions.

The result of this workshop, and others, informed our interior architectural layout and design of the floor plans. We provided pre-design, programing, schematic design, furniture layouts, interior signage, colors and finishes, and worked with an art consultant and an environmental graphics designer to bring vibrancy to the interior.

A Circular Workplace Design

The building was designed to give the client ultimate flexibility, which supports one of the circular economy principles, with an eye towards recruitment in an industry (insurance) that is having a difficult time attracting millennials. A fitness center, collaborative plaza work area, connected work environment with sit-stand desks, along with numerous meeting spaces, and huddle rooms, were investments Clark made for their current employees and for their future workers. Importantly, there are numerous private focus rooms for use by any employee, regardless of title or function, so people can choose if they want to be adjacent to coworkers to collaborate, or to work in a room with a door to focus on deep work. 90% of the floor to ceiling walls are kept off the perimeter building windows, allowing democratization of sunlight for all employees. And, where there are walls, there is a great deal of floor to ceiling glass so natural light is plentiful.

Because of possible loss of institutional knowledge with a retiring workforce, Clark created an initiative called Clark Insurance University to train and mentor newer employees entering the industry. This program required a robust training room with state-of-the art AV technology and a flexible meeting space.  Messaging, including a “teamwork” wall when employees enter the building, and a “story wall” located near the plaza, reminds employees that the work they do everyday is connected to a larger purpose.