Challenge
In 2014, CommerceHub was growing fast, and they needed more space for their expanding team. But they didn’t just want another satellite office; they wanted to create a new world headquarters that would engage current employees, attract the best talent to join the company, and stay within their budget.
The company signed a lease for the top floor of the new ZEN Building of the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute campus and then hired a team of space designers to help map out the new location. In order to achieve their goal of designing a brand new space that allowed their current employees to flourish and at the same time attract new and upcoming talent, CommerceHub partnered with Staples and Davies Office.
The team worked together to create and outfit an environment that motivated and excited the current and future CommerceHub workforce, to do it all on a budget, and to manage this massive undertaking with a clear plan and smooth execution.
Solution
Furniture designers from Staples Business Advantage worked with CommerceHub’s space designers to fulfill the need for stylish, functional, and affordable furniture in the new space. Because of Staples Business Advantage’s dynamic relationships with its vendors, designers, and partners, the team was able to consolidate vendors and choose a mix of custom, retail, and remanufactured designs for the new office — all from Staples Business Advantage.
“Our space designers could describe the goals and needs of each space, but the Staples designers brought the market and product knowledge to the table,” says John Hinkle, the Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer of CommerceHub.
The choices they came up with suited the space functionally, provided the look the company wanted aesthetically, and hit the right price point.
“The result is something really innovative and slick,” he says. “We have high-top tables, diner booths that tuck into the walls, a game room, a meditation room. There are some eclectic pairings around here. The idea is to service different employee needs with different types of offerings.”
Staples Business Advantage was also able to offer the overall project management services CommerceHub needed, a game-changer for a project of this size with several teams of designers. They also managed the installation of the furniture in the new office and broke down and cleared out the old office.
“Staples Business Advantage made this move go extremely smoothly,” says Hinkle. “We met our commitments and delivery timelines, and I didn’t even have to get involved.”
Result
The newly designed and outfitted office exemplified CommerceHub’s company goals and values by creating an innovative, comfortable, collaborative space for its employees to thrive in.
“People are proud to come to work here,” says Hinkle. “It’s a fun and exciting place to come to every day. That first weekend we moved in, the number of employees who brought their families in was mind-blowing. They were that excited and proud about it to show their husbands, wives, kids.”
The office also serves as a recruitment tool, impressing and attracting new hires. “We have a bunch of smart, technical people here, and being able to find, recruit, and retain top talent is the make-or-break for a company like us,” says Hinkle. “We need to try to be as exciting, innovative, and cool as Silicon Valley.”
The new space and its furnishings have allowed CommerceHub to do just that. Albany is nearly 3,000 miles from Silicon Valley, but the CommerceHub headquarters vibrates with the energy and verve of a company in the tech capital.
“If you talk about our company and our values, it’s based on collaboration, great communication, innovation, and leading-edge technology,” says Hinkle. “And this office speaks to that.”
We wanted to be cost effective, but in an open-space floor plan, you can’t hide anything, you need the whole thing to look good.”
