Steal Some Ideas from Zappos HQ
S.F. companies can learn a lot from a shoe and clothing giant sitting in the middle of the desert. (Like always purchase a sandal.) Colliers nat'l office research manager Andrea Cross gave us an enlightening tour.
In late 2013, Zappos consolidated all employees from multiple suburban offices in Henderson, Nev., in the renovated former City Hall in downtown Las Vegas. S.F.-based architecture firm KMD designed the HQ to pack 2,000 people inside (less than 100 SF/employee). The plan is to hire at least 450 more this year, Andrea tells us, above in her S.F. office. Don't pack your bags yet—it's apparently more competitive than Harvard, hiring just 1.5% of its 31,000 applicants in 2013. The building has only one entrance to encourage “serendipitous interactions” between employees. (It worked for Cinderella and her slipper.) Zappos eliminated nearly all private offices to create an urban office feel and collaborative and egalitarian environment.
That means billionaire founder Tony Hsieh and the other “Monkeys,” as the executives request to be called, sit in the same room and at cubicles as small as their admin support professionals—the “Time Ninjas.” (Exec offices, above.) Power and Internet connections hang from the ceiling, supporting mobility and also saving space. Unlike most companies, call center employees are on the top floor and have the best views, reflecting the importance of customer service to the brand. (If you call during holiday season, Tony might just pick up.) Weirdness is encouraged; Andrea witnessed impromptu dance parties and a Nerf gun war during her tour.
Tony and the team are working to revitalize the surrounding area, having acquired the dilapidated former Gold Spike hotel and renovating it as an employee and community meeting place. Want to see the HQ for yourself? (This can be your "excuse" to go to Vegas.) Zappos offers tours such as the one Andrea took, as well as paid Q&A sessions with company employees and culture bootcamps. All of the other people on her tour were from a Silicon Valley startup, looking for ideas to improve their company’s culture and make it more attractive to current and prospective employees.
