INTERVIEW
Braze Achieves Workplace Balance with ROOM Phone Booths
JESSICA BARTLETT, SVP, PEOPLE
For fast-growing companies, optimizing office space is an ongoing challenge.
By partnering closely with ROOM, Braze found the right number of booths and identified opportunities to turn underutilized space into hotbeds of productivity without the need for construction.
Providing office space that allows your employees to do their best work in addition to enjoying their environment is a challenge every company faces. As a fast-growing tech company, we found that this challenge compounded significantly as we scale within our space.
As the SVP of People at Braze, Jessica Bartlett oversees the Global People Team, which includes talent acquisition, people operations, facilities, learning and development, as well as business operations.
Braze is a customer engagement platform with a global footprint. Our team continues to grow rapidly with plans to hire next year in every one of our offices: from Chicago, London, and New York, to San Francisco and Singapore. This means we need to account for a variety of work styles in order to provide a productive environment for our diverse global workforce.
Rapid growth has increased the urgency to hire top talent, while ensuring that office space is optimized to support the growing team’s needs.
Life before ROOM
Earlier this year, we struggled to ensure we had the correct number of desks, meeting spaces, and private spaces for calls and quiet work. At over 80,000 square feet, our New York headquarters contains over 40 conference rooms spread across three floors. We consciously chose an open layout to promote community and collaboration and we love the energy this creates. However, we often ran into a shortage of rooms when individuals needed to grab a whole conference room for a private phone call or video conference.
We recognized this was creating an issue, but it was difficult to change behavior without providing an alternative. Our ultimate goal was to create a space that accommodates different individual workstyles and department needs, but we struggled to find a solution without incurring high costs or disrupting collaboration.
Adding Space Without Disruption
When we discovered ROOM, we knew we had found our answer. Thanks to their guidance, we were able to achieve more balance in our work environment by adding dedicated space for private calls and quiet work. Based on the level of activity, type of departments nearby, proximity to other private spaces, and overall company size and needs, ROOM helped us create the perfect day 2 plan. They typically recommend 1 booth per 8-10 employees, or 1 booth per 1,000-1,500 square foot. With that in mind, we decided to start out with 17 booths, and their guidance helped us create the right environment for everyone that also encourages people to move around.
ROOM delivered and assembled all the booths in just one day and took care of everything for us, including recycling the packaging. When they left our office, it looked seamless, as if the booths had been there from the beginning. The booths met our needs and complemented our space without a massive, disruptive, and costly construction project. Because each booth takes up less than 10 square feet, we easily found space for the booths without having to rearrange any areas, which was a huge plus.
The ROOM booths offer the perfect space for individual phone calls and video chats. The booths also provide quiet space that Braze employees need to think creatively and strategically.
As a tech company, Braze has a fast-paced, dynamic culture. Adding ROOM phone booths enables Braze to further embrace various work styles and needs, empowering employees to do their best work.
More Functional, Flexible, and Private Spaces
Braze employees love the contemporary and elegant phone booths. ROOM’s design matched the look and feel of our office space, which incorporates high ceilings, light colors, and large windows. The booths allow for natural light to come in, provide great air ventilation, and they are even more soundproof than our conference rooms. You never feel closed in when inside a booth.
We find that our employees use the booths for up to an hour at a time. We took a look at our teams’ workstyles and positioned the booths strategically throughout the entire office while keeping in mind those who spend most of their day on phone calls, for example, our recruiting team.
ROOM phone booths are now part of Braze’s strategic plan for growth as they expand to new markets and continue to scale teams quickly.
Making Room for a Cultural Shift
ROOM has positively shifted how employees leverage our office space, providing the perfect balance for our organization. Meetings rooms are now used appropriately, and employees are no longer scrambling for space. The booths provide privacy for individuals as they need it. The impact has been such a positive culture change that we purchased 20 additional booths. We are happy to share that ROOM is now part of our proactive strategy as we consider future office needs and expansion. We know that incorporating ROOM into our Day 1 planning will help us empower our employees to do their best work.
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