Everybody sitting together, the lunch area and the view from there, plus more meeting rooms. Those seem to be the aspects of our new office that our employees appreciate the most. Plus the proximity to Malmö Saluhall, one of the city's most popular lunch spots.
In early September, we moved our Head Office some 800 meters from one side to the other of the main Railway Station in Malmö. At the speed of growth we have experienced, we had outgrown our old office as well as some workarounds we had had to implement. Sure, we were in the same building on the same floor, but on different sides of the atrium connected by a skybridge which we used "pretty frequently".
Talking about floors, we moved from one top floor to another, but this is two floors higher, so the view is better. And the windows are bigger.
Actually, the surface has only gone from just below 500 square metres for the two old offices combined, to just above 500. But the key word is "combined". That was what triggered the move in the first place; to bring us all together. Being a start-up, based on creativity, professional skills, and loads of interaction and collaboration across professions and teams, we believe in the value of proximity, of "rubbing shoulders" (or "rubbing brains" rather.)
Of course, we have people working remotely too, but if possible, we prefer physical proximity. Plus a stimulating work environment and atmosphere.
That's where the lunch/relax area comes in. And the view.
The better we all know each other, the better we know just who to ask for help or with whom to discuss that new idea we just had. And are there any better ways to get to know each other than to eat together, relax and exercise together? That's why we also have some couches in a corner of the lunch area. Perfect for a chat over a coffee, overlooking the inner harbour of Malmö, with a colleague or with the Cody family.
For "exercise", we got a bit closer to where we use to play badminton efter work. Not a big difference, but in the right direction.
On the opposite side of the inner harbour they used to build tankers, then submarines, and now new office- and residential buildings in the old docklands plus a bridge connecting our side of the harbour with that one. A bridge in the red colour of the underwater hull of the ships that used to be built over there. Somewhat Golden Gate-ish. In colour only, though. A nice touch, we think.
The double dishwashers are great as we can fill one while the other is busy washing. No more dishes waiting in the sink. Two common office frictions less: The eyesore of dirty dishes and someone having to deal with them when the machine is done washing.
We also have a new dark room, to test scanners under light conditions that we can control.
Noodle has his own house now! Noodle? Sure, our robotic arm that noodles around when taking images of packages for our AI to train on.
The move has given Pär a chance to organise our odd inventory. All the samples of packages and products we have received for POC:s, for exploration, and for Noodle to use for training our computer vision AI. As well as all kits and models used in development. All the stuff that previously gave our office a touch of factory floor, conveyor belts and all.
You can still see a noticeable difference between the techy and commercial areas, though. Less sun is let in on the techy side. Is that just because of how the sun moves across the sky or is it due to differences of mentality? We'll leave that to others to discuss.
Let's not forget the proximity to Malmö Saluhall, one of Malmö's most appreciated food courts which is within crawling distance, making sure that everyone can find something to eat for lunch. Unless they bring their own from home. Thinking of it, doesn't Saluhallen lack a good curry place?
Let's hope that we will not outgrow this office in the near future. If we do, the three floors below us are about to be vacated so there might be a chance of us expanding without having to move to another building again as we hopefully continue to grow rapidly.
One thing is for sure, though. Camilla, our office manager, can add "Highly experienced in the selection and assembly of IKEA furniture" to her CV. "IKEA's assembly instructions are way better than everybody else's. As are their mounting kits." she says. We believe her. She's an authority on the topic.
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