Turning my startup’s office into an art gallery was a weirdly good business move
How one painting led to our biggest talent attraction
Why we did it
My business partner is an experienced patron of the greatly underappreciated Ukrainian art scene. He’s always been keen on bringing art closer to people and wanted to help introduce the team to their local culture. I wasn’t as involved in art as he was, but I’ve always cared about making our workplace an inspiring creative space where people wouldwantto come back, not be obliged to come in.
So when we saw our business would be expanding, we decided to combine our interests when designing a new office.
Credit:SupportYourApp
We invited ten muralists, graphic designers, and calligraphists and gave themcarte blanche— a censorship-free opportunity to use our office walls as a canvas. Five months later, our 350-person office space had turned into a modern art gallery.
Now what did our team think? They loved it.
Of course, we had hoped for the project to be a morale boost for the team and maybe increase people’s interest in their local art scene. But in the end, what we got was so much more.
Credit:SupportYourApp
Decreased turnover rate
We work in the customer support industry which has one of the highest employee turnover rates of any field. While theaverage ratefor companies in general is 15 percent, for customer service centers it can reach30-45 percent.
This is a big problem for businesses as the cost to replace a person varies between $10,000 to $15,000 and canadd upto a lot of money for big call centers.
But since we gave our office an art makeover, ourturnover rate dropped by16 percent.All of a sudden our fun art initiative had a real measurable impact on our bottom line.
Increased number of job applications
Credit:SupportYourAppAs a customer support company, our recruiting process is continuous and requires a huge pool of specialists who speak foreign languages. Just last year, during the challenging 2020, we hired 658 people.
Most of our candidates come from job searching sites or are referred by current team members. But after we introduced art to the office, the word got out andthe number of organic job applications increased 1.5 times.
When asked, people said that they’ve seen the photos of our office on the job sites, on their friends’ social media, or in the press, and it made them want to apply. To them, our company seemed interesting and innovative and stood out among other offers.
Judging by the incredibly positive results we’ve gotten, I believe that our investment into the space paid off with increased interest among potential candidates.
Increased offer acceptance rate
We have three-stages job interviews and in the case of a local hire, the last stage is an in-person conversation in the office. We noticed that an average acceptance rate is 50 percent higher among the candidates interviewed in our new ‘art office’ in comparison to the old one.
And it’s clear why from the feedback we’ve gotten from newcomers: “The minute I saw this, I knew I wanted to work here.”
Credit:SupportYourAppTo give you a bit of perspective on why this has been so successful, I think it’s good to note that 42 percent of our applicants are millennials.
Since78 percentof them consider the quality of the workspace important when choosing an employer, it’s not surprising that a creative workplace attracts candidates’ attention.
However, they are not the only ones who care about it:81 percentof all applicants would reject a job offer if they didn’t like the workplace. That’s why I consider resources put in the office a long-term investment into our recruiting efforts.
Increased brand awareness
Introducing an art project like this also drew the attention of local media and put us on a map ofglobal office spaces. It helped us reach a new audience outside our traditional channels and cement a reputation as a responsible employer.
A lot of factors contributed to getting us there. Team members shared photos of the office on social media and brought their relatives to our corporate Family Days. I also found employees were also more willing to promote the company among their friends.
And because of all this interest, we introduced tours of the office for the public so more people could come to see the murals. All of this combined increased interest among potential candidates and, subsequently,clients.
Credit:SupportYourApp
Clients’ recognition
Since we’re in a competitive sector of the B2B industry, relationships and reputation are crucial for us.
Before signing a contract, clients sometimes go on a tour checking out different service providers. Before COVID-19, we hosted on average four client visits per month. Having a unique office makes a memorable impression and lets us stand out among the competitors.
The contact center industry is stereotypically perceived as a toxic work environment with gray open-space and no air conditioning. We bust that myth and make our clients see how their money is spent: on happy representatives which means happy customers.
Clients, who value commitment to the team’s wellness, appreciate our efforts and tend to choose us as a partner.
Credit:SupportYourApp
Of course, we can’t credit all the above-mentioned achievements solely to art in the office. You can’t just hang a painting on the wall and expect the turnover rate to go down — that’s not how it works.It has to be a part of and supported by other strategic efforts to improve the overall employee experience.
However, the massive introduction of art into our space definitely played a key role in how our team perceives its workplace and the company. Still, one of the less visible yet priceless benefits I love the most is when I overhear two people chatting in the kitchen… about which mural they liked more — the one by Manzhos or by Kondakov.
Story byDaria Leshchenko
Daria is CEO of Support-as-a-Service company, focused on the tech industry. She led the company to be the Top-5 customer support providers w(show all)Daria is CEO of Support-as-a-Service company, focused on the tech industry. She led the company to be the Top-5 customer support providers with 800 people on a team and 150 clients from around the world. She also co-founded data annotating companyLabel Your Data.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.
