Steelcase Case Study: Integreon

 WORKPLACE STRATEGY DRIVES EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND INNOVATION

Integreon is a global company, with operations in Mumbai, London, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and half a dozen other cities, providing legal, document, business and research support to corporations, financial institutions, and legal and other professional service firms around the world.

The company has operated in Fargo, North Dakota, for nearly 15 years, but had to split its 350 Fargo associates between two separate office buildings. This often made communication and collaboration, essential to Integreon’s business processes, a challenge.

Integreon offices in distant locales routinely coordinate their work to support global clients. The Fargo office, for example, takes the lead in managing the contract review services Integreon provides for a Fortune 100 software company from delivery centers in Fargo; Bristol, UK; and Mumbai, India. Fargo maintains a dedicated team of seven paralegals for the client and must stay closely connected with the other offices in order to manage the client’s business.

“We needed a work environment that would support interaction between colleagues, near and far, facilitating employee engagement and aligning with our company DNA of providing innovative solutions,” says Julie Laufenberg, vice president, Talent Management and head of the Fargo office.

Rethinking the workplace

When Integreon planned a new building for Fargo, one that would bring both Fargo offices together under one roof, the initial workplace layout offered rows of workstations in a very traditional approach, hardly what a global, interconnected business needed.

About the same time, Integreon CEO Bob Gogel was attending a meeting of a European think tank in London when he met Guillaume Alvarez, senior vice president, sales and channels for Steelcase’s Europe, Middle East and Asia operations. After the two discussed the needs of a global organization and later visited the Steelcase WorkLife Center in Paris, the overarching workplace strategy for Integreon’s new facility in Fargo began to take shape.

“Executives everywhere are working to deliver more performance from every company asset. The workplace is an asset that’s pivotal to organizational success, yet often overlooked,” says Alvarez. “Integreon knew they must rethink their work environment. The Fargo facility needed to leverage their two greatest assets, their people and their real estate, and support the communication and collaboration that drives innovation.”

“Steelcase understands the needs of a global business, as well as how to deal with our local people,” says Gogel. “Integreon is all about relationships. I immediately knew there was a trust relationship between us. I knew we would get quality from day one, great responsiveness and that we would be good partners.”

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