The inaugural winner of Columbus Inno’s Coolest Offices contest doesn’t even require employees to go into the office.
Quantum Health moved into its new Dublin headquarters last year. CEO Zane Burke, who took the reins at the 24-year-old company in 2021, lives in Dallas, Texas, though he commutes often to Central Ohio.
Given that fact, Burke adopted the same hybrid policy for the company’s nearly 2,000 workers. The new Blazer Parkway headquarters, then, is designed with a “rational hoteling” approach in mind, and with a variety of features that aim to lure employees in to incentivize the serendipitous conversations that can only happen via in-person interactions. About 1,200 employees regularly take advantage of the physical space, according to the company.
“They want to be here,” Burke said in an interview last year. “When you walk the floors, you can feel the energy.”
That energy applies to the voters in our quest to find the region’s coolest office. Throughout the month of March, Columbus Inno featured online office tours. Entries came from far afield of our usual tech startup coverage – including a law firm, construction company and real estate developer – but each one gave examples of employment practices or business model that fit the Inno spirit.
Quantum, a tech-enabled services company, prevailed with one in five of nearly 2,000 votes in our 24-hour poll.
Following up on the victory, we reached out to Veronica Knuth, the company’s chief people officer.
Read on for highlights from our exchange, edited for clarity and length.
What’s your favorite spot in the Quantum Health office? On sunny days, I love working in our lower level or at a table on our back patio. On rainy days, I like being with my team in our department. When I need to be creative, I go to one of many sanctuary spaces where there is calm.
How important is having a “cool” office space to employee recruiting and retention? An employee work environment is key to their satisfaction and engagement. And now having hybrid work-from-home and in-office models, we can provide flexible work options to appeal to our current team and the workforce we want. When (employees are) working on campus, our new building provides a unique experience that attracts candidates. We are very proud of (our) long history of being a best place to work in Columbus.
When you’re talking to recruits or new hires, what is the biggest selling point of the office? Probably the 85,000 square feet of sanctuary space. It’s not a cafeteria. It’s not a break room. It’s a place for (employees) to unwind and recharge, complete with a fitness center, game room and plenty of room to meet, eat and take in the amazing environment with a premium perk poured by a professional barista at the Java Spot.
How does Quantum Health balance the security required and seriousness of the work it does with the goal of a fun, collaborative, exciting office space? In the design, we consider location and space distribution. Upper floors and adjacent buildings are focused on our client pods, where quiet member-focused conversations with care to member information and privacy is kept close.
Downstairs is our communal space where (employees) can ‘get away,’ with quiet breaks in the respite area or more fun gatherings for food, drinks and games. This is also where we regularly gather for company-wide meetings and where we house the training rooms for our new (employees). We designed with high expectations in mind – for employees to gain high reward.
