The scissors, please.
On April 4, 2019, Sphera officially opened its new Chicago headquarters with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Sphera CEO Paul Marushka pulled out the giant clippers and cut the ribbon held by Sphera’s chief human resources officer, Laura Hanson, and Sphera’s chief technology officer, Perry Marchant.
The new office is located in the same building as the previous headquarters, 130 E. Randolph St. in Chicago, but we’ve moved from a shared space on the 19th floor to occupying the entire 29th floor of the Prudential building. If space is the final frontier, then there’s plenty of it to explore in our new HQ.
By the Numbers:
The new Sphera office is 24,429 square feet.
It also has:
- 120 workstations
- 29 private offices
- 4 conference rooms
- 3 huddle rooms
- 3 phone rooms
- An Innovation Lab
- Oodles of collaboration space
- A Town Hall/Cafeteria area
With a modern, chic appearance, the office was designed with tech talent in mind. The colors of the office—blue, green and white—are designed to match our logo, and you can see elements of that logo when you first look at the ceiling after you get off the elevator. Beyond Sphera’s front door is the actual logo surrounded by a green textured background that feels a lot like moss.
The office also has more conference rooms, more collaboration areas—including our new Innovation Lab where tech people can work on code together on a giant screen—and quiet areas reserved for colleagues who need a bit of serenity now.
“I love how the office was designed to be a collaborative space,” said Christina Mcintyre, Sphera’s senior collections specialist. “It really feels like we’re part of a big family here.”
And that family has grown quickly in just a couple of years. With over 100 Spherions in attendance at the official opening—with plenty of pizza and adult beverages to go along—the ever-expanding Sphera team celebrated our new home by talking, laughing and even playing games. Located near our new deluxe kitchen with beers on tap (for after-hours, of course), the giant Sphera-branded Jenga blocks went tumbling down for the first time in the game area. It was an intense matchup between members of the Sphera sales team, and there were a lot of near-misses that had Spherions in disbelief.
But before the chunks of wood hit the floor, Marushka told the Sphera colleagues about how their great work has helped build this beautiful new office. He also thanked Kevin Szymanski, Sphera’s vice president of operations, and Jenn Johnson, Marushka’s executive assistant, for their tireless effort to not only locate the new digs and ensure construction was on-schedule, but also to help furnish and design the office in a way that matches our culture and focus on sustainability. One example of that is the sensors that turn off the lights automatically when people leave rooms. He also noted that the whole project was completed under budget, which drew applause from Bob Hogue, Sphera’s chief financial officer, and a bunch of giggles throughout the room from the intentionally humorous gesture.
“I was blown away when I first walked into the new office,” said Jake Lopez, Sphera’s help desk analyst. “From the lobby to my favorite part—the kitchen/breakroom—everything is so clean and modern and makes me enjoy being at the Chicago location.”
Added Reem Sbeih, a Sphera executive assistant: “My favorite thing about the new office is that it was designed as a space to fuel innovation and collaboration. There are multiple areas beyond the standard cubicles and conference rooms, and I love seeing my colleagues using all of these fun new areas to work together in. The view is pretty cool, too.”
Indeed, the views of Millennium Park were great before, but now they’re downright spectacular from higher above. The famed Bean, however, looks more like a regular bean from this height, but we’ll get an even better view of Ariana Grande and the rest of the artists set to take the stage at Lollapalooza 2019 later this summer. We’ll also have a literal bird’s eye view of the Chicago Air and Water Show, which will bring Great Britain’s Royal Air Force Red Arrows to North America for the first time since the early 1990s.
We can’t wait to show you our new office space. Let your Sphera representative know when you’re planning to be in the Chicago area, and we’ll be happy to give you a tour. Or … if you’re looking to join a growing tech company, keep an eye on our Careers page to see if there’s a position you’d be interested in. We know you’ll love the new office and culture as much as we do. Trust us; they’re both Spher-tastic.