ENGAGING DESIGNS

Words by Rachel Zammit Cutajar Photography by Yolo Group / Kristian Kruuser

Established in 2010, Yolo Group, formerly known as Coingaming, has experienced such rapid growth over the last 11 years that they have had to move offices no less than four times, having just moved into their own building which serves as their Headquarters in Tallinn. The office design was a tight collaboration between designer Niko Miettinen and Yolo CEO Maarja Pärt, and heavily focuses on the wellbeing of the people that work there.

It’s no secret that hiring new staff is an expensive endeavour, with hidden costs in the depletion of employee morale, diminished employer brand and encouragement of further turnover as well as the lost productivity of the person leaving the company. This makes talent retention an important aspect of running a company, as the wellbeing of employees often affects the bottom line.

Salary and perks only do part of the job in attracting the right talent and doesn’t do much for retaining those hard-earned employees. Research and practice both show that one of the key factors linked to employee retention is engagement, better described as the emotional bond an employee feels with the organisation for which they work.

Engaged employees are five times more committed to helping their company succeed, four times more likely to recommend their organisation as an employer, and three times more likely to recommend improvements within the company. Office design is one of the subtle factors that influences productivity in the workplace, thus keeping staff engaged was the central focus of the new design.“Whilst we were aware of the research in favour of human-centred design, I didn’t really understand how much everyone would appreciate it until we moved in,” CEO, Maarja Pärt said. “Though the research focuses on employee productivity, what we've found to be more beneficial is the sense of ownership employees now feel towards the offices, and this increases engagement.” With 87% of CEOs recognising employee disengagement as the single largest threat to their business (according to a survey conducted by KPMG’s People and Change Advisory Team at the 2017 Malta iGaming Summit), this gives Yolo Group a competitive advantage through talent retention.

Throughout the recruitment process, whether employing permanent staff or partners for specific projects, engagement come as a high priority at Yolo Group, and candidates are selected by how likely they are to be engaged. The relationship between company and designer was one that started years before this grand project, in the refurbishment of their first office.

“There was never any doubt of who was going to do this project. We first engaged Niko for a small refurbishment of our first office, and it was he who first suggested we start looking for a better facility. When we found one, he built the project from scratch, doing much of the work himself to stay within the budget – and even then, he was so determined to do a good job, he went under in this one. This is when I realised how engaged he was a worker, and since then, he’s become and integral part of every move we’ve made since,” Maarja said.

The company headquarters are used by some 320 employees, and comprise of two very different buildings; a historic site that was refurbished in a way that respects the building as it was, and a brand-new block, with lots of glass and natural light. “The two buildings are very different, with some elements that bring everything together. This has worked well for the functionality of the two areas. The Jahu building, which is the historic part, is occupied by engineers who prefer to work in the dark and need more intimate surroundings. The sales team, on the other hand, need more space, more light, more opportunities to socialise, and this is what we kept in mind for the second building,” Niko said.

According to a Metlife Employee Benefit Trends Study, 69% of employees say having a wider array of benefits would increase loyalty to their employer, and this is something Yolo Group considered when designing the offices. Gyms and saunas with the some of the best views in Tallinn, sleeping pods, a rooftop terrace and a canteen serving healthy food downstairs make Yolo a terrific place to work.

“The gym was so popular we had to organise a calendar so that we didn’t have too many people in there at the same time,” Maarja said. Niko had insisted on some of state-of-the-art equipment. “We kept up to date with all the latest research on what employees are looking for in their place of work. One such item I was quite insistent on were the GoSleep pods. Produced by a Finnish company, these follow all the latest technology and are said to increase productivity by 36%,” he said. “I was intrigued by the idea of these when Niko first suggested them, and the science seemed to be sound, so we went for it. I tried it out a few times at lunchtime, and I was really impressed by how a 10-minute power nap can leave you feeling so refreshed,” Maarja said.

Nobody is happy to work when the temperatures are unbearable, whether it is too hot or too cold. The heating/cooling system at Yolo Group is state of the art. Underfloor heating and an innovative system which cools from the bottom are controlled by a meteorologic system that predicts the following day’s weather, and starts to cool (or heat) the offices the night before, so that when employees sit at their desk, they’re ready to go.

“The two buildings have very different requirements,” Niko said, “one is an old building with thick walls and remains cool during the summer, but can get pretty cold in the winter. The other is made of glass, so it gets very hot in summer. I worked with technical advisor, Karl Allekand, to create a system whereby one system cools the other in the summer, and the other way around in the winter. It’s a very sustainable system that is brand new for the industry, and it's pushing boundaries.”

The lighting system was also custom-built in a way that is both highly personal and sustainable. The system can be accessed from a smart tablet, and each individual can brighten or dim their own work station, in order for them to work in comfort.

While the larger perks are quite the attraction, employees spend the bulk of their day at their desk, thus functionality of the working space is crucial. The rapid growth of the company means that needs are ever-changing. Niko’s solution to this was to create a large open space with moveable walls so that when a change in space is required, it's just a question of moving the panelling, rather than plastering and painting all over again. Living walls and warm wooden panels give the office a homely feel that gives worker a sense that this is a home away from home, not somewhere you’re dying to escape from at the end of the working day.

Maarja was sceptical of Niko’s suggestion of electrical standing desks in the beginning. “I had had some of these at the other offices I worked at before and people tended to use them for a little while in the beginning and then abandon the idea. Now when I walk around the offices, I see that almost everyone uses them. They really do give you a little boost of energy when you feel that afternoon slump coming along!” Maarja said. Niko was deeply attached to the idea of these adjustable desks, so much so that he left this decision right to the end so that there wouldn’t be much time to argue about it. The desks have been so successful, that the Estonian company that made them asked to have them on their regular catalogue.

Office trends come and go, but what is certain is that office design does play an important role in the well-being of employees, affecting their productivity and thus the bottom line. Yolo Group have invested heavily in their new headquarters, with results far beyond what they could have expected in employee engagement. They are already thinking about expansion, as they will outgrow this space as they have done the last, and we can be sure to see more innovative designs by Niko in the future.