United Way moves into new Downtown digs that feature open floor plan

In June, the United Way for Southeastern Michigan moved to new office space in the First National Building. Leaving behind the building they own on Griswold in Capitol Park (which, by the way, is for sale) might not seem like something worth celebrating in the overall scheme of things, but there are a couple things about it worth noting.

With smaller space, the agency saves money. They shrank not by handing out pink slips, but by going to a non-traditional open floor plan. "We reduced square footage requirements by 60% in moving to an open office design," says president and CEO Mike Brennan. "What we asked all employees to do was to [scale down] their 'I' space, their individual space, so that we had more powerful 'we' space, or collective space."

A full two-thirds of UWSEM staff has no set desk, instead selecting the work space most appropriate to their goals each day. "It's meant to accelerate the speed of decision making, make informal interactions and networks, improve transfer of knowledge within the organization and to have space reflective and consistent with our mission and culture."

Another way in which the move is relevant to said mission and culture is in its commitment to being green. The office, which houses 100 employees, is LEED-certified. "We are tied into being a steward of community resources," says Brennan.

One final point of interest about the new Woodward location goes back to 1917, the year of the founding of the organization. It was birthed in meetings held at the Hotel Pontchartrain which, at that time, was located exactly where the First National Building sits today. "In many ways, United Way has gone full-circle," says Brennan.

Source: Mike Brennan, UWSEM
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh