Continuus Technologies Named One of Milwaukee's Coolest Offices of 2020 by the Milwaukee Business Journal
Continuus Technologies is excited to have been named one of Milwaukee’s Coolest Offices of 2020 by the Milwaukee Business Journal!
Subscribers can read the full article directly on the Business Journal here and see the final ranking results here, or you can read the full Continuus feature article below.
Milwaukee’s Coolest Offices: Continuus Technologies’ Dog-Friendly Office Includes Game Room, Fishbowl Conference Room
Originally posted on the Milwaukee Business Journal on April 24, 2020.
No matter the day of the week that you visit Continuus Technologies in Milwaukee's 3rd Ward you are bound to see several dogs sitting near where their owners are working.
It is one of the perks at working at the technology firm, along with a game room with a pingpong table, bags boards and giant Jenga.
"Our primary desk room has four different dog beds and a bin full of toys and our kitchen is stocked with dog treats," said Addie Gerritts, Continuus Technologies' marketing director. "It makes life easier for the employees who don’t want to leave their pets at home all day and definitely boosts the morale for the dog lovers we have at the office. The dogs all seem to love being there as well.”
The elaborate game room is also one of the highlights of the office space.
“The game room frequently hosts pingpong and bags tournaments over lunch breaks, networking events, and all-company gatherings," Gerritts said. "Aside from the game room, the new lounge has a sectional couch, giant bean bag chair, and Xbox, where plenty of (friendly) NBA2K tournaments have been played among team members. These areas also have been useful for viewing (Milwaukee) Brewers, (Milwaukee) Bucks, and (Green Bay) Packers games, as well as keeping kids busy between conference calls and carpools.”
The many features helped Continuus Technologies win a designation as one of Milwaukee’s Coolest Offices by the Milwaukee Business Journal in its 2020 awards program. Continuus Technologies is the last of 10 firms that have earned that designation in the newspaper’s awards program. The first nine were announced over the past two weeks.
We caught up with Gerritts to talk about the interesting space.
Q: Talk about the process that was used to determine the look of your office space.
“When we started the design process, we knew we wanted to keep the historic characteristics of the space, but modernize it with the furniture we chose. We also started out with pretty limited space, so we worked with Forward Space to creatively configure spaces for multi-purpose use.
“We ultimately chose pieces with a minimalistic look that complemented the Cream City brick, exposed beams and pipes, and large metal doors. Natural wood, grey metals, and crisp whites really helped us tie together our modern vision and the industrial bones of the office. The wall colors and café counters/shelves were left as they were when we moved in, so the colors you’ll see in the details of some of the furniture are subtle touches to ensure a seamless union between the new and existing design features.”
Q: Has the office space been helpful in recruiting and retaining employees?
“I would say that the office has had a positive impact on recruiting and retaining employees. Prior to moving into the space, our entire team worked remotely when they weren’t onsite with a client, with a couple meetings being held here and there at a co-working space in the 3rd Ward. This made getting to know each other and supporting a consistent company culture more difficult. We were growing rapidly, so (CEO Matt Moeser) felt transitioning into an office of our own was an essential next step to support that growth.
“Under regular circumstances, everyone still has the choice to work from home or come to the office when they’re in town, and most do choose to come here to get things done. It gave us a central location to hold all company meetings and for members of our team to collaborate with their teammates or put their head down and get work done individually without distractions.
“As for recruiting, having the office and leveraging the space the way we have has made a difference. Our presentation room and café are used for monthly Data Meetups and have also been used for offsite client and partner meetings, workshops, seminars, training sessions, and more. It has certainly made Continuus more visible within the local data and tech communities.”
Q: Can you explain some of the unique aspects of the space and how it is helpful to employees?
“The workspaces are fluid throughout the office which is something I don’t think you see very often. Although each person has a certain spot they prefer or use regularly, no one has a specific desk or office that is solely theirs. Employees can situate themselves wherever will be best for them that day, whether that’s in the open-concept collaboration area or in one of the private desk rooms.
“Another unique detail of the office is the connectivity of the technology between every room in the space. My favorite example of this is the Sonos speaker system; we have somewhere between 15-20 of these Bluetooth speakers spread throughout, and the layout of the office makes it possible for people in different rooms to connect their own devices without interrupting or overpowering those in other spaces. It’s really cool to hear what other people listen to get in the right headspace for productivity, and something as seemingly small as the music that is or isn’t playing can change the whole dynamic of a space.
“The flexibility of each corner of the office is also really unique. As I mentioned, we focused on making every last detail multi-purpose, and we definitely achieved that. Every desk has ergonomic standing/sitting settings, the café booth can host conference calls and meetings, the pingpong table can be converted into a large conference table, the desk room walls are covered with white boards, and the private work rooms have glass walls that can function as dry erase boards, etc. Every workspace can double as a lounge area, and vice versa.”
Q: Can you talk about why the café and game rooms were added and how often they are used?
"The café has been a central part of our office since we first moved in, and the game room came a little later after our first expansion. When we first moved into the space in January 2019, we only inhabited the first two bays, which included the kitchen, presentation room, fishbowl conference room, and a large room separated into two desk rooms by a retractable partition. The only entrance was directly into the kitchen, so we knew we wanted to make that area welcoming and functional for both our employees and any visitors. This original footprint didn’t allow for a ton of working room for our consultants when they were in Milwaukee, so it needed to be somewhere they could be productive while also serving the lounge purpose it was intended to serve.
“When we expanded into the third bay in the spring of 2019, we gained two additional desk rooms, three private work rooms, and another lounge area, so we were able to reconfigure the original desk rooms into one large space. With the quantity of events we were already hosting and planning, we decided to make it into a game room, essentially transforming those first two bays into public-facing spaces and the third into a behind-the-scenes work area.
“The game room frequently hosts pingpong and bags tournaments over lunch breaks, networking events, and all-company gatherings. Aside from the game room, the new lounge has a sectional couch, giant bean bag chair, and Xbox, where plenty of (friendly) NBA2K tournaments have been played among team members. These areas also have been useful for viewing (Milwaukee) Brewers, (Milwaukee) Bucks, and (Green Bay) Packers games, as well as keeping kids busy between conference calls and carpools.”
Q: How often are pets allowed in the office and what does that add to the office environment?
“Pets are allowed in the office any time, all the time. We’re a very pet-friendly team, and there are multiple dogs that come to the office with their humans multiple days a week. Our primary desk room has four different dog beds and a bin full of toys and our kitchen is stocked with dog treats. It makes life easier for the employees who don’t want to leave their pets at home all day and definitely boosts the morale for the dog lovers we have at the office. The dogs all seem to love being there as well.”
Company information:
Company: Continuus Technologies
Address: 301 N. Broadway, Suite 204
CEO/President: Matt Moeser
Number of employees: 28
Square footage of office: About 7,800 square feet
Architect/designer: Forward Space helped the leadership team configure and design the office during each iteration of the expansion.
Number of years in space: "One year and three months. Our initial move-in was in January 2019. The first expansion took place in the spring of 2019, and we just expanded into the remaining portion of our half of the second floor at the start of 2020. The design and construction of that part is still a work in progress."
